Do you think you’re too flawed for Jesus? Do you allow your flaws to keep you from the joys of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Do you believe God accepts you as you are?
As I was studying the women of the Bible, I made a discovery: God not only accepts our flaws, but also uses our tainted lives to further His kingdom.
This week, let’s look at four women who literally became a part of Jesus’ family, despite shady shenanigans, an immoral life, pagan beliefs, and an adulterous relationship. Read on to learn a little about each of these women. At the end, find out what they all have in common.
Tamar has sexual relations with her father-in-law.
Oh my, that sounds dreadful. Now, before we judge her too harshly, let’s set up her circumstances by clarifying a cultural norm of her time. “Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, ‘Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother’” (Genesis 38:8 NLT). This law later became known as the levirate marriage. There is a legal way to avoid the levirate marriage, but this disgraces the brother and his family.
This is the world where Tamar lives when she marries Er, whose father is the patriarch of the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. God takes Er’s life because he is evil. Er’s father, Judah, follows the laws and customs of his people and Onam marries Tamar. However, Onam does not want his genetic son to be his brother’s heir and deliberately denies Tamar a child. For this sin, God takes his life too.
Judah promises Tamar his third son. But he is too young, and she must wait for him to reach marrying age. She waits and waits and waits. Understandably, Judah is afraid that if his third son marries Tamar, he might end up dead as well.
Now, for the perplexing part of the story: yes, I know it’s already confusing, but just wait.
Shelah, Judah’s youngest son, is of age to marry, but Judah has not approached Tamar about a wedding. She hears that her father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep, and decides to take matters into her own hands.
Now, she must know that Judah has not been living a moral life since her mother-in-law’s death. She shows up in Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah, but Judah does not recognize this woman with a veiled face who is dressed like a prostitute.
After a sexual encounter, Tamar tricks Judah into giving her his seal and staff as collateral for future payment. Later, Judah’s friend returns to Enaim to make payment and retrieve the collateral, but Tamar can’t be found. No one knows where she is; it’s as if she vanished. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Judah returns home.
Tamar is pregnant, and people are the same then as today. Gossips ensure that Judah finds out about her scandalous behavior. Did they know about Judah’s promiscuous lifestyle? I bet most did, but overlooked his transgressions.
Judah also proves to be a hypocrite. He is outraged and wants Tamar burned to death. When Tamar produces the seal and staff, Judah is forced to face his sin. There is some disagreement about whether he marries Tamar or provides a home and support for Tamar and twin boys. Either way, he acknowledges his wrongdoing and admits that Tamar is more righteous than he.
Tamar’s actions are difficult to understand because we don’t comprehend the culture. However, God surely condemned both individuals. Tamar didn’t show faith in God, but instead put her faith in her own schemes. Instead of sleeping with a man to whom she was not married, perhaps she should have prayed and trusted God. Surely Judah’s behavior was sinful all the way around.
To learn more, you can read about Tamar in Genesis 38 and 1 Chronicles 2:3-4.
Rahab runs the local brothel in Jericho.
The Promised Land is before the Israelites. First, they set their sights on Jericho. Two spies are dispatched to check out the land. The brothel owner, Rahab, knows she and her people are up against the one and only God. So she betrays her people by hiding the spies and helping them escape undetected. She even lies to her compatriots who are trying to find the spies. Shrewdly extracting a promise from the spies for her family’s safety shows she truly believed God would deliver the city to the Israelites.
It is a tense time in Jericho. Camped outside the walls, the Israelites are waiting on God’s instructions. The city is locked down tight. No one goes in, and no one goes out. Not sure what to expect, they hear the Israelites marching around the city. It is unnerving. When will this enemy make a move? Will the fortified walls protect them?
Their fears are not unfounded. God performs another miracle. The city is taken by a mere shout and the blowing of horns. The walls collapse, and the Israelites storm into the city. Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, ensures that the spies keep their promise, and Rahab and her family are rescued.
Rahab not only stays with the Israelites, but also adopts their God as her own, marries a Hebrew, and has a family. She becomes a Jew in every sense but heredity. You can read her story in Joshua 2, and 6: 20-25.
Ruth is a pagan who marries an Israelite.
Ruth lives in Moab, a country about 50 miles from Bethlehem. Descendants of Lot’s incestuous relationship with one of his daughters, the Moabites are a pagan people and enemies of Israel.
There is a famine in Israel, and Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons move to Moab to find food. It is in this land of pagans that their sons grow up and they both marry Moabite women. Life is hard for this family, and during the years in Moab, Elimelech dies, and then both of Naomi’s sons die. These three widows are left to fend for themselves in a patriarchal society; therefore, Naomi decides to return to her people. She hears they are enjoying good crops again.
Ruth insists on going with Naomi, even though her mother-in-law encourages her to stay in Moab. “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God’” (Ruth 1:16).
It takes courage for Ruth to make this trip. The Moabites were enemies of Israel. Will they accept her, a foreigner? However, she wins the heart of the Israelites because she cares for Naomi and is willing to work and adopt the customs of the people. Surely, God also looks out for this young woman who is now a believer in the God of Abraham.
There is more to the story, but suffice it to say there is a fairy-tale ending. She marries a kinsman of her husband named Boaz and has a family. Read the story in the Book of Ruth.
Bathsheba’s husband dies because of her adulterous relationship.
Instead of going to war with his men this spring, King David stays behind. During some idle time, he is looking out over his kingdom when he spots an unusually beautiful woman bathing on her roof. Intrigued, he sends someone to find out who she is, and they report that she is Uriah’s wife. Still, he allows his thoughts to linger on her beauty until he sends his servants to her house to bring this woman to him.
Is Bathsheba a willing participant, or afraid of retribution? We don’t know, but we do know that God expects us to live by his laws despite the consequences. This was a test of Bathsheba’s obedience to God, and she failed.
This clandestine encounter ends in a pregnancy, and David tries to bring her husband, Uriah, home from the war so Bathsheba’s husband and others would assume he was the father. David’s plan fails because Uriah is an honorable soldier. David rewards him by planning a scheme that ends in Uriah’s death.
Bathsheba marries David, but the child conceived in the adulterous relationship dies. However, they have other children, including Solomon, who eventually ascends to the throne.
To read Bathsheba’s story, turn to 2 Samuel Chapter 11 and Chapter 12: 1-25.
As you can see, these women could have dwelled on their past, but instead, they moved forward. Additionally, they all have one thing in common. What is it?
All these women are listed in the Jesus’ genealogy. They are ancestors of our Lord and Savior. (Matthew 1: 1-17)
A couple of interesting side notes: The genealogy lists Bathsheba as Uriah’s widow or wife. Do you suppose this was a way of saying that David’s marriage to Bathsheba was not legitimate? Also, notice that Rahab is Ruth’s second mother-in-law!
So, do you still think you are too flawed for Jesus?
Of course, we all must strive to become more like Jesus every day. These women grew in their faith. Judah declares Tamar more righteous. Rahab married an Israelite and had a family—different from her days in the brothel. When Ruth met Naomi’s son, she was a pagan. She learned about the true God and obediently stayed with Naomi to live with her “new” family of believers. During her years at court, Bathsheba’s behavior garnered respect. Even Nathan, the prophet, turned to her for help to prevent a coup when David was dying.
God wants us to live holy lives and to bear fruit for the kingdom, but He is also a God of second chances. You too can be part of Jesus’ family, flaws and all.
If you have any thoughts please comment below. In order to protect us from inappropriate comments, replies do not show up immediately. They are sent to me first. I try to keep tabs on them and post them quickly.
Also, don’t forget the devotions. Our word of the week is integrity and the children walk through the Book of Judges. Their meditations focus on Gideon.
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Blessings to all. See you next week.
