Linda Buishas
A widow, a harlot, a devoted daughter-in-law, an adulteress, and a virgin all lived in a time when women had few rights or choices. They hold the distinction of being the only mothers listed in Matthew’s account of our Lord’s genealogy, an honor customarily held only by men. Only one of them knew that God had a plan for her to play a role in the greatest story ever told. Their lives were what novels are written about and are more interesting than any prime time movie. Please take a brief, compassionate look. I hope you’ll wish to learn more about them. Choose your favorite. You might even see someone you know in her character, motives, or trials.
Tamar was widowed and childless. Her future was bleak. Out of desperation, she sacrificed her virtue by pretending to be a prostitute, hoping to seduce her father-in-law Judah and bear his child. Her plan worked. She bore a set of twins, Perez and Zerah. Perez was ancestor to kings in the line of Jesus.
Rahab, a prostitute, risked her life protecting the spies of Israel. She married Salmon and became the mother of Boaz, the great-grandfather of King David.
Ruth was a widow who cared for her mother-in-law Naomi to the point of gathering leftovers in the fields for their survival. She married Boaz and had a son, Obed, who would be grandfather to King David, through whom the line to the Messiah flowed.
Bathsheba, identified only as Uriah’s wife, became pregnant after an adulterous encounter with King David. They married to cover their sin. Their baby died. Their second son, Solomon, was an ancestor to our Lord.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an unmarried virgin, virtuous, brave, trusting, and faithful. All generations call her blessed.
Did God choose to highlight these five mothers because they were simply ordinary women, trying to get life right, who foreshadowed the kind of people Jesus came to comfort and to save? God knew there would always be those women who are heartbroken over losing a spouse or a child, who sacrificially care for aging loved ones, who humble themselves to survive, who work hard to support their families, and who lead less than moral lives. Through these women we can see that He can bring good out of failures, and He gives beauty for ashes.
Ruth’s strength and compassion, Rahab’s faith and bravery, Mary’s trust and virtue, and each one’s perseverance can inspire us to have faith for what seems impossible to be made possible when we surrender our lives to God.
God places a sacred responsibility in the hands of those He has blessed to be called mother to impact His Kingdom for generations to come, as He did in the lives of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
I wish everyone a Mother’s Day filled with joy. Dear mothers, may your children call you blessed, your husband love and honor you, and all your works be praised.