Most of us tend to skip over the genealogies. When reading the bible through in a year, you will inevitably have days where your reading is just a list of names in Chronicles or some other obscure section of Scripture. While it is tempting to push through without thinking, or even worse, to skip over the lists of names all together, I don’t recommend that. First of all, those names are recorded in God’s word for a reason and are just as much inspired Scripture as any other part of the text. Second, though, there are often hidden gems that the Lord will use to thrill your soul.
This is definitely the case in Matthew 1. I love this particular genealogy because of the hidden gems that stand out. Yes, it is a list of names, but notice that the names are predominately men. It is the lineage of Jesus showing that he is the King of Kings, born as a direct descendant of David and of Abraham. Yet the glory and sovereignty of God is vividly displayed in all the twists and turns that his lineage takes along the way. This is demonstrated particularly in the inclusion of 5 mothers in His genealogy. Matthew basically says “this man, fathered this man who fathered this man, and so on…” and then in an abrupt twist he occasionally inserts by Tamar or by Rahab or by Ruth etc. This is not by accident and the significance deserves to be noted.
Each of these women from Tamar to Mary have their story included in the canon of Scripture. The majority of them were foreigners; Tamar from Canaan, Ruth from Moab, Rahab from Jericho, Bathsheba possibly a Hittite. They were not royalty but every day women; some were pagans, others were prostitutes, one was an adulteress and even the Mother of Jesus had her teenage reputation unfairly tarnished. Yet God was at work in their lives and weaving their stories into His grand narrative of redemption which ultimately even impacts the story of our lives. Once again God demonstrates His Glory, His Goodness and His love by using people like me and you. He uses our victories, and He even uses our failures, but in the end His plan is accomplished and His Glory is revealed.
