Knowing where you come from is very important. Nowadays, there are ways that you can find out about your ancestry. In some cultures, including Jesus’, genealogies are very important. Matthew begins Jesus’ genealogy with these words, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Why does Matthew begin the family tree with King David and Abraham? Well, he wanted show that Israel’s hope had been fulfilled in the coming of Christ. The promise of Abraham “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3) is fulfilled in Jesus as the Saviour of the world.” As the Son of David and his direct descendant, Jesus is qualified to be Israel’s King. The birth of Jesus showed that God had fulfilled His promises to Abraham and David.
It was unusual to include women in genealogies but four are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy. Tamar who had children with Judah, her father-in-law because he wronged her; Rahab, a Jericho prostitute who helped two Jewish spies; Ruth, a Moabite woman who made God her God because of he mother-in-law, a Jewish widow and Bathsheba, King Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba is the only one of the four women who is not mentioned by name. She is called the wife of Uriah, the Hittite. King David had committed adultery with her while Uriah was away fighting for king and country.
These four women are not type of women you would expect to find in the genealogy of the Son of God. It just goes to show that these women like all sinners can be redeemed by God and used to accomplish His will. It is clear that we are precious to God and therefore, despite our sinful nature, are valuable to Him.
Sources: Matthew 1; Zondervan Handbook to the Bible
Notes to Women 