Merit Doesn’t Save You and Mistakes Don’t Condemn You: Christmas News Worth Reading

This genealogy we’ve been following proves that the salvation brought by Jesus as the Messiah is not a Merit System…

Checkered Past

The fourth woman named in Matthew’s genealogy isn’t really ever named outright, but we know who she is. He says, “David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” (Matt 1:6) Out of all the royal wives in Israel’s history, Bathsheba was always connected to Israel’s greatest king, and to the king’s greatest sin—and yet it was she who was chosen to carry the line of the Messiah. Based on her reputation, she doesn’t seem to merit inclusion into Christ’s genealogy. (After all, she motivated David to commit adultery and murder, didn’t she?)

Perhaps her name was so tarnished that Matthew couldn’t bring himself to say it. Perhaps, unlike a Ruth or a Rahab, she was unworthy somehow. (This is another one of those accurate details that a more polished narrative would have glossed over somehow. Unlike in today’s politics, the Bible keeps telling the truth when a lie would work so much better…) David had other sons by other wives, and yet Bathsheba’s son Solomon bore the royal lineage. Why did God choose her and him?

merit

More Than a Mere Victim

Two things: first, Bathsheba was more than just a pretty face. She was apparently a pretty shrewd player in palace politics. When Adonijah (not her son) proclaimed himself to be king, she risked her own life to present her case to the aged and infirm King David: “Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king. “What is it you want?” the king asked. She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it.” (1 Kings 1:16-18 NIV)

Bathsheba brought in the powerful prophet Nathan as an ally, and David confirmed his oath to make Solomon King. Without her brazen resolve, who knows if Solomon would have gained the throne? Or lived another day? In the midst of dangerous and volatile circumstances, she asked the king to keep his promises. Perhaps that is something all of us should do… Next time you are in difficult circumstance, prostrate yourself before the King and ask for His promises! If you ask the right kind of king, I bet you get the right kind of response…

Is Salvation Based on Merit?

Second, I am kinda glad that someone who was connected to such terrible and far-reaching mistakes (David and Bathsheba aren’t the only ones in the genealogy who qualify, by the way) still made this list. It’s not a merit system. The Messiah does not judge you by your mistakes or even your merit. Smack in the middle of a legalistic and self-righteous world of religious intolerance, God brought a Messiah who saved people from sin, rather than merely condemning them for it.

If you have been less than perfect, if you have committed egregious errors, and even if your mistakes have had gut-wrenching and far-reaching consequences, take heart. Jesus understands that stuff because it’s all over the place in his family tree. And he said this: “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13 NIV) Good Christmas news for Bathsheba and David. Good news for Solomon. And very good news for us.

The Good News: God Can Use Sinners

A man of passion, power and might,
The jaded king would find the sight
Of a naked beauty he did not know
An utterly enticing show…
So David called Bathsheba in;
Temptation led to secret sin:
Clandestine meetings, broken trust
And finally, to murderous lust!
And yet these sins, and this disgrace
Did not prevent unfailing Grace,
Or let this evil undermine
The course of the Messiah’s line…
If you look through it, you can see
In Matthew’s genealogy
Imperfect folks like you and me.
From sinners, God made history!
From folks who knew of sin and shame,
The heavenly Messiah came!
Perfection, this Bathsheba missed:
But by God’s Grace, she made this list.
Though Matthew doesn’t say her name,
The world through her would never be the same.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
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Loyalty so Stubborn That It Led to a Surprising Redemption

Even though Matthew’s genealogy featured women, starting with Rahab the harlot, not all of the women mentioned in the Messiah’s line were prostitutes. Matthew’s genealogy refers next to a grieving widow, two destitute women, and the touching story of how a young woman’s stubborn loyalty led to surprising redemption.

The third woman mentioned in Matthew 1:5 is Ruth, a young woman from Moab who married a man from Bethlehem. Moabites descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot, so they were somewhat akin to Israel, even though they worshipped other gods and fought wars with Saul, David and Solomon. Despite their cultural differences, young Moabite women like Ruth were acceptable as brides to young Hebrew men.

Tragic Circumstances

The four Chapter book of the Bible bearing her name was set in the period of the Judges, sometime around 1200-1100 BC. When both her father-in-law and her husband died, Ruth faced the harsh reality of living in a somewhat primitive masculine culture without any male protection. Her sister-in-law Orpah’s husband also died, so the whole family was facing the same bleak prospects of life without male protection.

While the untimely deaths of two brothers and a father-in-law left Ruth and her sister-in-law in dire straits, it impacted their mother-in-law Naomi even more. She was now the head of a household without male protection or income. She (sensibly) told Ruth and Orpah to leave her and return back to their own people and their gods. Naomi reasoned that her own prospects for remarriage late in life were nonexistent (which certainly guaranteed her household a life of poverty), and so she told Ruth and Orpah that they should go back to their own people, find a husband, and make a new life. It was the practical thing to do.

Lamentation and Love

Orpah agreed with Naomi’s sad but practical advice and went home. But Ruth made a decision that changed everything. She decided to stay with Naomi.
Ruth’s statement to her mother-in-law after making this decision is one of the most oft-quoted Old Testament statements about love and loyalty:

“And Ruth said,
Entreat me not to leave thee,
or to return from following after thee:
for whither thou goest I will go,
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge;
thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
if aught but death part thee and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17, NKJV)


Rather than returning to her own people, Ruth expressed such love for Naomi that she was willing to stay by her side even though they faced hardship and a very questionable future.

loyalty

A Turn of Events

Ruth’s story takes an amazing turn when she is gathering leftover ears of grain with other paupers. Generous farmers allowed poor people to follow the reapers and harvest the scraps they missed. Her industry (and probably her beauty) caused her to be noticed by Boaz, the owner of the field.

Boaz was a kinsman of Naomi’s deceased husband, and custom allowed destitute relatives to gather leftover scraps of the harvest in order to survive. Naomi seems to know something of Boaz, and she may have had more than a little bit of a scheme going on by getting Ruth into Boaz’ field. By the same token, Boaz is aware of Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, and very favorably impressed not only by this familial loyalty but by Ruth herself.

Redemption: from Lost to Loved

This love story has a beautiful ending. Ruth and Naomi are rescued from poverty when Boaz, acting in his role as a kinsman redeemer, pays the costs to secure the right to marry Ruth and start a family. The law allowed the nearest kinsman to rescue a relative from poverty. As Boaz observed Ruth, he was very favorably impressed with her work ethic as well as her beauty. He fell in love with her. Naomi actually exercised some feminine wiles to help facilitate the romance, but in the end it did work out for Ruth and Boaz. They were married and their son Obed was King David’s grandfather.

Let’s make a couple of observations: Naomi’s somewhat transparent scheming was not subverted or rejected by God. She thought about things, made decisions and took action, and yet still somehow found herself guided by the Lord’s hand. I would say that discovering God’s will does not always require us to sit passively by while we wait for Him to act. In fact, I think He even honors those who pursue His favor with passion in an imperfect way.

Kinsman Redeemer

Second, the role of kinsman redeemer was apparently common knowledge to Naomi, Boaz, and the other people in their village. The women even sing about Naomi’s good fortune in having a kinsman in 4:14. We are going to take a deeper look at Boaz and his response as Ruth’s (and Naomi’s) redeemer tomorrow, but suffice it to say that this love story built on humility, loyalty, perseverance (and perhaps Naomi’s feminine wiles) is not put in Christ’s lineage by accident.

This series of events points to David—who obviously got some of his passion and love from his great-grandmother—and to Jesus the Messiah, who would both preach about and be characterized by these qualities. The inclusion of a Moabite woman points to the coming Messiah’s inclusion of people outside of Israel (which, as we noted, started with Rahab from Jericho). The story of her being rescued by a kinsman redeemer is a flashing neon sign announcing that the Messiah’s work will redeem the disadvantaged, the dispossessed, the downcast… If you’ve ever been in one of those categories, or are now, take heart: the Redeemer has come, and he wants to rescue you.

Naomi’s Redemption

Naomi’s life was stripped of joys:
Her husband died, and then her boys;
She faced a future full of grief without much prospect of relief…
She told her daughters-in-law to leave
And build their lives; Yes, she would grieve,
But they should go and carry on while she remained behind, alone.

And one of them took the open door;
It just made sense. They’d be so poor,
And living would be a daily grind: but one of them remained behind.
Naomi had told the girls the truth, so now she really questioned Ruth:
She said she shouldn’t waste her youth
By living on a widow’s mite. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t right.
But Ruth could only shake her head. She hugged Naomi. Then she said:
“Please do not entreat me to forsake or ever leave Thee.
I’ll stay with you forever, though the valley be so low;
Though this life may break you, this my love will not forsake you.
I will love Thy God, and there is one thing you should know…
So listen to what I have to say: Whither thou stayest, I will stay,
And from this moment, come what may, whither thou goest, I will go.”

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
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Rahab was a Prostitute Who somehow Landed On Matthew’s List. What was He THINKING?

Rahab the Harlot was a Prostitute Who Changed History. Why on earth would Matthew have included HER in the Messiah’s genealogy? What’s HER story?

The Prostitute Who Betrayed Her People

“Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. (Joshua 2:1 NIV) [Rahab said] “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.” (Joshua 2:12-13 NIV)

Rahab

Rahab of Jericho is another very unusual entry in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Not only is she a non-Hebrew woman, she is also a prostitute. By most cultural standards, she didn’t exactly possess the desired pedigree a king would normally want to claim… And if you think about it, she wasn’t just a prostitute, she was a traitor who sold out her own city. She harbored spies! She negotiated her freedom with an invading army!

As Low As it Gets?

How on earth is she worthy of being mentioned in the Messiah’s lineage? Why would Matthew include HER? (Surely if he wanted this genealogy to be palatable to Jewish readers, he could have left her out, or even made up someone who better fit into the Hebrew paradigm. This is one of those details that speaks to the authenticity of the Bible. Matthew could have left it out or written around it, but he brazenly tells us that one of Jesus’ forebears was a lowly female who was an even lowlier prostitute who betrayed her city.)

Risking Everything to Get Everything

Why did Rahab make this list? Well first of all, she believed God. She had heard what was going on with the Israelites and believed it was true. This option was open to everyone in the city, by the way, but only Rahab took it. And second, she asked for redemption not only for her life, but for the lives of her entire family. What do you think would have happened to her if the king of Jericho had discovered her deception? She put herself at risk to save them all. She traded her past, she traded her citizenship, and she traded her future to the God of the Israelites.

The Survivor

And what is the rest of Rahab’s story? She was the mother of Boaz, and the great-great grandmother of King David, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history. Pretty impressive for a lowly prostitute… How on earth did that happen? What was her secret of success, and what does it have to do with us?? If you look in Hebrews 11, among the great heroes of the faith, where the list includes Abraham, Joseph, Moses, you find this: “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews 11:31 NIV)

Saving Faith

Apparently EVERYBODY in Jericho had heard what God was doing, but no one else became obedient to Him because of it. Scripture infers that Jericho’s citizens (Jerichonians?) were killed because they were disobedient. They had the same information that Rahab had. In Joshua 2:9-11, she tells the spies as much when she says, “All who live in this country are melting in fear because of you”. But only Rahab had faith in God, and acted upon it at great risk to herself. As a result, we got Boaz, Obed, and Jesse. We got King David (yeah, of “David and Goliath”). And oh yeah, we got the PSALMS. And the Messiah.

Somehow, when you connect the dots, Matthew gave a lowly prostitute a place of honor in the genealogy of the Messiah! Ask yourself: if God could do that much through a prostitute in Jericho, what on earth could he do through YOU? Have some faith, and obey. Maybe someday they’ll write a book about you!

Rahab

Jericho was a fortress strong, with walls as tall as they were long!
So Joshua sent two men to seek and find if the defense was weak.
A Prostitute then took them in, a woman shamed and hurt by sin,
Who knew about this God they served. The city was a bit unnerved,
So Rahab risked her life to hide the spies she harbored there inside.
“Before you men complete your task, I have one thing that I must ask:
When Yahweh gives you victory, I ask that you remember me.”

So Rahab’s family was spared, since she believed and since she dared!
A lowly harlot came to be in Matthew’s genealogy,
A prostitute who cheated death because she had obedient faith.
Her faithfulness would somehow bring to Israel her greatest king,
And Rahab’s risk-despite her qualms- resulted in the book of Psalms.
It’s just the same with you and me. The Lord can alter history,
Perhaps just based on what you do. In Rahab’s life we know it’s true:
What book will someday come from YOU?

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread