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December 7

Title: A Moabite and a Prostitute? 

Text: Matthew 1:2-6

Genealogies are boring. I will be honest enough to say it. So and so came from so and so. Okay. I get it. But the genealogy of Matthew 1 is actually pretty important and pretty interesting. The “pretty important” part is tracing Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham and David. The “pretty interesting” part is that a Moabite and a Prostitute found their way into this genealogy. 

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. (Matthew 1:2-6)

Rahab was a prostitute. She lived in Jericho. As the story goes, she hid the two Israelite spies—ultimately helping them escape. And though this act was noble, the bottom line is that was her occupation, at least up to that point in her life. Seedy characters in the genealogy of Jesus? Wouldn’t Matthew want to remove that blemish? Or does it possibly speak to something greater? Back to that in a moment. 

Ruth was a Moabite, a member of an accursed race, enemies of the nation of Israel. The Moabites were literally birthed from an illicit relationship between Lot and his daughters. The priests of Moab were powerful and cruel, and they served an assortment of gods. But the most feared god of all was Chemosh, or Moloch. Chemosh's lap was so constructed that little children placed on its red-hot surface would roll down an inclined plane into his fiery belly. Ruth rejected this god and embraced YHWH, the god of Naomi, her mother-in-law. 

These two women certainly raised some eyebrows with Matthew’s predominantly Jewish audience. And yet, what a magnificant portrait of the grace of God. The wideness of God’s love is incredible. He sent His Son to the pagans, the prostitutes, to a world cursed and blinded with sin. His salvation reached out to these two unlikely recipients of God’s mercy. But God did not just grant salvation, God chose these women to have a significant role in raising up boys—leading ultimately to Jesus, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

Do you think your story is finished? It isn’t. Furthermore, you are an important piece of the divine metanarrative. Your story is perfectly embedded in God’s story. Remember that. Embrace that. All God calls you to in obedience. He will do the rest. 18 days until Christmas.