When I was a kid, before the days of ancestry.com, I loved learning about my family tree. I had a great-aunt who was fantastic about researching that side of the family, keeping meticulous records of everything she found. I'd love to have my DNA tested by Ancestry or something like that, but I also watch too much Dateline, so that's a no-go for me at this time.
My life group is doing a study of the book of Joshua. It has reiterated in my own heart and mind how every part of scripture- Old and New, stories and Psalms- all point to Jesus. It also got me doing a lot of thinking about Jesus' family tree.
If you're not familiar with the book of Joshua or Joshua's story, Joshua is the guy who becomes leader of Israel after the death of Moses. If you know anything about Joshua, you probably associate him with the phrase "be strong and courageous" (that comes from Joshua 1:9) and with the battle of Jericho (and the walls came tumbling down). But before the walls fall in Jericho, we meet Rahab.
Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, whose house was built in the city walls. (Side note and not what this blog is about but I feel like I need to say this: that house was built into the city walls before Rahab ever lived there. God is intentional and puts us where He wants and needs us to be.) So back to our summary, Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, whose house was built in the city walls. When Joshua sent spies to scout Jericho, Rahab hid them on her roof and denied knowing where they were when city officials came knocking. As repayment for her kindness, the spies promised that she and all who were in her household (at her request) would be spared if they were 1- inside the house, and 2- a scarlet cord was hanging from the window. Rahab and her people followed the instructions, were spared, and were brought into the camp of the Israelites.
The story doesn't stop there. I mean, that would still be a pretty great story of God's mercy, but He doesn't stop there. Rahab is mentioned among all these biblical heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, and maybe even more amazing, Rahab is included in the lineage of Jesus. Yes, Rahab was Jesus' great-great-great (add several more greats) grandmother.
Remembering this fun fact about Rahab sparked my interest in the family tree of our Redeemer. You can find it in the first chapter of Matthew. I think it's tempting sometimes to scan over the lineages and the battle plans and the specificity of things, but I hope you'll see, as I have, that every bit of it is on purpose. Every single line of His family tree is Truth and holds purpose.
In Jesus' family tree, there are 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and 14 generations from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah (I am not that awesome- God graciously provides that detail in Matthew 1:17). It was a patriarchal culture, so it's listed as "Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob..." and so on- 42 generations, all listed by father, and in only 5 cases, the mother's name was included too.
Tamar.
Rahab.
Ruth.
Bathsheba.
Mary.
It got me wondering why- why these 5 women, not the other 39. I mean, Mary makes sense to me- she's Jesus' mom. But why Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba. And Rahab and Ruth were back to back generations (Ruth married Salmon and Rahab's son, Boaz).
Tamar was technically Judah's daughter-in-law, twice (married his son Er, who died, then Onan, who also died). Long story short, Tamar tricked Judah into sleeping with her by pretending to be a prostitute (see Genesis 38 for the full story). She and Judah had twins, and Perez is the twin included in Jesus' genealogy. Tamar is also the name of one of David's daughters who was raped by one of her half-brothers (2 Samuel 13), and when I see the name Tamar, she's the first one I think of, not Perez's mom. I had to do some additional reading and look back at Tamar and Judah's story.
Rahab was the prostitute we meet in Joshua, who was kind to the spies and therefore spared when the rest of Jericho met its demise. Rahab married Salmon, of the tribe of Judah, and they had a son named Boaz.
Ruth was a widow, who went with her mother-in-law Naomi to her homeland, worked in the fields gathering wheat that had been dropped for them to survive. There she met Boaz (Rahab's son).
Ruth and Boaz are the great-grandparents of King David (their son Obed was his grandfather- Obed had Jesse, Jesse had David). Yes, this makes Rahab David's great-great-grandmother.
Bathsheba was married to Uriah, was bathing when David saw her and wanted her, and David had her brought to him. She got pregnant, and David had Uriah moved to the front of the battle lines, where he was killed. In some translations, Bathsheba is actually listed as "Uriah's wife" or "the widow of Uriah", so technically not by name, but we know who she is. Bathsheba became one of David's wives and had Solomon.
I obviously don't know exactly why these women were included in His lineage or why they were mentioned by name- I don't pretend to be a biblical scholar or great theologian. But I do try to listen when He speaks to me. And this is what I feel being impressed on me when I read the genealogy of our Redeemer: no one is disqualified from Jesus.
Deceivers are not disqualified.
Prostitutes are not disqualified.
Widows are not disqualified.
Adulterers are not disqualified.
No one is disqualified from Jesus.
Look, other than what's recorded in scripture, I don't know the circumstances or choices- theirs or those of others- that got these women in the situations they found themselves in. I do know this: if these women, with their circumstances and their choices, can be included in the family tree of Jesus, then every single one of us can be included in His story too.
Hallelujah- we can be included in His story!
I've often wondered why Bathsheba- not why she was included by name or reference, as I honestly don't remember noting that until recently- but why she got to be included in the lineage of Jesus at all. Why her?
Because David had another wife- Abigail.
I mean, David had several other wives, but Abigail was special (at least in my heart and mind).
Abigail was described as intelligent and beautiful (1 Samuel 25:3), and she single handedly kept David from murdering her first husband (1 Samuel 25).
So why Bathsheba?
Maybe, just maybe, God knew we would expect it to be Abigail, the beautiful and wise. If anyone deserved to be the great-great (add some more greats) grandmother of the Messiah, it was Abigail. But it's not about deserving.
It's not about deserving, and so we get Bathsheba.
The reality is not a single one of us deserve to be included in His story (Romans 3:23). By His great grace, He calls out to us, bidding us come weary and burdened and find rest in Him (Matthew 11:30). None of us deserve to be included in His story, and yet none of us is disqualified. This is amazing grace.
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