Sept 19 | The Unsung Heroes of the Genealogies: How God Uses Broken Family Trees for His Glory
When we discover the hidden stories in biblical genealogies, we find prostitutes, murderers, and outsiders in Jesus's own family tree - and that changes everything about how we see our own messy families.
Why Everyone Skips the "Begats"
Be honest for a moment. When you're reading through the Bible and hit one of those genealogies - you know, where it says "Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob" - what do you do? If you're like 99% of Bible readers, your eyes glaze over and you skip ahead to the "good stuff."
I get it. Reading ancient family trees feels about as exciting as reading tax legislation. But here's what might shock you: the unsung heroes of the genealogies contain some of the most scandalous, hope-filled stories in all of Scripture. These aren't just dusty names from history. They're real people with messy, complicated, sometimes shocking stories that would make modern reality TV look tame.
And Matthew, when he opens his Gospel with Jesus's genealogy, he's not just filling space. He's making a radical theological statement that would have scandalized religious leaders and given hope to outcasts. Let me show you what I mean.
The Genealogy That Broke All the Rules
Matthew's Subversive Opening
Picture this: You're a first-century Jewish reader, and you pick up Matthew's new book about the Messiah. You expect it to establish Jesus's credentials, His pure bloodline, His connection to King David and Abraham. And Matthew does that - but not the way anyone expected.
In a culture where genealogies NEVER included women (they traced lineage through fathers only), Matthew drops in five women. Not just any women - women whose stories would have raised eyebrows in any synagogue. The unsung heroes of the genealogies that Matthew highlights aren't the matriarchs you'd expect like Sarah or Rebecca. No, these are the women from the wrong side of the tracks.
Understanding Ancient Genealogies
To grasp how radical this was, you need to understand that genealogies in the ancient world were like social resumes. They established your credibility, your rights, your place in society. A pure genealogy meant power and respect. Any hint of scandal or foreign blood was carefully hidden or explained away.
But Matthew does the opposite. He shines a spotlight on the scandals, the outsiders, the complicated stories that most families would bury. Why? Because he's showing us something profound about how God works.
The Scandalous Women in Jesus's Family Tree
Tamar: The Desperate Widow Who Tricked Her Father-in-Law
Let's start with Tamar in verse 3. Her story (found in Genesis 38) is so scandalous that most Sunday School teachers skip it entirely. Tamar was married to Judah's son, who died. According to custom, she was then married to his brother, who also died. Judah promised her his third son but never followed through, leaving her in limbo - unable to remarry, without children, without protection or provision.
So Tamar took matters into her own hands. She dressed as a prostitute, covered her face, and sat by the road where she knew her father-in-law Judah would pass. He solicited her services (not knowing who she was), and she became pregnant with twins. When Judah found out and wanted to have her burned for prostitution, she revealed that he was the father.
It's messy. It's complicated. It involves deception and prostitution. Yet Judah himself declared, "She is more righteous than I" (Genesis 38:26). And Matthew includes her as one of the unsung heroes of the genealogies in Jesus's lineage.
Rahab: The Prostitute Who Became a Hero
Next comes Rahab in verse 5. No pretending here - she was an actual prostitute in Jericho. When Israelite spies came to scope out the city, she hid them and helped them escape. Why? Because somehow, this pagan prostitute had come to believe in the God of Israel. She told the spies, "I know that the LORD has given you this land" (Joshua 2:9).
Think about that. A prostitute from an enemy city showed more faith than many Israelites who had seen God's miracles firsthand. Her faith saved not only her life but her entire family. She married Salmon and became the great-great-grandmother of King David. A foreign prostitute in the Messiah's bloodline - not exactly what the religious establishment expected.
Ruth: The Foreign Widow from a Cursed Nation
Ruth the Moabite appears next. The Moabites had a disturbing origin story - they descended from Lot's incestuous relationship with his daughter. Deuteronomy 23:3 explicitly states that no Moabite could enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation.
Yet Ruth, through her fierce loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi and her faith in Israel's God, not only entered the assembly but became David's great-grandmother. Her story is one of the unsung heroes of the genealogies that shows how faith transcends ethnic boundaries and legal restrictions.
Bathsheba: The Victim Who Survived
Most shocking of all is how Matthew refers to Bathsheba in verse 6: "David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife." He doesn't even use her name. He identifies her by her murdered husband, forcing readers to remember the sordid story - David's abuse of power, adultery, arranged murder, and cover-up.
Why include this reminder of David's greatest sin? Because Matthew wants us to know that even the worst chapters of our stories can be redeemed. Bathsheba survived trauma and went on to raise Solomon, who built the temple and wrote profound wisdom literature.
The Theological Bombshell Matthew Drops
God Works Through Mess, Not Around It
Here's what Matthew is doing with these unsung heroes of the genealogies: He's demolishing the idea that God needs perfect people with perfect pedigrees to accomplish His purposes. The religious leaders of Jesus's day taught that the Messiah would come from an untainted bloodline. Matthew's response? "Let me show you the actual family tree."
Every generation has its scandal. Every family has its secrets. And God doesn't work around the mess - He works through it. This isn't despite His holiness; it's because of His grace.
The Pattern of Faith in Desperate Circumstances
Notice something crucial about all four women: They each demonstrated extraordinary faith in desperate circumstances. Tamar believed in justice when the system failed her. Rahab believed in a God she'd only heard about. Ruth chose loyalty when walking away would have been easier. Bathsheba survived trauma and raised a king.
The unsung heroes of the genealogies weren't perfect people - they were people who trusted God with their imperfect situations.
What This Means for Your Family Tree
Confronting Our Own Genealogical Shame
Let's get personal. What's in your family tree that you'd rather nobody knew about? The addiction that destroyed multiple generations? The bitter divorce that split the family? The mental illness nobody knew how to handle? The teenage pregnancy, the prison sentence, the business failure, the abuse?
We spend enormous energy curating our image, hiding our messy histories, pretending we come from better stock than we do. Meanwhile, God says, "Have you read My Son's genealogy?"
God's Specialty: Redemption Stories
If you're carrying shame about your family history, the unsung heroes of the genealogies have a message for you: Your messy family tree might be exactly where God wants to work. He specializes in taking the broken pieces and creating something beautiful.
That generational curse you're trying to break? God can transform it into generational blessing. That family reputation you're trying to overcome? God can redeem it for His glory. That outsider status you feel? God has always worked through outsiders.
Practical Applications: Living as Modern Unsung Heroes
Stop Hiding Your Story
The first step is to stop hiding. Not that you need to broadcast your family's dirty laundry, but stop living in shame about where you came from. If God can use Tamar's deception, Rahab's prostitution, Ruth's foreign status, and Bathsheba's trauma for His purposes, He can use your story too.
See Your Struggles as Qualifications, Not Disqualifications
The unsung heroes of the genealogies teach us that our struggles don't disqualify us from God's purposes - they often qualify us. Your experience with addiction might make you the perfect person to help others find freedom. Your broken family might give you compassion for others walking through divorce. Your status as an outsider might help you welcome others who don't fit in.
Pass On Faith, Not Perfection
If you have children or influence the next generation, remember that you don't need to be perfect to pass on faith. The genealogy of Jesus is full of imperfect people who somehow passed on enough faith for the next generation to continue the story. Your job isn't to be flawless; it's to be faithful with what you have.
You're Not Too Messy for God's Plan
The next time you come across a biblical genealogy, don't skip it. Look for the stories hidden in those names. Look for the outcasts, the failures, the foreigners, the survivors. Look for yourself.
Because here's the profound truth the unsung heroes of the genealogies proclaim: If God could use a bloodline that included pretend prostitutes, real prostitutes, enemy foreigners, victims of abuse, and murderers to bring forth the Savior of the world, then nobody is too messed up for His grace. Nobody's family baggage is too heavy. Nobody's genealogy is too complicated.
Your family tree - with all its broken branches, twisted roots, and damaged fruit - is not a barrier to God's purposes. It might just be the perfect canvas for His grace to paint a masterpiece.
The question isn't whether your family history qualifies you for God's purposes. The question is: Will you let Him write the next chapter?
An Invitation to go Deeper….
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