Desperate

Have you ever started on a plan to read through the entire Bible? You begin working your way through the Old Testament when all of a sudden you run smack into… a genealogy! Be honest – do you read these chapters with the same care as the rest of the chapters? Do you skim through wondering what some of these people were thinking when they named their children?

Mostly, I struggle through them uncertain that I really get the point. Having said that, I do have a favourite genealogy. Probably that is not a phrase that you often hear – favourite genealogy – but stick with me.

My favourite is the one found in Matthew – the genealogy of Jesus. This one stands out for me because of the women named in it. Oh what a group of women they are! It is amazing what it takes for a gal to get noticed!

Do you know their stories? Tamar is probably the least familiar to us. Check out her story in Genesis 38. She was a rejected, desperate woman whose methods are questionable but here she is in the list. Named. Part of the family.

Rahab was living in Jericho and was definitely an outsider. A prostitute who consorted with spies to save herself, she was desperate because she knew that she did not have a hope without the God of Israel. She declared, "the Lord your God is God in heaven above and earth below" ( Josh.2:11). A desperate woman in a desperate circumstance, brought into the family.

Ruth’s story is one we know well enough that we easily accept her as part of the family and forget that she too was an outsider. Ruth is often praised for her loyalty and love for her mother-in-law Naomi. But even in her famous declaration, "where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16), can you hear her desperation? I can’t go back to Moab. I don’t want Moab’s god. I want your God. I will do whatever it takes.

Next up is Bathsheba, who is not named in Matthew’s list but is rather noted simply as Solomon’s mother who "had been Uriah’s wife". Again this is a familiar story though generally told with David at the center. Here is a young woman brought into the palace under questionable circumstances. Don’t you think that she would have heard the whispers and felt the condemnation? Then, no doubt, her heart broke as her baby dies. But, here she is – mother of Solomon. A second chance. Part of the family.

Finally we have Mary the mother of Jesus, on the list. Maybe you never considered her circumstances as desperate. She was unmarried, pregnant and her fiancé was considering divorce, all because she had been chosen to be in the family.

Look at these women. Read their stories. Do you see yourself? Do you see someone you know? These are our stories too. Rejected. An outsider. Caught in sin. In a circumstance far beyond our understanding. In a desperate place. Desperate for God. Desperate women.

"…In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry." (Jonah2:2)

Be encouraged. Our God welcomes desperate!

Ruth