What if God Didn’t Connect the Links?

God could have omitted a few unsavory characters from the lineage of Christ. Nevertheless , if He had done that, the result would have been catastrophic. Christ would never have been born. The world wouldn’t have had a Savior, and we’d have no reason to celebrate Christmas.

Fortunately, God did include several questionable people in the line-up.

The first example is Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah. When Tamar’s husband died, she was a childless widow. Her husband’s family had a duty to provide an heir for her, but Judah refused to give Tamar to his other son. Therefore, Tamar dressed up as a prostitute and tricked Judah into giving her a child anyway. After she conceived, her son, Perez, became part of the messianic line.

Years later, God included a Canaanite woman named Rahab. She was a prostitute in Jericho who hid the Jewish spies and later married a Jewish man. Through her faith in the God of Abraham, God grafted Tamar into the bloodline of the Savior. Her son, Boaz, became the great-grandfather of King David. He was a vital link in the messianic line.

Surely , the famous King David and his son, Solomon, were worthy contributors to Christ’s genealogy?

One might expect the Messiah to come from a long line of people with outstanding qualities. However, that wasn’t always the case. True, these two famous figures were both influential men, but they weren’t perfect. The handsome King David was a fearless war hero and a powerful king. However, he made mistakes.

Solomon, his son, had great fame and riches. The world considered him to be the wisest man on earth. People traveled from distant countries to test his knowledge. After the Queen of Sheba journeyed to see him, she was greatly impressed with his wisdom. According to the world’s standards, these two men were most successful. Yet, despite Solomon’s sterling qualities, his wives led him away from the Lord. He also had one dark stain on his pedigree: his parents, King David and Bathsheba, had been in an adulterous relationship earlier. However, in spite of their sins, Solomon, Bathsheba, and David all became part of Christ’s family tree.

God uses ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plans. 

Although we sometimes doubt God can use us to accomplish His will, the Lord is not limited by our failures. After all, he inserted Tamar and Rahab and Bathsheba into the lineage of Christ. These women are a reminder of God’s mercy and grace. They show us that God can use anyone, despite the person’s shortcomings.

Another example of God’s grace is Moses. He had a terrible secret in his past. Moses killed an Egyptian years before God called him to lead the Israelites out of slavery. However, in spite of his past, God used this man in a mighty way. Moses became a truly great leader.

He can work in our lives, too. If we are yielded to Him, God can use us to bring glory to His name, even with all our faults and shortcomings. Aren’t you glad God chose to include imperfect people in His plans?