By Doug Bell
Matthew 1:1-17
“1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,3and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,4and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,5and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,6and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,7and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,9and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,10and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,and Amos the father of Josiah,11and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,13and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,14and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,15and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,16and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”
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That’s a LOT of names! And If you’re like me, you probably don’t recognize many of them. You might think that we would look at the BIG names (Think Hebrews 11!), but no, today we’re going to see three of the lesser known ones, in fact all three are women.
The First: vs.5 ”and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab,“ Rahab is mentioned here as mainly an aside: “Boaz by Rehab“. But she had a major part to play in the early history of Israel. The first mention of her is: “And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.” Joshua 2:1. A prostitute who believed in the God of Israel, became a traitor to her people, and saved her entire family! (Read: about her in Joshua 2; 6:17, 23-25).
The Second: Ruth. Evidentially Ruth is the daughter-in-law of Rahab, for we read in vs. “5and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse”, There are Only two books named after women in the Bible, and both are in the Old Testament; They are Esther and Ruth. Ruth is Amazing! We meet her as a widower, in the middle of a famine, who refuses to leave her mother-In-law (of her first husband). Through God’s providence she meets and marries Boaz (Read: the book of Ruth).
And Finally, Third: Bathsheba. What is worth noting is that Bathsheba isn’t even mentioned by name! “And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,” If we read about her, we see why she should be mentioned and listed in Jesus, lineage.
She is first mentioned in 2 Samuel 11:2 ”It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.” And had he left and thought no more about ‘another man’s wife’, no harm done. BUT... we see David takes her, forces her to commit Adultery (he was the King after all!), she becomes pregnant, David has her husband killed, marries her, the child dies, Nathan confronts David, David repents (Psalms 51),
And God blesses Bathsheba later with a son, Solomon (Read: 2 Samuel Ch. 11-12). Bathsheba is mentioned later in David’s life (Read: 1 Kings 1:11- 2:25).
God will Bless you as you read his word, (Revelation 1:3), will use it to help you Grow in His Grace (2 Peter 3:18), Because “16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,17that the man (or woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.“ (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Read the Bible like you life depends upon it, Because your “Spiritual Life,” actually does!