Matthew 1:1-6
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 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 Nashon, and Nashon, 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. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah...”
+ Introduction: Four Women in Christ's Lineage
Our Advent meditations take us on a journey of faith through the stories of four women whose names we do not expect to find in the lineage of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1.
At Christmas we easily see the beauty and significance of Mary’s faith in her obedient submission to the announcement that she would bear the child who would take away the sins of the world. She too is named in Matthew, but contrary to the other women, Mary lived to see the results of her faith. She lived the pain of the crucifixion and the joy of the resurrection. Probably no woman has ever had such an eternal awareness of the meaning of her life.
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah, could not be more distinct from Mary. While we cannot identify easily with Mary and the miracle that happened in her, we are not sure that we want to identify with the others. Two were prostitutes, one of whom seduced her father-in-law. All were Gentiles, one of whom came from a tribe despised by the Israelites. One was forced by the King of Israel, who then murdered her husband. Obviously their names are listed because they had birthed sons in the line of Judah, through whom Messiah was to come. But, since all sons in his lineage were born of women, why are only these four women named?
They are named because of their faith lived out, like ours, in the common circumstances of life. We learn through their stories how God’s sovereign hand was drawing them into a life of faith before they knew Him. We see how He redeemed, and used, even their less than honorable efforts, to do what was right. What they knew of the prophecies that a Messiah was to be born of the tribe of Judah, we have no indication. We can be sure that not one did what she did so that her name would be included in the genealogy of Jesus. Not one qualified by any human standard to play a significant role in God’s story – that is in History.
How then, are they women of faith? Faith cannot be measured by human standards. It is simply said of Rehab – the only one of the four whose name appears in Hebrews 11:31 – that she “did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” That’s it? Nothing more? Yes, because that is what faith looks like. Faith in God is not a matter of great and grand works. It is welcoming the daily circumstances of our life and obeying what He tells us to do with them, just because He tells us. When we mess up, faith means believing that He will take our feeble steps, redeem them and turn them to His glory and our good. The dailiness of our faith pleases God. By faith we are assured that our names are also written in His-story, the end results yet to come.
Hebrews 11 says that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” As was true then, so it is true now, that this kind of faith invites mocking and scorn. These women of the ancient world are here to remind us that a life of faith in God is a life lived with, yet unseen, eternal blessed consequences.
-Esther Powell
Bathsheba reminds David of his promise to appoint their son Solomon as king of Israel after him, Marc Chagall, 1956. Banner photo: David's Promise to Bathsheba, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1642-43.
WEEK FOUR: WIFE OF URIAH
by Esther Powell
II Samuel 11, 12; I Kings 1:1,11-38; I Chronicles 22:6-10
Of all the four women, it is the “wife of Uriah” of whom we know the least. We read about what happened to her, more than about her own thoughts or actions. We only hear her voice after she was prompted by Nathan, the prophet, to go in and urge David to fulfill his promise that Solomon, her fourth living son by David, would be king after him. We learn nothing about how she felt about her relationship with David – perhaps guilt, anger, helplessness – over what many feel was more like a rape then a consensual act? We know that David pleaded with God to save his first child by Bathsheba, but only that she was comforted in the birth of Solomon, who, we learn from the Chronicler, was the last of four sons she bore to David. (I Chronicles 3:5) Solomon’s first name was Jedidiah, meaning “beloved of the Lord”, indicating God’s plan to make him king after David. And because of this, she is named in the lineage of Jesus.
But she is not named, and therein lies a mystery. Why isn’t her name Bathsheba? We can only speculate, but it is worth noting that when David, in Scripture, speaks of their relationship, he calls her Bathsheba. But, when the writer speaks about her in the third person, he calls her the “wife of Uriah.” In Samuel 11:3, the text says, “Is not this the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” And, verse 26, “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband.” To David, Nathan says, 12:9, “You have struck down Uriah the Hittite…and have taken his wife…” Again in 12:15, “And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David…” So perhaps it isn’t unusual at all for Matthew to call her the “wife of Uriah.”
Words matter, and the words which become her name, “the wife of Uriah,” reveal something about this woman that is not easily seen at first glance. She did not choose the circumstances that brought her into the lineage of Jesus. She does not act upon any known law of Israel like Tamar. Whatever belief she had in the God of Israel did not come as a result of a possible invasion of her homeland, like Rahab. We read nothing of the kind of faith that we see in Ruth. She seems to have been a victim of her circumstances. She was deeply wounded by a powerful king. She became a widow because her valiant and honorable husband was betrayed by the man who had forced himself on her. Surely her servants told her of Uriah’s presence in the city those few nights. Because he was honorable, she would have understood why he did not come to her bed that night, but did she hope-or fear- that he might? Her first child of the illicit union with the king, died as punishment of the king. Could it be that, while David called her Bathsheba, she never stopped seeing herself as “the wife of Uriah”? Is that how God also continued to see her? I like to think that she never stopped believing that what had been done to her was wrong, that she clung to what she knew to be right and true. God in His mercy and grace brings her fully into His plan of redemption through her very small, but important step of faith. She went before King David-calling him “my lord”—to remind him of an oath he had made to her concerning their son Solomon. This was in keeping with God’s plan, and her faith was rewarded. What joy it must have given “the wife of Uriah” to see her youngest son crowned King of Israel.
“The wife of Uriah” is a gracious picture to all who feel they have been overcome by their circumstances and deeply wronged. Perhaps this Advent you will take one small step to believe that Christ came for you, that He knows your name, and who you really are. “For God so loved … you,” He gave everything so you can be redeemed out of these circumstances and be named in His great story. He does not force you to believe, but woos you with His love.
Read the whole series: