Geneology of Matthew....all those begats

There are a couple of places in the Bible that go a little crazy with the 'begats' - the long list of who fathered whom in generation after generation.  Matthew is one of them. The writer of Matthew feels it important that we are able to trace Jesus' lineage from Abraham through King David and then, 28 generations later, to Joseph.

But, of course, Joseph isn't Jesus' father.  So the lineage thing is a bit difficult to understand.  Then again, it isn't about biology but social convention I guess.

However, putting that aside, what's the point of this long list of who begat whom.  Well, my friends, check out the names of the women who are mentioned.  Three women are mentioned by name:  Tamar, Rahab and Ruth; one is mentioned by inference:  Bathsheba who is called the wife of Uriah.  Four women.  Why them and no others?

Well, I have heard these women described as 'sexually suspect' and I've heard them described as 'strong survivors.'  I figure they used their gifts to secure their future in a society that counted them as property and gave all the advantage to the male of the species.

Let's start with Tamar.*  Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah (patriarch of one of the 12 tribes).  Tamar was widowed and Judah was too slow in marrying her off to another of his sons (a practice called 'leverite marriage').  So Tamar took it into her own hands.  If she was ever to give birth to a son, she needed to be proactive.  This gutsy woman dressed herself like a prostitute, bargained with Judah when he came a-calling (taking his signet ring as a trust payment) and then, as God would have it, got pregnant.  When Judah returned to redeem his signet ring from the prostitute, she was no where to be found.

In a few months, everyone knew that Tamar had been busy and soon someone told Judah and she was dragged before her father-in-law for judgment.  When Judah asked for an explanation, Tamar produced his signet ring and said, "This is the guy with whom I slept."  Oh, how embarrassing.  Tamar may have been 'WAY out of bounds' but Judah had broken Torah law on several counts......and he knew it and acknowledged it.  Tamar eventually gave birth to sons who took their place in the lineage leading to Jesus.

Not everyone in Jesus' lineage kept the Law perfectly, and some of them kept the Law very imperfectly.  Yet they were a part of God's divine plan and included in God's divine love.  In the end, these women make the long history of the people of Israel and the God who loved them a little more realistic, along with giving us some insight into this God of all creation.

Perhaps there is room for you and me, right?


*This Tamar story can be found in Genesis 38.  There is a second Tamar story about a daughter of David who was loved by one of his sons.  He rapes her in a fury of lust.  It is a nasty story and can be found in 2 Samuel 13.