The Family Tree of Jesus
Tamar and Rahab Matthew 1:1-17
INTRODUCTION:
The Christmas season is upon us. For most of us that means Christmas cards, Christmas shopping, Christmas cooking, and, of course, Christmas trees. You might be surprised to discover that there was a Christmas tree described in the first chapter of Matthew. But this tree wasn’t a fir tree or pine tree or any other kind of evergreen.
The Gospel of Mathew starts by listing the family tree of Jesus …so I guess that could be called the first Christmas tree. Most of us take one look at this long list of 42 generations between Abraham and Jesus and we think only one thing: “Boring!”
But to the Jews this list was anything but boring. To the Jews, a person’s genealogy was central to their identity and importance. In the Family Tree of Jesus, Abraham tops the list. As the father of the people of Israel, that makes sense. And we’re not surprised to find names like Isaac and Jacob, or like David and Solomon. But we might be surprised to notice the names of 4 fairly obscure women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. (Recently, I’ve been preaching about obscure Biblical characters. In keeping with the season, I found some obscure Biblical characters that are connected with the Christmas story.)
Now we need to understand that Jewish genealogies generally named only the fathers. Why would Matthew break tradition and mention these 4 women by name? Is it because they were exceptionally noble and virtuous? Were they respected and powerful women in their time? Were they noteworthy examples of godly Jewish women?
When we look at these four women, we discover just the opposite. None of them were well respected by the Jews. In fact, only one of them was even an Israelite. The others were Gentiles from idol-worshiping countries. And three of the four were what we would consider “fallen women.” All four of them had definitely fallen on hard times. And every one of them desperately needed a Savior.
This week and next, we’ll examine the lives of these 4 women who were the great-great- (etc) grandmothers of Jesus. We will find that we have more in common with them than we might at first think. These women represent the human condition. They represent the reasons all of us need a Savior.
1. Tamar: Forsaken (Genesis 38)
Like many people today, Tamar was forsaken by the very ones who should have loved her. Her own family misused her and lied to her. She felt trapped in a barren life with no hope for her future.
The story of Tamar is recorded in Gen. 38. It is also the story of Judah, the fourth-born of Jacob’s 12 sons. (In fact, Judah is the brother who came up with the cruel idea of selling his little brother Joseph to Egyptian traders.) Evidently Judah didn’t improve with age. He disobeyed the commands of God by marrying an idol-worshiping Canaanite woman. As time went by, they had 3 sons.
And true-to-form, Judah married his oldest son off to another Canaanite woman. Her name wasTamar, which means “Date Palm.” Since the date palm is a prolific producer of fruit … she probably hoped to produce lots of offspring.
Now, sit back and get comfortable, because this is a long, complicated story. You see, Tamar’s husband died before she had any children. In fact, Genesis 38:7 puts it this way: Judah’s firstborn was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life. We don’t know specifically what that means. It is possible that God literally struck him down. It is also possible that he died due to the natural consequences of a wicked life. We all know that a life of immorality, drunkenness, carousing, and fighting will often lead to an early death.
After the first son’s death, Judah followed the Levitic tradition by giving Tamar in marriage to the second son. The purpose of this tradition was that Tamar would be able to have a son who could be the legal heir of her deceased husband. But things didn’t work out that way. The scripture says the second son was also so evil that God took his life.
If we’re going to understand what a tragedy this was to Tamar, we need to understand the culture in which she lived. Several years ago, a friend of mine in India wrote to tell me that his newly married daughter’s husband had died suddenly. The father was completely devastated about this tragedy. In talking to him, I discovered that in the Indian culture it was as if his daughter’s life had ended. She would never be free to marry again, so she would never be able to have children. In other words, she would never have independent status in their society. It’s hard for us to comprehend that kind of harsh reality, but the fact was that all her hopes for the future died with her husband.
That’s the kind of situation Tamar found herself in. Her only hope was if Judah would allow her to marry his third son.
But by now Judah may have decided that Tamar was bad luck. He sent her back to live in her father’s house, telling her that she could marry the third son when he was older. Eventually --- since news gets around --- Tamar found out that the third son planning to marry someone else.
Now comes an interesting plot-twist. After some time, Judah’s wife died. This gave Tamar one last hope. Since Tamar was the childless widow of two of his sons, she was a proper candidate for Judah to marry. But it was obvious that Judah had no intention of doing right by her.
At this point the story gets really sordid. In fact, this story has just about everything in it you DON’T want to talk about. Maybe that’s why I’ve never heard anyone preach a sermon about Tamar. But God saw fit to have this story recorded in all its ugly detail. And Matthew purposefully drew attention to Tamar’s story by naming her in the genealogy of Jesus. So I can’t help but think God has a lesson for us to learn from the sad, twisted, and sordid story of Tamar.
The plot Tamar hatched up was not what you could call proper, but it was clever. And she evidently knew enough about Judah’s nature to know it would work. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and veiled her face so that Judah would not recognize her. Then she went to where Judah and his men were shearing sheep. Just as she expected, Judah propositioned her. Since he had no way to pay her immediately, Judah gave her his staff, his signet ring, and the cord attached to the ring.
That was like giving her his wallet and his personal ID papers as a promise that he would pay her. However, when he tried to find her later and give her the payment, she was nowhere to be found.
Well, three months later, word got back to Judah that Tamar was with child. He acted outraged --- but inwardly he was glad to finally have a way to get rid of this “black-widow” daughter-in-law for good. As the patriarch of his family, he had the authority to pronounce Tamar’s fate. He chose to have her burned at the stake for her immoral act.
It’s always easy to point the finger of judgment at someone else, isn’t it? --- especially if their sins are visible for everyone to see. It’s also easy to be blind to our own hidden sins. Judah was blind to his own sins, but he was about to have his eyes opened. Tamar came obediently to the place of execution. But before they tied her to the stake, she called Judah over. She calmly pulled the signet ring, cords, and staff from under her robe, and said, I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.
This is where we see the first evidence that Judah might have a conscience. He immediately declared: “She is more righteous than I, since I would not give her to my son.” Judah finally saw how wrong he had been in his treatment of Tamar. He admitted his guilt, took her back, and treated her with a new sense of respect. Later, Tamar gave birth to twin boys. One of those boys, Perez, was a great-great (etc.) grandfather to King David and thus to Jesus Christ.
Like Tamar, many of us have been bypassed and forgotten by those who should love us the most. We feel forsaken because the very people who should have cared for us have abused and abandoned us. But God offers hope … even to a life that is as harsh and twisted and sordid as Tamar’s story. God brought good from this forsaken and sinful woman’s life. Through her, one day, a Savior would be born.
We can’t help but wonder what other skeletons might be rattling around in the Messiah’s family tree? The next woman listed is just as startling as Tamar. But whereas Tamar represents those who have been forsaken, Rahab is an example of those who are fearful of the future.
2. Rahab: Fearful (Joshua 2, 6)
Like Tamar, Rahab was a Canaanite woman. She lived in the walled Canaanite city of Jericho. Rahab’s name is mentioned 8 times in Scripture, and 6 of those times, her name is found with the title of “harlot” or “prostitute.” Many commentators believe Rahab was a temple prostitute for the idol-worshiping Canaanites. If this was the case, Rahab was probably a fairly wealthy woman. She probably had everything she needed as far as material possessions. But Rahab knew something was missing. And she knew she had good reason to fear for her future.
You see, somehow, Rahab had heard about the God of the Jews. When two Israelite spies infiltrated the city on a reconnaissance mission, she met them and hid them from the guards of the city. She basically told the spies, What took you so long? Everyone in Jericho is scared to death of you ever since we heard about how your God dried up the Red Sea.
Listen to these amazing words of faith from a woman surrounded by a pagan culture. For the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. Therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my family… and deliver our lives from death. Joshua 2:11-13
Rahab didn’t know much about the true God, but what she knew was enough to give her saving faith. The spies promised to protect her in the day of battle. After they conquered Jericho, they kept their promise and allowed Rahab and her family to live just outside their camp from then on.
But the story doesn’t stop there. A Jew named Salmon, who was a descendant of Judah and Tamar’s son Perez, fell in love with Rahab, and invited her to become his wife.
You see, Rahab had become a convert to Judaism. She knew it was high time to change sides because she knew that the God of Israel was the true God. In order to marry Salmon, she had to shave her head and cut her fingernails and exchange her rich garments and jewelry for simple Jewish clothes. Rahab was willing to cast her lot with the people of God, and because of that she is remembered in the pages of the Bible.
Like Rahab, many among us are fearful of the future … and with good reason. Ever since 911 we have had it pounded into us that our world is not a safe place. Terror and destruction can strike any of us at any moment.
We need to remember that God came into an uncertain world with a comforting message. “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of Great Joy, for unto you is born in the city of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10
Conclusion:
The stories from the family tree of Jesus are not full of sweetness and light. But the fact is that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, He did not enter a pretty, clean world all lit up with Christmas lights. He came into a sordid, ugly world … a world infested with immorality and sins of every kind.
And Jesus did not come to save a bunch of little sweetie-pies. Jesus came to save sinful, hopeless, sometimes disgusting people. He came to save people who were forsaken and full of fear … people like Tamar and Rahab … people like you and me.
