Yesterday, when I was reading in my Bible study, I was going through the lineage of Jesus. You have probably read these passages yourself; there are a whole lot of begats in those verses. I am guilty of skimming through those type verses, because half of the time, I don’t recognize most of the names. But, when I was pregnant with my firstborn, I sat in church one Sunday morning, and I read all of the names in Matthew.
At that time, one name jumped out at me; it was Matthan. Matthan was Jesus’ earthly grandfather, and I fell in love with the name. In fact, I fell in love with the name so much that I named my son Matthan.
But, this morning, it was not the men who jumped out at me; it was the five women who were mentioned in the verses.
Matthew 1:1-17
1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon). 12 After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
The thing that stuck out most for me about these women was the fact that they would not have been my choice to have been in the lineage of the Messiah. I was looking at these women the way that most of us do; from the outside. I saw a prostitute, an adulteress, someone who used trickery to become pregnant, a temptress, or just a commoner. Nothing about these women would have stood out to me, and I would have passed them by in my search for who I would have considered “worthy.”
I saw the flaws, while the Lord saw the heart. I was looking at the outward appearance, and the Lord was looking inside. I saw a poor Jewish girl, and the Lord saw the perfect mother for His child.
Luke 1:30-33
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
I have sinned more times than I would like to admit. I have disappointed myself, and the Lord, over and over and over again. I would NOT choose me as someone to represent the Lord, and there are times when the inside is not pretty either. I am not worthy!
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The truth is, none of these women were “worthy.” No one, other than Jesus, has been worthy. But, the Lord has still been able to take a flawed, unworthy, an ordinary person, and use them to do His good works.
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
So, today, even though we are flawed, take the time to thank the Lord for using you. Because, I am sure that the Lord is using you to touch someone, even if you aren’t aware you have been chosen.
Matthew 5:16
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Have A Blessed Day!
Thanks that is so true
I am glad that this post touched you.
Thank God that He does use all of us flawed people, huh?
I am thrilled to be able to spread His word.
Thank you for sharing the Word with us!
I am glad that you enjoyed today’s post.
I loved this post, Tania! Thank you! 2 Corinthians 12: 9 & 10 are one of my favorite verses. God can do amazing things when we let go and fully depend on Him! Have a blessed Sunday!
Cyndy, it is the letting go that is so hard. It requires faith and dependence, and for some, those are hard to embrace.
Thank you for this! Have a blessed day!
I am glad that you liked the post, Carmen.
This is a powerful post. I actually read through the lineage this time. Like you I’ve skipped over all the strange names in past. But God always has a plan. Even for us ordinary women. I love this post today. Thank you.
It is wonderful how the Lord can change the ordinary into extraordinary! Did you see Matthan’s name?
The women you mentioned are very important because they show us how God uses people(women) of all kinds to teach us that God can use anyone!
Amen sister, I sing a hallelujah. For nothing is too big for God.
I went back and found your son’s name Matthan. He couldn’t have been much closer to Joseph & Mary. Thank you for this Bible Lesson today! My Mother’s name was Ruth. Ruth was right up there with the birth of King David. I wish my Mother was still alive so I could talk to her about Ruth in the Bible. I love reading Psalms and I find myself so much like King David as I get older, calling out to God in the same way. My life is so much easier when I put things in perspective. I read your Blog every day, see you on Instagram, Facebook, etc! You never fail me!