If the inclusion of Tamar was a shock to some early hearers or readers of Matthew’s Gospel, then Matthew 1:5 takes this surprise to a whole new level. The grace of God in welcoming people into His family often can be more generous than we might naturally be comfortable with. We need to ask in our churches are we equally welcoming to people regardless of their age or social class or their race?
To make people genuinely welcome takes effort and is a more radical step to take than mere toleration. It goes much further than making a point of noting with whom we share a time of fellowship after the service. It speaks, for example, about diversity in the range of songs we will choose in worship services that will be accessible to all across the age spectrum; the topics we choose to mention in intercessory prayer are very revealing; do we pray for the wider world in its diverse needs? Do we remember the Christian Church across the globe which in so many places suffers serious persecution and even physical violence simply for owning the name of Jesus? Too many churches pray only for themselves and their needs not even referencing other churches in their own country in their petitions to our heavenly Father.
Here in this verse in this genealogy is a powerful statement of divine inclusion in the people of God as a result of His undeserved love towards us. It may for some readers even be a challenge as to how we view this subversive genealogy! To whom unexpectedly does God say ‘welcome into the people of God’ in Matthew 1:5? The first individual mentioned was a Canaanite woman named Rahab who most probably was the owner or manager of a brothel (Joshua 2:1).
The NIV marginal reading ‘innkeeper’, is a rendering that owes more to the embarrassment of the believing scholars who produced the translation than the Hebrew text. Yet this woman hid the spies sent by Joshua the Israelite leader in the only place in that city where none of the men present wanted to highlight their identity. It was the perfect hiding place for these wanted men. Yet through this unexpected encounter Rahab came to faith in their God and for the rest of her life honoured God and was listed in Hebrews 11:31 as one of the great people of faith. She heard the words of the messengers of the God of Israel, sent by Joshua, and trusted them implicitly; Her words were: Let it be as you say (Joshua 2:21). As a result her life and that of her family were spared when Jericho fell and the Israelites took the land.
If that was not enough controversy for one Bible verse! It goes on… Boaz the father Obed, whose mother was Ruth(Matthew 1:5); there were very real tensions between the Jews and the Moabite people for centuries because the Moabites and the Ammonites were extremely inhospitable to the Israelites in the time of Moses before they entered the Promised Land. The extent of this problem is revealed as late as the book of Nehemiah who was governor in Judah from around 445BC, hundreds of years later (Nehemiah 13:1-3).
Yet we serve a God who treats us not as we deserve, but in His amazing love and mercy He welcomes all who seek to trust and follow Him. All of us are sinners and undeserving of His embrace, but through His amazing grace even the worse of sinners are welcomed into His family when we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Ruth as an individual was an amazing woman in her character and conduct to break down all these barriers and to be not only tolerated but honoured in the Jewish community in Bethlehem. Unlike Rahab, Ruth had led a life of the highest integrity, consistently, and displayed immense courage to take the steps of faith she did as a woman of faith trusting in the God of Israel.
In this genealogy we catch a small glimpse of the future people of God from incredibly diverse backgrounds worshipping and working together as one people of God in the communities in which He has placed us. The challenge comes to us personally and collectively as Christian churches: How welcoming and inclusive are we to people of different ages or racial backgrounds or social class? We ought to be a small glimpse towards what heaven will be like one day. In the light of this challenge we are all naturally invited to pray and ask our heavenly Father what are our next steps to be more like the Church our Father desires to represent Him on earth in this our generation.
Our song for reflection today is: ‘Amazing Grace’
Brian Talbot