Five Women

In ancient times, women were regarded as merely their father’s or their husband’s possession.  In his morning prayer, it was common for a Jewish man to thank God that he was not made a Gentile (non-Jew), a slave, or a woman.  

 Things are much different today where we live, but I’m sure many women can think of a time when someone made a negative or sexist remark about women.  Thankfully, God does not have that same view of women.  In fact, God values women and it is demonstrated in the Bible. 

 I am currently attending a Bible study on the book of Matthew. In the very beginning, Matthew includes the genealogy of Jesus.  It was amazing to his readers because he included five women in the list.  (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the former wife of Uriah, and Mary, Jesus’ mother)  Not only were they women, but three were from non-Jewish backgrounds and a fourth was the widow of a Gentile.  In addition, three of the women had flagrant sin in their lives and three were widows. 

 By listing these women as ancestors of the Messiah, God honored them.  It also tells us three things about Jesus Christ: 

1)      He removed all former barriers – In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek; all believers have equal privilege in God’s household. (Ephesians 2:12-22)

2)      He made clear women’s spiritual equality with men – In Christ, there is neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28)

3)      He came to save sinners – all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) If you trust Christ as your Savior, no matter what your background, God has made you clean!

 What great news!  Thank you, Jesus, for the reminder that no matter who we are or where we come from or what we’ve done, we can all be saved by grace through faith. Christ loves us all so much that anyone can come to him, follow him, and live for him.

 I hope this makes you smile today!

 Melissa