“Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,… and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David..”
Matthew 1:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew included in the genealogy of Jesus four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah). It was not customary to include women. The only other woman mentioned in the genealogy is Mary, Jesus’ mother.
Tamar was forced to use trickery to have children after her husband had died. (Genesis 38) Rahab helped the Israelite spies when they were beginning to enter the Promised Land. She and her family were spared when the Israelite army entered the land. (Joshua 2: 1-24, and 6: 22-25) Ruth was a Moabite woman whose husband had died. She accompanied her mother-in-law when Naomi returned to her hometown of Bethlehem in Judea. Ruth later married Boaz. (Ruth) Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah) had a son by King David. (2 Samuel 11: 1-27 and 12: 15b-25)
These four women knew hardship, pain, and brokenness. They may have been shamed and excluded. God used them, blessed them, and blessed their offspring. God made something beautiful of each life.
Something Beautiful by Gloria Gaither and William Gaither1
Something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion, He understood.
All I had to offer Him, was brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful of my life.
Prayer: Holy Father, thank you for these four women who overcame trials in their lives. Each one became a part of the story of God’s love for us when He sent his only Son, Jesus, to live among us. Amen.
Theresa Higgins
1Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQqSarDf8Y