Old Testament Readings: Psalm 89:1-4, 10-37, 46-52 – New Testament Reading: Luke 1:26-38
The Five Women in the Lineage of Jesus
“Bathsheba: A Woman of Grace”
Matthew 1:1-17, 2 Samuel 11-12
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
Matthew wrote his gospel to prove to his fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior God had promised.
- He began by referring to Jesus as the “Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” and he listed 42-generations of men in Jesus’ family tree, with each name representing a different stage in Israel’s history.
- He culminated his lineage by identifying Jesus as the God-sent Savior as the virgin-born son that was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, who would be called Immanuel.
- A careful reading of Matthew’s genealogy will reveal that he listed 42-men, father by father, but he also skipped over such men as Joash and Amaziah.
- But it appears Matthew took pains to include the names of four women whom no one would have expected to be seen in the lineage of Jesus.
God delights to display the glory of His grace and
the wonders of His love, to and through those the
world considers worthless.
- Tamar shows us that no pain is too deep for God’s grace.
- Tamar was a Gentile widow who seduced her father-in-law into a sexual union, from which Perez was born, through whom came:
- Rahab shows us that no past is too bad for God’s grace.
- Rahab was a Canaanite harlot who later married one of the two spies Joshua sent into Jericho, and who gave birth to Boaz, who later married:
- Ruth shows us that no problem is too big for God’s grace.
- Ruth was a Gentile widow who risked her life to remain with her mother-in-law, Naomi. In return God arranged for her to marry Boaz. Out of that relationship came Obed, the grandfather of David, who had the adulterous affair with:
- Bathsheba shows us no stain is too deep for God’s grace.
1. Bathsheba – The Beautiful – 2 Samuel 11:1-4
The name “Bathsheba” means “The Seventh Daughter.”
- “Bath” means “daughter,” and “seven” means oath, or completion, so Bathsheba was the “Daughter of oath.”
- Bathsheba was “very beautiful in appearance,” as was many other women in the Bible:
- Eve was created by God and she was “very good.”
- Sarah was so beautiful her husband had her to pretend she was his sister.
- Rachel was so beautiful Jacob worked for 14-years for her hand in marriage.
- Abigail was a woman of “beautiful countenance.”
- Esther “obtained favor in the sight of all who looked upon her.”
- Bathsheba was very beautiful to look upon.
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a
woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30
Contrary to many commentaries, Bathsheba was not doing anything out of the ordinary custom of her day and culture.
- Bathsheba was taking a ritual bath at her well and fountain in her home, where she had the expectation of privacy.
- Being a woman, she would have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the King.
- Bathsheba was not the woman who lusted after David, but David was the man who lusted after Bathsheba.
Tamar was defrauded, Rahab was defiled, and Ruth was despised, but Bathsheba was defeated, simply because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, she was not without some of the blame.
- She needed to take every precaution to bath in privacy.
- She should have refused David’s advances.
- She should have yielded to God’s warnings.
- She should have remained loyal to her vows to God and her promises to her husband.
2. David – The Deceiver – 2 Samuel 11:3-17
Because of his unbridled passion, David disregarded the clear warnings of his servants and had relations with Bathsheba.
- The union resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.
- The pregnancy created a present and future problem.
- David and Bathsheba tried to cover their sin by:
- Deceit – David had Bathsheba’s husband to come home from the battle to be with his wife, but he refused.
- Death – David asked that Uriah be placed in battle so his life could be taken, and he was killed.
- Duplicity – David quickly married Uriah’s widow to try to convince the people the child was legitimate.
- “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord!”
- David confessed his sins before Nathan, and Nathan said God had spared his life, but not that of his son.
- Bathsheba’s son was born without disgrace, but he lived less than a week.
- God used this event to draw David and Bathsheba back to Him.
3. God – The Graceful – 2 Samuel 12:24
The evidence of God’s mercy and grace is that He blessed them with another son, whom they named Solomon, which meant, “Beloved of the Lord.”
- Bathsheba brought Solomon up in godly diligence and care.
- It was Solomon who wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go,” – a clear reference to his own childhood.
- It was Bathsheba who wrote Proverbs 31 as an admonition to Solomon regarding his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter.
- It was Bathsheba who forced David to keep his promise that Solomon would inherit the throne of the King.
- The last mention of Bathsheba’s name is found in Matthew 1:6: “David the King begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.”
- By God’s grace, Bathsheba’s name was no longer attached to her adultery with David, but to her lineage of the Savior.
- Bathsheba is a perfect portrait of a sinner saved by God’s amazing grace.
“Where sin abounded, grace abounded even more!”
Romans 5:20
Life-lessons from the lives of these four women:
- Their testimonies give hope to those who have failed God in some way, that there is a way to be forgiven and restored.
- Their testimonies give comfort to those who carry the aches and pains of past wounds, that there is a way to be healed.
- Their testimonies give strength to those who have struggled to become conformed to the image of Christ, that no matter how hard that struggle might be, nothing is more powerful than the grace of God.
- Their testimonies assure those who have been victimized by the sins of others, that no failure of man needs to be final with God, if we will yield to His grace.
