The scandalous women in Jesus' genealogy

"Judah and Tamar" (1840)
Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ." Matthew 1:16


There are only five women mentioned in the Matthew genealogy of Jesus. All of them had at least a little scandal in their lives.

The widow Tamar, overlooked by her father-in-law Judah as a wife for his youngest son (the way widows were dealt with justly in those days), dressed up like a prostitute and seduced Judah. When she was discovered pregnant and he called for her to be burned (talk about a double standard!) she produced proof that he was the father. The son Perez that came of their union is in Jesus' lineage (Genesis 38:6-30).

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. She hid the spies, telling them how the city was paralyzed by fear of them and their God. Later the soldiers rescued her and her family — the only ones to escape the falling walls of Jericho (Joshua 2). She married Salmon and mothered Boaz.

Ruth was a Gentile from Moab. This loyal young widow chose her Jewish mother-in-law's country and God over her own. She, in turn, was chosen by Boaz to be his wife. They had Obed, the grandfather of David. (Read her story in the book of Ruth).

The next woman isn't even named in this passage. "Her (who had been the wife) of Uriah"—Bathsheba—was the beautiful woman idle king David found irresistible. When he got her pregnant he tried to cover his adultery by having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. She was the mother of Solomon (2 Samuel 11).

And then we have Mary, the young women to whom the angel said, "You have found favour with God." Despite that favour, she had to face the disgrace of being pregnant and unmarried—leading to a reputation she was probably burdened with for years.

I love these women—Tamar for her determination to get justice; Rahab for her fear of God and courage to go against her own city; Ruth for her loyalty and care for a somewhat depressed mother-in-law; Bathsheba for her mother bear qualities when later fighting for Solomon's right to succeed David as king; Mary for her attitude of complete surrender, and for her thoughtfulness. The fact that God chose and used each one (and the multitude more that aren't named) despite flaws and shortcomings tells me there's hope for me, for you, for all of us.

This motley sampling of the women of God also makes me look at the women in my life — family members, friends, the women whose books and blogs I read — with a new appreciation. No matter what our pedigrees, histories, education, weaknesses and strengths, God has a place and purpose for each one of us too, in this, our time.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these less-than-perfect women named in Jesus' genealogy. Help me to find and fulfill my destiny as they did. Amen.

MORE: Feast of Saint Joseph

Today the church celebrates Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus in the Feast of Saint Joseph.

The liturgy for the day begins with the following Collect:

"O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A godly father

Finding the Savior in the Temple - Holman Hunt (1860)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 2:41-52

TO CHEW ON: "Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions." Luke 2:46

I am the oldest of nine children. It's probably not  surprising that at least once my parents left one of us behind at church (it wasn't me!). Even the mere 10-minute drive back to the place where they knew their child would most certainly be, had its anxieties. So I can imagine searching for a 12-year-old child through the streets and alleys of a vast city!

Despite all the miracles and heavenly portents surrounding Jesus' birth and His divine protection to this point, I'm sure His parents were crazy with worry. They had to keep trusting God just like we do with our children.

When they found Him, Jesus seemed surprised that they had looked for three days and not thought to check the temple. Why wouldn't they know to look for Him in His Father's house? (Perhaps Joseph had the thought—And who am I then, if not your father?)

Then we read that Jesus "went down with them … to Nazareth and was subject to them."

From what we've seen of Joseph (and Mary ) to this point, they probably just carried on being godly parents, which included doing things like:

• Establishing faith and trust in God within their home, like Joshua did - Joshua 24:15.

• Speaking blessing over their children, like Isaac did - Genesis 28:1-5.

• Praying for guidance and direction in how to raise Jesus and His half-siblings, like Manoah prayed about Samson - Judges 13:8.

• Giving godly advice to their kids, like David did to Solomon - 1 Kings 2:1-4.

• Leading the home in godliness, like Cornelius did - Acts 10:2.

I find this insight into Jesus' earthly family reassuring. His parents had to trust God in the day-to-day just like ours did and just like we do. Let's keep doing the godly-home things and encouraging the next generation to maintain those traditions in their homes as well.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. Help me to keep trusting you in this season of my parenting/motherhood. Amen.

MORE: The Feast of St. Joseph

Today the church celebrates Joseph in The Feast of St. Joseph.  The liturgy for today begins with this collect:

O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Father's business

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 2:41-52

TO CHEW ON: “And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” Luke 2:49

I wonder if these words of Jesus, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ sent a pang through His earthly father Joseph’s heart. Did they drive home again the fact that, even at this early age, Jesus was not truly ‘his’ – even as our kids aren’t ‘ours’?

"St. Joseph the Carpenter" by Georges de la Tour, 1645

The reaction of Jesus to His parents reminds me of something Oswald Chambers says, and I paraphrase: When God tells you to do something, don’t hesitate to obey because of the impact your obedience will have on others. Don’t take their reaction as your responsibility. Let God deal with them.

So much for others’ obedience resulting in our inconvenience. What about the personal cost of being about the Father’s business? It is wide-ranging. Jesus’ words, “I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father Who sent me” (John 5:30), reverberate all the way down to us: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21

A sidebar article in my Bible says:

"Yielding to His call in the pragmatics of daily living means that we recognize His purpose for us during times we would otherwise seek indulgence for our self-interests or run from the demanding implications of His leading at a given moment (ouch!)… it is not ours to excuse ourselves from our places of service but to choose His choice, that is to say, His choice is my choice, my consecration to Him.”
- Fuchsia Pickett, New Spirit Filled Life Bible page 1390.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me understand what a privilege it is to be busy doing Father-God business. I pray with the psalm-writer, “Take my eyes away from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your way” today. Amen.

MORE: Today is the Feast of St. Joseph – a church commemoration of the godly man who married Mary despite the scandal surrounding her pregnancy, and was an earthly father to Jesus.

The Collect for today:

“O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.