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The Five Women in Jesus’ Lineage, Devotionals for ADVENT 2021

Wednesday, December 15

Posted on by Wayne Edwards

Wednesday, December 15 –

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, and 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 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.

 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,” and 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.
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.

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.

Ruth shows us that no problem is too big for God’s grace.

  • Ruth was Gentile widow who risked her life to remain with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and 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.

Bathsheba shows us no stain is too deep for God’s grace.

  • Rather than remain loyal to her marriage vows, Bathsheba became complicit in David’s adulterous affair. By God’s grace even a tainted woman is listed in the lineage of the Messiah.

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE LIVES OF THESE WOMEN

  • Their testimonies give hope to those who have failed God 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.