The New Testament presents the life of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. His birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension to heaven, the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church, the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church, Apostolic letters to the churches, the signs of the end times among many others. The New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament and thus very important for believers to read both Testaments. In continuation of our study of women in the Bible, it is important to understand that the New Testament mentions women in the Old Testament that significantly impacted their societies and whose stories culminated in God's bigger agenda.
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (Matthew 1:5-6).
The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) would be studied concurrently. The gospels culminate the life and ministry of Jesus on earth. Let's begin with the Old Testament women who formed part of Jesus' Family line. The gospels of Matthew and Luke begin the life of Jesus with His genealogy. Matthew (chapter 1:1-17) traces Jesus to Abraham and Luke (chapter 3:23-38) traces Jesus to Adam. Matthew's account of the genealogy of Jesus included three women from the Old Testament. Matthew 1:5-6 goes like this:
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (Bethsheba).
If you had followed this study, you would know that all these women had issues. First Rahab was a foreigner from Jericho, a land the Israelites conquered. Rahab's trade before the Israelites took over Jericho was prostitution. Ruth was a foreigner from Moab. Ruth was the widow of Mahlon, the son of Naomi. Uriah's wife, Bethsheba was an Israelite woman. King David slept with her while she was still married to Uriah. When she became pregnant, the king killed her husband Uriah and married her. God was appalled by their actions and even the child from that adulterous relationship died.
These three are women society would have stigmatized. They had past lives that were unpleasant. They had experienced pain, rejection and discrimination, yet, through their wombs came children who contributed to God's bigger plan. We might not fully understand God's way but we know that whoever comes to the Lord will not be rejected. For example, when Rahab joined the people of Israel, she abandoned her past profession and married an Israelite man named Salmon (see Matthew 1:5; Ruth 4:21 and 1 Chronicles 2:11). Salmon through Rahab fathered Boaz, and Boaz married Ruth and fathered Obed who became the father of Jesse. And, Jesse was the father of David, the king of Israel. David married Bethsheba and had king Solomon. Jesus Christ is the great grandson of David.
These women did not just rise to glory. They knew their past and worked through obedience and submission to overcome their past failures. God's plan was fulfilled through their obedience and willingness to align with God's purpose.
Dear woman, coming to Christ is just not enough. Be ready to be transformed and renewed. Your story is bigger than you see now. Be intentional about spending time with God and forsaking every past sinful life or living beyond past failures. If it didn't work yesterday does not mean it will not work today.
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