There Is Room At The Cross For You!

Jesus’ Lineage

Matthew 1:1-6

1″The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. (Bathsheba)”

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This one passage of scripture gives every one of us hope and proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is room at the cross for all of us, no matter how far gone you think you are. 💖

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I don’t know about you, but if I were going to publish names of the women in the Jesus’ lineage, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen the ones Matthew documented.  TWO OF THESE WOMEN WERE GENTILES, TWO WERE JEWS, and all except Ruth had a “checkered past,” you might say.  Ruth, though the Holy Spirit calls her a “Virtuous woman,” was disqualified because of where she was from:  A nation under God’s curse at the time: Moab. The fifth in His lineage was another Jewish maiden:  Mary, His mother. 💖

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Why did the Holy Spirit choose to have Matthew include these particular women, three of whom had questionable reputations?  They certainly weren’t the only ones in His genealogy.  Why not Sarah or Rebecca?  Because He is showcasing once again the GREAT LOVE AND MERCY OF OUR GOD! 💖
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Let’s take a closer look at these four women.

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The first woman listed is Tamar.  She was a real “foxy lady,” shall we say.  She did something really shady, though she did it for a very good reason. She masqueraded as a temple prostitute in order to trick her father-in-law, Judah, into sleeping with her. 😮

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Why did she do it? You see, she had been married to his son, Er, who was not a nice person.  The Bible says he was “Evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD killed him.”  According to the law of the kinsman redeemer, the next brother in line was wed to her.  Sadly, he was just as wicked, so the LORD killed him too. 😮

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Now, obviously the deaths of these two men were not her fault, but by this time, Judah must have thought Tamar was some kind of a jinx.  (who wants to blame their own flesh and blood, right?).  So, though he promised she would be wed to another of his sons, “Shelah,” but he failed to keep his promise.  That’s why Tamar decided to take matters into her own hands.  Twin sons, “Perez and Zerah,” resulted from their union and Perez ended up in Jesus’ lineage.

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A more complete understanding of the Nephillim will give you a much better idea as to why God had to send the flood. You may follow the link below for more on that topic:

 https://emmausroadministries.international/2016/04/14/as-it-was-in-the-days-of-noah-flood-series-part-7-of-8/

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38 years earlier when the 12 spies had gone into the land of Canaan to check it out, 10 of them came back with a bad report.  Back then they had been terrified of the Giants in the land.  Unbeknownst to the spies, THE GIANTS WERE AFRAID OF THEM!

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See?  You don’t ever be afraid of the devil. THE DEVIL IS AFRAID OF YOU BECAUSE JESUS IS WITH YOU.  He CRUSHED satan’s head at the cross!  He has no more rights or power over you.

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Bathsheba.

We’re going to discuss Ruth, the third woman listed, last for the purposes of this article.  Bathsheba is the fourth one mentioned.  Though she is alluded to, she is not mentioned by name.  Why?

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She had been the wife of a godly man named, “Uriah.”  He was a Hittite (a Gentile) and very loyal to the king.  King David, sadly, did not return that loyalty but did great evil to him.  He not only committed adultery with his wife but, in order to cover it up, arranged to have Uriah murdered! 😲  This is the same David that was called, “A man after God’s own heart!”  How could he do such a thing?

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Bear in mind now, that BOTH of these terrible deeds were worthy of the death penalty!  They stoned people at that time as dictated by the law of Moses.  But neither David nor Bathsheba were executed.  Why?

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You see, David knew something important about God.  He is a God of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.  He was called out by Samuel the Prophet and truly repented of his sins.  Though they lost the son of that illicit union, he subsequently married Bathsheba.  Their son, Solomon, is in Jesus’ lineage.  Mary’s husband, Joseph, is descended from him.  Amazing grace! 💖

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Deuteronomy  23:2

“One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the **tenth generation {in other words, “NEVER”} none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

3 “AN AMMONITE OR MOABITE shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, “4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt,and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

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Kinsman Redeemer.

The story of Jesus is wrapped up in the beautiful love story of Boaz and Ruth, who himself had mixed blood–Jewish and Gentile.  That means Jesus also had mixed blood. Both married a Gentile bride.  Boaz became “Kinsman Redeemer,” for Ruth as Jesus became THE Kinsman Redeemer for all of us.

He saved US from the fate we deserved, took our punishment upon Himself and gave us the life that was already His just so we could be together with Him forever!  WHAT A SAVIOR!!!

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At the end of the story of Ruth, Boaz went to sit at the gate to meet with the elders and the nearer kinsman.  He was a closer relative and could lay claim to Naomi’s land and, thus, also marry Ruth.  Let’s follow the story.

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“And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it. ” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal.” (Ruth 4:6-8)

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Transfer Of Ownership.

In ancient Israel, the man who took off his sandal and gave it to the other was signifying that he was giving up ownership to the property in question and transferring it to the other party.

This unnamed man is a type of the Law as pointed out by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7.  In similar fashion, Jesus bought back us (redeemed) from the law.  Now He is the owner because He has the sandal.  THE LAW CANNOT WALK ALL OVER US EVER AGAIN because the sandal now belongs to Jesus!

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Next Boaz declared to the assembled elders, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.’” (Ruth 4:9-10 NKJV)

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Mahlon and Chilion mean “sick and dying,” respectively.  That’s what Jesus redeemed us from:  All that is sick and dying, out of every sickness, every disease!  He came that we might have LIFE, and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY!

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Look what the elders and people said:  THEY HONORED RUTH.  Not even a hint of a reference to her being a a Gentile, a Moabite, or a widow!  Amazing!

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“And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; {WOW!!😮} and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.’”

(Ruth 4:11-12 NKJV)

WOW!! 😮

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“So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a RESTORER OF LIFE and a NOURISHER OF YOUR OLD AGE; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”

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Dispensationally speaking, Naomi is a type of Israel.  Her family’s trip out of their land into Moab ended in sickness, disease and death, depicting the sufferings of Israel over the last 2,000-years of their dispersion, including the holocaust. 😭

When they came back to their land in 1948, just like Ruth and Naomi, they were very poor.  But God has blessed them tremendously!

Ruth, on the other hand, typifies the Church that Jesus married.  Though we are both Jew and Gentile, the Church is primarily comprised of non Jews, though we are no longer either but simply the Church.  Because He has blessed us WE BLESS ISRAEL!

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When Israel at last becomes the most exalted of all nations, they will all gather around her and bless her.  That is the picture the Holy Spirit is drawing in the women who gathered around Naomi in the passage above.

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What beautiful pictures!  See, all you doubters?  God has not–WILL NEVER–forget Israel!

“Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

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Look at that!  Ruth and Boaz did not name their son:  The other women unanimously named him, “Obed: Servant!” 🙌🏻

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Last of all, there are some wonderful secrets in the Hebrew language.

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The Book of Ruth ends this way:

“Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.” (Ruth 4:13-22 NKJV)

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Perez…………….Breach.  Breach means “break.  Breaks in the wall can let wolves in.

Hezron…………..Enclosed

Ram………………High and Exalted

Amminadab……My Noble Kinsman

Nahshon………..Enchanter, like a snake charmer. This word in the Bible is used for “magic, miracles, and shekinah glory.”

Salmon………….Garment

Boaz……………..In Him is strength.  Bo means “in,” az means “strength,” same root word for the Uzzi gun invented by the Isralis; literally “gun of strength.”

Obed…………….Servant

Jesse…………….The One Who Is or exists

David…………….Beloved

“The breach has been enclosed by my high and exalted Noble Kinsman with enchantment in His garment.  In Him is strength to serve the one who is His beloved.”

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Because of Jesus, there is hope for all of us, no matter who you are, what you have done, or where you came from.  Jesus has made it possible for all to enter God’s rest, His “Promised Land.” The door to His heart is WIDE OPEN! Just believe Him.  Accept His amazing gift of righteousness, which is freely offered to all.

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