what is in a [woman's] name? conclusion

"...and Jacob the father of Joseph

the husband of Mary,

of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ." 

Matthew 1:16

Mary. A common name. A simple girl. An unknown story. Out of the five women included in the lineage of Christ, Mary, Jesus' own mother, is the one of which we know the least. Ruth has an entire book of the Old Testament devoted to her while the other women have at least a chapter devoted to their story. I have combed through the Bible in search of her story, but I come up empty every time. I have only my imagination and theological commentaries to fill in the blanks. 

For the sake of consistency I will paraphrase her story, but there is not much to paraphrase. A simple girl, leading a quiet life, is betrothed to a simple carpenter. We assume she was young because that was the culture but exact age is speculation at best. She was not yet legally wed, which I am certain created quite a stir when it became evident that she was with child. Joseph, being a kind man and not wanting to dishonor the woman he loved, decided to divorce her quietly when an angel appeared to him and explained the situation. By faith, Joseph believed and accepted Mary as his wife as well as the Messiah that was kicking in her womb. Mary too learned of her pregnancy by an angel--oh to have gotten that assignment! Mary accepted graciously (Luke 1: 18, 46-55). She went to live with her relative Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist) for several months leading up to the birth of Christ. The Bible does not say exactly why and I will give my take in a bit. Then a decree goes out that every man is to return to his hometown to claim his wife and children so as to pay taxes accordingly. Joseph returns to Bethlehem and takes his very pregnant wife along with him. It is here in Bethlehem that she delivers the Messiah, not in a palace full of servants and fine china, but a humble stable surrounded by the quiet murmurs of farm animals. 

For generations upon generations, the human race had been longing for this 'promised redeemer '. I am certain people were starting to get impatient and perhaps even cease to believe that he would ever come chalking it up to a great family story passed down. Visions of grandeur, opulence and majesty certainly accompanied the expectation, as well as armies and strength that would finally settle the score and redeem them. It was a palace, not a barn, that made sense. It was through royalty, not a simple unknown woman, that he would surely come. God would certainly not stoop so low as to become a baby, in the womb of young unmarried woman betrothed to a simple carpenter, only to be birthed in a barn, right? Or would He? 

As we read together and studied the lineage of Christ as it is listed in Matthew chapter 1, we see altogether that God's ways are directly different than man's. God uses the people that society would write off. Prostitutes. Murderers. Widows. Mary was a simple woman. She was definitely a godly woman because God would not choose otherwise, especially considering the scrutiny she would most certainly endure as a result of the pregnancy. I mean, really, could you imagine? I live in a small town and I have for six years. I am still adjusting. There are people that know me that I have never even met simply because people talk. Word moves quickly and a reputation can taint quickly. "No really, an angel came to me while I was sleeping and told me that I was going to be pregnant with the Savior of the World..." I don't know about you, but I am guessing that would make the front page of the National Inquirer if there had been one. People were expecting a King in the most majestic meaning of the word, not a baby through the womb of an unwed teen. I believe that is partly why she went to Elizabeth's for that time as well as with Joseph to Bethlehem for the census (these things also fulfilled prophecy which is important to note). The government didn't need women to go, the men would report on their behalf. Truthfully, any woman that has been pregnant would agree that you don't get on a donkey and go for a long journey when you can hardly move and you haven't seen your feet in at least a month. I wouldn't take an airplane, let alone a donkey. But, there was undoubtedly talk  as speculation of this divine pregnancy swirled around them and I am sure Mary welcomed the getaway. Hardly the way to set the stage for the entrance of the most critical, the most influential, controversial and holy Person to ever grace our planet. But then again, looking through the sketchy group of people He chose for His lineage, it fits Him quite well. 

The biggest question I am left with in regards to Mary, is why? Why the simple girl and why don't we know more? As the mother to Christ, you would think that there should be at least a chapter or two dedicated to her story--her childhood or perhaps her and Joseph's love story--but we get nothing. Why does God do this? Because I believe it is irrelevant. As humans, we worship and exalt humans. We are idolators by nature. We worship the person rather than the Creator of the person. We see the gifts and abilities and stand in awe all the while forgetting the One who bestowed those gifts. You see, it is not about Mary in the sense of her goodness or holiness. The fact is, she was human. She was a flawed, sinful human, just like you and I. What set Mary apart was that she was willing. She graciously accepted her calling even though it was most likely social suicide. She desired God's will for her life rather than her own even if she didn't understand completely. Did she live a perfect life? Only her Son would do that. Did she understand her calling at all times? Only her Son understood that. Was she willing to offer what she had, which was her womb, to deliver a Savior to a world covered in darkness? Yes. 

What about you and I? We both know we are flawed. My gifts are limited and pitiful at best. I am selfish, arrogant and afraid. I can be faint hearted and wishy washy. I am not show stopping beautiful or witty or intelligent. My story is nothing special and my family tree is nothing I am super proud of. That is exactly why God set the stage as He did and ended it with a simple unwed teenage girl. It is not about us. At the end of the day we are still human and lacking. It is about a God that is greater than all of that. If God can use Mary to deliver the Redeemer to lost world, perhaps, just maybe, He can use me to do the same. 

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Gratitude in exchange for anxiety

"Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I will say, rejoice!

Let your reasonableness be known to all, the Lord is at hand;

do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

And

the peace of God which surpasses all understanding

will

guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7

Words like anything and everything we need to be careful with. "My son doesn't eat anything..." is obviously not true, and "she complains about everything..." is most likely not true either. But the Bible uses those all inclusive words here with blinking and my heart needs to learn something from them. 

I believe that we serve an all knowing God. He knows that you are down to pennies in the bank, you have creditors calling, friends backbiting, imperfect spouses, impatient bosses and a an electric bill to pay. He knows your health is iffy, the weather is cold and you could stand to lose another 15 pounds. He knows that inspite of your bulging closets, you have nothing to wear and your mother can be crazy and overbearing. God still uses that word. Nothing. Be anxious about nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

As you redirect your heart from worry to gratitude, you will undoubtedly stand amazed at the strands of faithfulness and favor you see woven through the fabric of your life. Take time today to thank God. I would encourage you to move through the alphabet, A to Z, and thank him for at least 26 things that in reality, because of your sinful nature, you do not deserve. God is faithful and by practicing gratitude, you are not denying your pain, heartache or anxiety, you're just not focusing on it. As a result, the peace of God, which is greater than our human minds can fathom, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.

Be blessed as you walk in gratitude today dear friend.

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what is in a [woman's] name? part 4

What is in a [woman’s] name? part 4

“...and Jesse, the father of David the king. 

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah...”

Matthew 1: 6

Finally. All of Israel spoke of the coming Messiah but knew nothing more than that--he was coming. They had grand visions of palaces, armies, grandeur and opulence in every sense of the word. They had no idea, but God was and had been preparing the way for the arrival of His Son, the Savior and Messiah, for generations.  They had no idea however, that this Messiah was going to be vastly different than anything they could have ever imagined. 

However, as we have been reading through the list of ancestors of Christ, there is for a moment, finally a king! The Bible wastes no time in mentioning his kinghood, but nine words later the Bible rats the king out. Read the second part of verse six again and then turn in your Bible and read the entire sordid story for yourself in 2 Samuel 11. Notice the humanity. Notice the depravity. Notice the name of the specific king involved. 

It is spring time, the time when armies go out for war. In those days, unlike today, the kings went to war. He went to be a presence, a strategist and someone that kept his officers in check and the target in sight. King David, for whatever reason, decided to stay home. On this particular day, he was lounging around and decided to view the city from his roof late in the afternoon. While doing this, he saw a beautiful, naked woman bathing. Wasting no time, he sent for her and he enjoyed her beauty as if it were his own. The problem was, not only was she not his own, but she was the wife of Uriah. That’s right--she was already married. 

When David was done with her, he sent her home only to recieve word later that she was pregnant. Hmm....this looked bad seeing as though her husband was at war (where the men were supposed to be) and there were no other men around to blame it on. The blood was on David’s hands and he knew it. He devised a plan to send for Uriah and have him go ‘visit’ his wife. Uriah, being a noble man, refuses to do so. He came as requested, but refused to enjoy his wife seeing as his comrades were not enjoying the same privileges. David was backed into a corner by Uriah’s nobility, and so he did what any ‘good king’ would do in a spot like this--he ordered Uriah to the front lines of battle. That’s right, rather than fessing up to his adultery and lust, King David adds to his sin by killing Bathsheba’s husband and making it look accidental. 

King David was confronted by Nathan in chapter 12. He reminded him of God’s continued favor to David all through his life and rebuked him for his wickedness. David admited his sinned before the Lord and Nathan tells him that God has forgiven him, but the child that they concieved would die as a result of the sin. 

I love God’s Word! I couldn’t come up with this if I tried! The idea that a Savior--THE Savior of all mankind was coming in a line of prostitutes and murders is unbelievable. As I look upon the life of David I am awed by God’s patience and mercy. David loved women. David was not even close to a perfect man and yet he is refered to as a ‘man after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam 13:14). What I find interesting is that Solomon was not the first son between David and Bethsheba. Solomon was born after Uriah was dead and after they were married. Why does this matter? Well, I do not believe God holds our sin over our heads, but I do believe that He allows us to remember so as to not forget who we are and who we were apart from him. In this case, I believe God is using these words in Matthew 1 to tell us that He doesn’t require perfection (it’s impossible actually), but rather a broken and repentant heart. 

This is the Psalm that David penned in response to Nathan’s confrontation,

God’s conviction and his sin:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions. 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me. 

Against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement. 

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me. 

Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Psalm 51: 1-4, 6-13, 15-17

I pray that tonight you would grieve your sin. God sees it. God knows it. God saw it and heard it and felt it even before you were in existence. He is not waiting to ‘discover’ your secrets, but rather for you to fall down broken and grieving before His merciful throne. It is not until your heart lie before him as an offering of repentance, that you will find peace and rest from the sin that entangles your soul. Rest assured, God will not despise your beautiful offering. 

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what is in a [woman's] name? part 3

"...and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth..."

Matthew 1: 5b

If I could pick any woman in the Bible to imitate, I would pick Ruth. Her remarkable story is recorded in the book that is dedicated to her: Ruth. Ruth is tucked away in the middle of the Old Testament and within its four chapters exists an example that every woman should be encouraged and challenged by. If you do nothing else today, please take the time to spend in God's Word for yourself. Reading things in addition to, such as this blog, is great (and I really appreciate it) but nothing replaces the power and the truth of the Word of God in your life. The book of Ruth can be read in 20 minutes if needed. Let the Words refresh, encourage and challenge your soul. For now, I will paraphrase: 

Ruth was a Moabite woman. She married one of the two sons of Elimilech. Her mother-in-law was Naomi.  Elimilech and his two sons died, leaving three widows: Orpah, Ruth and Naomi. Evaluating their impoverished and unfortunate situation, Naomi releases the young women from their covenant to her family and grants permission for them to go and remarry into a different family and a more fortunate future. Both women decline. She becomes adamant and her distress is evident. After much persuasion, Orpah agrees and tearfully says goodbye to Naomi and Ruth. Ruth however, is steadfast (my husband says she was stubborn while winking at me, but I prefer steadfast :) and refuses to leave. She has made a covenant to not only her husband, but her husband's family and she has no desire to forsake that, no matter how unfortunate her situation. 

Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem just in time for barley harvest. Ruth plans to go and glean in one of the fields so as to provide food for her mother and self. While gleaning the owner of the field, a man by the name of Boaz, sees her and asks one of his field hands who she is. His response is noteworthy: 

"She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 

She said, 'please let me glean and gather among the sheaves

after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued 

from morning until now, except for a short rest."

Ruth 2: 6,7

Boaz then treated her as a daughter and instructed his field hands to leave plenty behind for her, watch for her and do not touch her. Ruth brought her harvest as well as some leftovers from lunch back to her mother. Naomi creates a plan for Ruth to go down to the threshing floor and when Boaz has completed his work and lays down for the night, she is to go lay at his feet. Ruth does not argue or question, and she prepares herself to do so.  When Boaz discovers her and is made aware of who she is, he responds favorably. The ending, as you can imagine, is in Ruth's favor. Not only is she able to marry, but she marry's into the line that will become that of Jesus Christ, the line of Abraham, Isaac, David and Joseph. She marries into a heritage that she could never have imagined. 

While reading this story to my husband, he stopped me with a great question, "if God is so particular about his chosen people, then why are all these 'foreigners' allowed to be in His lineage?" Hmm. Something I had never thought about before. I think that by inviting women like Rahab the prostitute and Ruth the Moabite, God is speaking loudly of His kindness and favor toward all those that would regard Him, His people, and His statutes (2 Cor. 6:2). God is protective of His chosen people for the reason of protection. He has called us to be set apart, to be in the world and not of the world. When we intermarry, not culturally but spiritually, we put the holy heritage that God has for us at risk by making it vulnerable to pagan beliefs. It is not about where a person is from physically because we are all created in the image of God, but it is about where the heart is in response to God and His Gospel. Ruth and Rahab were responsive to the Holy Law of God and therefore they were welcomed in.

There are a great many things we can and need to learn from Ruth's story and example. I could go on for days, and many people have, in regards to her example of faith, obedience and hard work, but for sake of time I will do my best to summarize. 

1.) Ruth was a woman of commitment (1:8). Ruth was released legally from her commitment, but her happiness and personal fulfillment was secondary to the promise she had made before men and God. I think this speaks loudly to the culture of today. Today, our happiness is first and foremost. We hear things like, 'follow your heart' and 'dare to do what makes you happy', and we think they are noble and good. What we need to recognize however, is that our heart is not trustworthy and our happiness is ever changing when it is dependent on worldly fulfillment. Happiness is like an insatiable beast, an all consuming fire. The things of this world are temporal, failing and insufficient. It is no wonder people spend their lives swapping spouses, jobs and material things in the endless pursuit of 'happiness'. Our hearts must be anchored in a God that never changes and the guidelines that He has set for us. When we seek to pattern our lives after that, He will be faithful to do greater than we could ever think or imagine. 

2.) Ruth was a woman of timeliness and calculation (1:22). She and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of harvest. This took planning as there was travel involved. They had to think ahead and be organized in such a way that they would arrive not at the end of or even in the middle of harvest, but rather at the beginning, to ensure the greatest probability of provision. 

3.) She was a woman with a plan (2:2). Ruth devised a plan to go and glean in a specific place and presented it to Naomi. I struggle with women that walk blindly through life in 'submission' to their husbands with no voice or opinion. They feel as though this is how God has called women to be. I strongly disagree. Women are to be submissive, not robotic. There is a difference and we see it beautifully here through Ruth. She set about to evaluate her situation, the possibilities around her and created a plan based on her discoveries. We see her submission in her presentation of her plan to Naomi, but we see her taking initiative and planning her course of action. There is a beautiful balance here. As a wife, I share the responsibilities of bills, purchases and future planning with my husband. We are partners. I honor his authority in our home as the final decision is ultimately his and he appreciates my partnership and input; it is a lovely design. 

4.) Ruth was a woman of diligence and hard work (2:7, 2:17). Ruth did not pity herself or nurture a sense of entitlement as many are in the habit of doing. Her situation, by many an opinion, would definitely warrant it, but pity and entitlement are counterproductive and something tells me that Ruth knew that. We wonder why poverty is overtaking America? We have this idea that we deserve something. That we have a 'right' to happiness and shouldn't have to earn it or work for it. It is a real tragedy. Ruth wasn't dealt a fair hand by any means. Her husband died. She had no children. There were no brothers to marry. Culture prohibited her from everything but prostitution. She had no future according to world's standards. This did not deter Ruth. She was a fighter and would not take something for nothing or sell herself for the sake of happiness. She had made a commitment to Naomi and trusted that through hard work and diligent effort, God would not only provide but protect and give her hope. God honored her determination.

5.) Ruth was a woman of faithfulness (2:11,12). Ruth remained faithful to Naomi and this created a reputation for her that brought great benefit. Boaz did not know her personally, but had heard of her faithfulness to Naomi and glorified God as a result. Oh that that would be true of us!

6.) Ruth was a woman of instruction and obedience (2:22,23; 3:1-5). While Ruth was a woman of determination, she was also a woman of obedience. She followed the instructions given her and God blessed her as a result. 

These are only a few of the many gems that await you through the story of Ruth. Boaz is referred to as Ruth's 'redeemer' simply because he was in the lineage that she married into and was eligible to marry and redeem her from a life of poverty that was inevitable for a woman in her situation. Are you praying for a redeemer? Are you waiting for someone to protect you, provide for you and cherish you? I don't know your story or the pain that accompanies it, but I do know that God is faithful and has redeemed you (Isaiah 43: 1-3). Ruth held on to this faithfulness and walked in a manner worthy of example. She remained steadfast in the midst of grief, cultural stigma and intense need. She set about her work as a woman with resolve and trusted that as she sought to obey, plan and provide for her mother-in-law, that God would care for her. Indeed He did. He not only cared for her, but He gave her dignity, a heritage and a story that has been and will be told for generations to come. 

As you set your face to follow God's leading on your life, I pray that you would be diligent, faithful, steadfast and honorable in all you do. I pray that God would restore you and revive you. I pray that your happiness would be secondary to holiness. May mercy and favor follow you as you seek to faithfully follow Him.

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to tell more and talk less

I talk a lot. I know that may surprise some of you considering how brief my posts typically are (ha, ha, ha), but I really do enjoy a great conversation. Every person has a story and I love to hear them. I love to share my story and interweave it with God's redemptive love and abiding faithfulness. I love to talk.

I definitely believe that God has called us to speak out and share openly about what God has done. He calls us to declare His faithfulness among the people and to tell of His wonderful deeds (1 Chronicles 16:8,9; Psalm 9:1; Psalm 26:7, to name a few). I believe that too many Christians are too quiet. God has called us to share our story and to tell of His redemption, and this does require sharing a bit of where He brought us from. I am not saying that we ought to hang all of our dirty laundry out for the world to see, but I do think we need to share (as is appropriate of course) our redemption story. There is this idea that as Christians we must 'have it together' and show no flaw, but in reality that will be our demise. As I look back upon my life, I see a littered trail of pride, shame, toil, doubt and failure. There are seasons that I see success, and there are seasons that I see more failure than anything. There are seasons that I see pain and heartache, and there are seasons that I see love and healing. The scarlet thread that is weaving all of those together is the very presence of Christ. There were definitely times that I was oblivious to His presence in my life and even failed to believe that He was present. His presence in my life however did not depend on my belief and as I look back I can see that.

You have a story the world needs to hear. In a world that is so riddled with pain and despair, we must stand on the roof tops and shout praises to His name. For He has come to seek and save that which is lost and I was most definitely one of those! We need to share our imperfections because alongside that we can speak loudly of His perfection. That is what it is all about--taking the glory from our own pitiful self righteousness and transferring it to God's complete righteousness. This is a story the world needs to hear.

Alongside this however, God calls us to be "quick to listen and slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." (James 1: 19, 20) I find it interesting that God's Word puts the failure to listen and anger together. If I look at my marriage and my parenting, I see continually how these things go hand in hand. We have much to gain by quieting our mouths and listening to others. While the Holy Spirit can be heard through what we say, there are a great many times that the Holy Spirit can be heard through our ability to take interest in others and listen.

As you are looking ahead to a new year, a new decade and new chapter in the story God is writing of your life, I pray that you will unashamedly tell stories of God's kindness and faithfulness to you. I pray that you will take the time to listen to the stories of others. I pray that your tongue will remain silent and your ears open when needed and that you will see great benefit from that. I pray that you will see others encouraged through the words of your mouth as you share a story that the world needs to hear.
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what is in a [woman's] name? part 2

"...and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab..."

Matthew 1: 5a

If you read my last post, 'what is in a [woman's] name? part 1' you came to see that I am studying the women in the lineage of Christ. Typically a woman's name is not listed in a genealogy, only the fathers and their sons.  If you look closely at the lineage of Jesus Christ, recorded by Matthew in chapter 1, you will see the names of five women listed which is unusual. The first was Tamar, a woman who remained faithful in the midst of shame and dishonor. The second is that of Rahab, a prostitute with a shady reputation from Jericho. 

Her story can be found in Joshua chapter two, with more mention of her in chapter six. I would encourage you to read through it and let the mercy of God's Word wash over you. For now I will paraphrase. 

The Israelites had been wandering through the desert for several decades in search of a land that God had promised to them. Moses, their leader, had died and Joshua had taken over. As they approached the Promised Land, there was no doubt fear and apprehension about taking the land as their own. They decided it would be best to send in two spies to assess the enemy so as to come up with a plan to take the land. There was a prostitute by the name of Rahab that lived in Jericho. Anyone could guess what a prostitute's response would be to two foreign men coming to town, and true to that, she opened her home to them. Word came to the king that two spies had entered the land and were hiding somewhere in Jericho. Without thinking twice, he knew Rahab's place was a likely stopping point for the men, so he questioned her immediately. She responded, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them." (v.5) In reality, the spies were hiding in her roof. She went to them and said, "I know the Lord has given you this land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the kings of the Amorites where beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house..." (vv9-12a)

I love this story because through it we see many aspects of God's character. God delights in using the unassuming and simple things of this world to shame the wise (1 Cor. 1:27) and we see this clearly through a prostitute's story. Without a doubt, she had the reputation that fit that of a prostitute. Even the king knew her story, perhaps he had even used her services. A reputation is hard to shake, especially a shady one. The Bible doesn't give a reason behind her prostitution, but one could assume that she was of low social class and perhaps uneducated. Whatever the reason, she was known by her actions, and it wasn't a noble or dignified reputation. 

I love how even a prostitute from a foreign land knew and feared the name of the Lord. Word of His provision had gone out throughout the land and the only response was to fear God and those people that followed Him. As we seek to faithfully follow Him, we will without a doubt see Him work in our lives. As we are faithful to tell stories of His faithfulness even those that have lived lives in direct opposition to God will come to a saving knowledge of Him. 

Perhaps what I love the most is that God's favor is not reserved only for those that have led 'good' lives. In fact, God's Word says clearly that not one of us are good enough to earn God's favor (Romans 3:10, Isa 64:6). We are all under the curse of sin and will never attain God's holiness. Throughout Scripture we see story after story of people that fail and yet God extends grace, mercy and redemption time after time.  

It is not reputation that determines God's favor, it is the attitude of the heart. Rahab knew her sin, she undoubtedly lived in shame and yet her heart feared God. She had heard the stories of the God of Moses and her heart responded. King David penned a verse that has penetrated my heart to the core: "For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51: 16,17 So many of us go through the motions of good works. We tithe or required ten percent, we take communion and attend church fairly regularly. We give to the starving children of Africa and put together a Christmas box for needy children at Christmas time. While all of these things are fine and good, that is all they are, they alone have no power to save our souls or redeem that which is lost. What God requires is not good works or even a good reputation, but rather a heart the recognizes its need for Him. This is recognized in the midst of brokenness and pain. 

This is the heart of God--He uses the brokenness, pain and unfairness of life to draw our hearts to His. It is in the desolate place that He invites us to come and partake, feast with Him in the abundance of His glory and grace. He will give us honor where shame once held us captive and not only will He use us for His glory and the blessing of others, but He will make us heirs with Christ should we let go of the trash we call ours and acknowledge our need for a Savior. Who knows, just as we are talking about a prostitute turned great grandma to the Savior of the World, perhaps others will be encouraged by our story of redemption as well. 

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what is in a [woman's] name? part 1

'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...'

Matthew 1: 2,3a

I am not a big history buff, that would be my husband. I appreciate history but have never really taken the time to listen, study and most importantly learn from it. Someone once said, "if you can control what people believe about the past, you can affect how they experience the present and shape how they will view the future." This is not a political blog, but I will say that the censoring of our children's history books in the school systems is a major travesty. By altering our nation's and world's history to suit secular belief out of 'tolerance' to other cultures and beliefs is sad, unfair (to our children) and downright wrong. 

I appreciate the truth of God's Word immensely. It ministers to my heart in the darkest times and God and His Word never change. Genealogies are a part of the Word however that I have always skimmed through, if not skipped over entirely. I have never been convinced of their importance and nearly all of the names are impossible to pronounce. I would rather get to the stuff that will affect my life. A list of obscure names is surely not that, therefore I have always moved on. Not this time. There is a genealogy (I say 'a' because I have yet to really study the others) that if you allow it, could change your life. Let me explain.

I have served in many capacities within the church, but Senior High has captivated my heart. The raw confession of a high schooler gets me every time and seeing what God is doing and what Satan is scheming amongst these young people is what keeps me in the ministry. I had a girl look me in the eyes and say, "Tiffany, you don't know where I have been, what I have done or who I have become as a result. Your Gospel is great, but I know it's not for me because there is no way that your God would want me." The brokenness was evident and her stoic demeanor to mask the pain was impressive at best. Oddly, I found my answer for her in, of all places, a list of obscure names in the first chapter of Matthew.

 I am not sure why, but the names of women are typically omitted.  I don't believe that God created women as a lesser being but in general, you will not find a woman's name listed in a genealogy. As I read through the genealogy of Jesus, the Holy Spirit stopped me each time I read a woman's name. I would encourage you to take some time to read Matthew 1 and if you count with me, you will see 5 names of females listed, one of them being Mary, the humble teenage girl that gave birth to our Savior. The other 4 may not mean anything to you, but I am hoping to change that and give you hope in the process. 

The first female I read was Tamar (tay-mar). I have heard that name but knew nothing about her. You can find her story, her remarkable story, in Genesis 38. I know the culture was quite different than the culture today, but as I read her story I was astonished. The pain that this woman lived with blew me away. The Bible does not speak of the shame or the pain, but as a woman I know it was there. As you read through this remarkable story on your own, I pray the Spirit would speak to your heart. In the meantime, I will do my best to paraphrase.

Judah took a wife for himself and by her had three sons. His first son, named Er, was given a wife name Tamar. Er turned out to be a bad seed, a wicked man whose wickedness God only tolerated for so long before killing him. Judah, Tamar's father-in-law, told his next son Onan to "go into her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her and give her a son". You see, in this day in age, a woman's value was derived form the children she bore, namely the sons. So, Onan did as he was told, kind of. The Bible says he wasted his semen in the ground. I know it sounds crude, but as I read this I was shocked. Basically, Onan used Tamar to fulfill his lustful desires and had  no desire to dignify her at all. Rather, right before climax, he dishonored her continually by pulling out and allowing his semen to go to waste so as to purposely withhold children from her. As I mentioned before, a woman's dignity and value was found in the children she bore, and the fact that Onan was purposely withholding this from her, was the most hurtful thing he could do to her. True to God's faithfulness, He only tolerated the wickedness for so long, before he struck Onan dead as well. Judah, having struck out twice, still has no grandsons. He commands Tamar to wait for his last son Shelah (God only knows how long this would be!), so out of obedience, she remained. The day came when she thought Shelah was of age, so she removed her widow's clothing and replaced it with a veil. She went and sat at the town gate and waited patiently. Judah comes walking along (keep in mind--this is her father-in-law) and sees her, thinking she is a prostitute. Apparently, he has some sexual 'needs' at this time and solicits her services. Being a submissive woman, she complies but receives his signet, his cord and staff in the process. She becomes pregnant--with twins--and three months later, Judah is told that Tamar has been immoral and she is pregnant as a result. He summons her with the intent to put her to death by burning (no, I am not making this up!). She sends the signet, the cord and the staff ahead of her and says, 'I am pregnant by the owner of these things. Identify the man.' Judah realizes that they are his, and that his sexual rendezvous in the lust of the moment was not with a prostitute but rather by with his daughter-in-law! She gave birth to twins, named Perez and Zerah, and it is Perez that would join the lineage of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ.

Whew! Let that settle for a moment. First, a woman's name in fairly insignificant. When we see the name of a female listed, it means something. Tamar's name is the first female listed in the lineage of Jesus. Let's keep in mind that this lineage was chosen before the creation of the earth. God knew that His creation would turn away from Him, fall prey to sinful desires and desperately need a Savior. From the beginning of time, we see God setting the stage for the entrance of His Son, Jesus Christ, into this lost and fallen world. Everyone spoke of this coming Savior, but no one anticipated how God would do this. Humanity anticipated a king in all his splendor coming from a royal and dignified line. Rather, our Savior came through a teenage girl, in a barn surrounded by cattle, through a line of people littered with scandal, pain, prostitutes and murderers (we'll get to that later). What does this mean to you and how does this speak to the pain of my senior high girl? God does not require perfection, just willingness. 

What blesses my heart the most was God's awareness of Tamar's pain and lack of dignity. I can't imagine what it would be like to a.)be married to an evil man then b.)raped continually by his brother and then c.)be solicited by my father-in-law only to then finally get pregnant and bear his children. Yuck. No thank you. I don't know how Tamar's story ended, but I do know that in spite of her pain and her shame, God had an ultimate plan. He was preparing the way for the birth of His Son, the Savior and Redeemer of all that which is lost and depraved. What better way to do this than to use that which is lost and depraved to do so. Nothing is mistake. There is no pain, no sordid story, no shame, that God can not use for His glory and our blessing. Why didn't God send His Son through a royal bloodline rich in history and beauty? Because there is no such thing. Every line is made of sinful people, people riddled with selfish ambition, lustful desires and greed. As we take a closer look at the very lineage of Jesus Christ, the only perfect human, it is important that remember that God had a purpose in the people He chose for this Royal line. He is speaking to our brokenness. If He can use a woman with no dignity, husband or 'value' to help usher in our Redeemer, then just maybe, He has a purpose for your pain and life as well.

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