Well-behaved Women
Tamar. Rahab. Ruth. Bathsheba. Mary.
These extraordinary women are members of an exclusive club, one usually reserved for men: they are listed in the Bible as ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 1).
You might imagine that these women had to be pretty special to be included in the official record of Jesus’ lineage. And they were.
But not for the reasons you might expect.
For example, Tamar got on the list by disguising herself as a prostitute. She did this to trick the father of her dead husband into having a baby by her. She succeeded; the resulting child became one of Jesus’ early ancestors. (The boy’s name was Perez. His father and his grandfather were the same man!)
And Rahab? Whereas Tamar only pretended to be a prostitute, Rahab made a career of it. She left her wayward ways behind before she became one of Jesus’ grandmothers, but she never lost the nickname, “Rahab the Harlot.”
Perhaps even more startling is the trait that Rahab shared with her future daughter-in-law, a woman named Ruth. Both of them were Gentiles. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but then again, don’t you find it surprising that the promised Messiah would be born of mixed blood?
Then there’s Bathsheba. King David murdered her husband to cover up their illicit affair. The child born of their union died, but another child lived to become David’s successor on the throne, King Solomon.
And finally we find Mary, a woman worthy of our veneration, but whose reputation would certainly have been suspect among her peers. Certainly the true origin of her pregnancy was a secret known to only a few. To everyone else, her son had a rather dubious beginning.
Five women. All linked by their surprising inclusion in the hallowed halls of male-dominated genealogical records. All joined by the fact that each one packed a powerful story sung to a tune called “grace.”
Grace captivates. Appropriately enough, it is both a powerful concept and a beautiful name. In a world dominated by men, God makes room for women. They are welcome as equals, and honored in Jesus’ family tree. There are no second class citizens in his family.
Grace encourages. No matter what kind of mess I have made, my future is bright. Tamar’s pregnancy, Rahab’s harlotry, and Bathsheba’s affair – these were all bad choices. But God transformed their mistakes into a beautiful tapestry of grace. And so it is with us. No matter what kind of wreckage defines our past, Grace offers wholeness for our brokenness. In the inspired words of a U2 song, “grace makes beauty out of ugly things.”
Grace welcomes. I may feel like I’m on the outside looking in, but grace reminds me that this is never true. Ruth and Rahab, whose heritage excluded them from God’s blessing, were still the recipients of lavish grace. And so it is with me: everything in the refrigerator belongs to me, too.
Grace challenges. For I am responsible to offer to others the same grace I receive. There must always be room in my heart and at my table for the broken, the shameful, the outsider, the timid, and the alien.
Thank God for Tamar. Thank God for Rahab. Thank God for Ruth. Thank God for Bathsheba. Thank God for Mary.
Thank God for Grace.
These extraordinary women are members of an exclusive club, one usually reserved for men: they are listed in the Bible as ancestors of Jesus (Matthew 1).
You might imagine that these women had to be pretty special to be included in the official record of Jesus’ lineage. And they were.
But not for the reasons you might expect.
For example, Tamar got on the list by disguising herself as a prostitute. She did this to trick the father of her dead husband into having a baby by her. She succeeded; the resulting child became one of Jesus’ early ancestors. (The boy’s name was Perez. His father and his grandfather were the same man!)
And Rahab? Whereas Tamar only pretended to be a prostitute, Rahab made a career of it. She left her wayward ways behind before she became one of Jesus’ grandmothers, but she never lost the nickname, “Rahab the Harlot.”
Perhaps even more startling is the trait that Rahab shared with her future daughter-in-law, a woman named Ruth. Both of them were Gentiles. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but then again, don’t you find it surprising that the promised Messiah would be born of mixed blood?
Then there’s Bathsheba. King David murdered her husband to cover up their illicit affair. The child born of their union died, but another child lived to become David’s successor on the throne, King Solomon.
And finally we find Mary, a woman worthy of our veneration, but whose reputation would certainly have been suspect among her peers. Certainly the true origin of her pregnancy was a secret known to only a few. To everyone else, her son had a rather dubious beginning.
Five women. All linked by their surprising inclusion in the hallowed halls of male-dominated genealogical records. All joined by the fact that each one packed a powerful story sung to a tune called “grace.”
Grace captivates. Appropriately enough, it is both a powerful concept and a beautiful name. In a world dominated by men, God makes room for women. They are welcome as equals, and honored in Jesus’ family tree. There are no second class citizens in his family.
Grace encourages. No matter what kind of mess I have made, my future is bright. Tamar’s pregnancy, Rahab’s harlotry, and Bathsheba’s affair – these were all bad choices. But God transformed their mistakes into a beautiful tapestry of grace. And so it is with us. No matter what kind of wreckage defines our past, Grace offers wholeness for our brokenness. In the inspired words of a U2 song, “grace makes beauty out of ugly things.”
Grace welcomes. I may feel like I’m on the outside looking in, but grace reminds me that this is never true. Ruth and Rahab, whose heritage excluded them from God’s blessing, were still the recipients of lavish grace. And so it is with me: everything in the refrigerator belongs to me, too.
Grace challenges. For I am responsible to offer to others the same grace I receive. There must always be room in my heart and at my table for the broken, the shameful, the outsider, the timid, and the alien.
Thank God for Tamar. Thank God for Rahab. Thank God for Ruth. Thank God for Bathsheba. Thank God for Mary.
Thank God for Grace.