Nobody loves women as much as God does. One of my favorite parts about studying God’s word is seeing the radical ways in which he elevates, honors, and vindicates them in the face of injustice. Though there are countless examples throughout Scripture of God honoring women, few compare to Jesus’ culturally subversive genealogy in Matthew 1.
As we consider the birth of our Lord, let’s also consider these unlikely women God included in Jesus’ family tree:
Tamar
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar.
There are two famous Tamars in the Old Testament, both of whom were sexually abused by their family members (Gen. 38; 2 Sam.13).
The Tamar in Matthew’s genealogy was married to Judah’s son Er, but Er “was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death” (Gen. 38:7). After Er died, Judah gave Tamar to his son Onan, instructing Onan to “raise up offspring” (v.8) for his brother. Sadly, Onan refused to fulfill his filial duties and took advantage of his sister-in-law, so the LORD put him to death also (v. 10).
After this, Judah was afraid to give Tamar to his lastborn son Shelah for fear that he would die, too. Instead, he sent Tamar back to her father’s house, mendaciously promising that she would marry Shelah as soon as he grew up (v.11).
Eventually, Tamar realized that Judah was not going to fulfill his promise to her, so she took matters into her own hands, tricked Judah into sleeping with her, and became pregnant by him (Gen. 38:13–26). It’s a messy story, the kind of skeleton most families would prefer to leave in the closet—but not God. On grand display here is Tamar’s faithfulness to continuing the line of Judah, where her late-husbands and her father-in-law proved disobedient. God vindicated Tamar by giving her not only the immediate offspring that Onan denied her but also the greatest offspring in all of history: Jesus.
Rahab and Ruth
Ruth and Rahab were both non-Israelites, and it’s difficult to say whose heritage was more scandalous. Ruth hailed from Moab (a nation conceived via incest, according to Gen. 19:30–37), and Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho (Josh. 2:1). Once again, neither of these women were the kind of foremothers that self-respecting Jews would want to claim in their lineage.
God honored them not for their nationalities or occupations, but for their radical faith. Both women exercised tremendous fear of the Lord and devotion to his people, for which they were rewarded with a legacy beyond their wildest imaginations.
Bathsheba
David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah
If you’ve ever read the account of Israel’s kings in 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, you know it contains enough political and sexual intrigue to fill novels. Israel suffered no end of repercussions from the royal family’s evil choices, including David’s double-crime of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah (2 Sam. 11).
Of all the wives in David’s household, God chose to include Bathshebain Jesus’ genealogy. Prior to David’s adultery, God made a divine covenant with him that not even his sin could annul (2 Sam. 7), because God remains true to his word even when we do not. However, that does not mean that God turns a blind eye in the face of injustice. By including Bathsheba in Jesus’ genealogy and naming her as “Uriah’s wife,” God showcased his tender mercy and vindicated both Bathsheba and Uriah for the injustice they suffered.
Leah
[Leah] conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD. Therefore she called his name Judah
Though Leah is not explicitly named in Matthew’s genealogy, her implicit inclusion evidences God’s compassion.
By no fault of her own, Leah spent most of her life trapped in a loveless marriage. Her father Laban tricked his nephew Jacob into marrying Leah, knowing full well that Jacob loved Leah’s beautiful younger sister, Rachel. Jacob, Rachel, and Leah all suffered from Laban’s deception, but Leah arguably suffered most of all. Where Rachel still got to marry the man who adored her, Laban condemned Leah to a life of marital dissension and sisterly rivalry.
Genesis 29:31 tells us that “when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb” and blessed her with four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. With each of her first three pregnancies, Leah hoped to win Jacob’s love by bearing him an heir, but to no avail. Finally, after her fourth pregnancy, Leah accepted that she could not earn her husband’s affection, so she chose instead to name her child Judah (meaning “praise”) and give all the glory to God.
Obviously, God loved Leah and Rachel equally. Still, it is heartwarming to see how God honored Leah, the “hated” woman, by choosing her son—not Rachel’s—as the forefather of his long-awaited Messiah.
God Loves the Outcasts
Traditional Jewish genealogies did not include women (see, for contrast, Jesus’ genealogy in Luke 3:23-38), so the fact that Matthew’s genealogy does defies cultural norms. Even more astounding is the fact that he did not choose the matriarchs—Sarah, Rebekah, etc.—but the outcasts: the widows, the foreigners, and the sexually abused. By highlighting the five women listed above, Matthew reminds us that God loves those whom others despise and that, through the power of Jesus’ sacrifice, all are welcomed into the family of God.
