Your Past Isn't Too much for GOD: The Five Women in Jesus Family Tree

 Unexpected Heroes: The Women in Jesus' Family Tree 

In this episode of the 'Where is Your Voice Ministries' podcast, Erika explores the intriguing stories of five women in Jesus' lineage: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. These women, often seen as unlikely candidates due to their pasts and societal status, were chosen by God to be part of Jesus' bloodline. Through their stories, Erica conveys a powerful message of redemption and faith, emphasizing that no one's past is too much for God. This episode aims to uplift and encourage anyone feeling unworthy or outcasted, highlighting that God's grace can transform any situation. #JesusFamilyTree #Tamar #Rahab #Ruth #Bathsheba #Mary #Redemption #Faith #Grace #GodsLove #BiblicalStories #Forgiveness #ChristianFaith #Inspiration #Encouragement #WhereIsYourVoiceMinistries #Podcast #ChristianPodcast #BibleStudy #Testimony #Hope #GodsPlan #ChristianWomen #WomenOfTheBible #FaithJourney #OvercomingPast #SpiritualGrowth #GodsGrace #UnlikelyHeroes 

00:00 Introduction: Unlikely Ancestors in Jesus' Family Tree 

00:32 Host Introduction and Episode Theme 

01:22 Tamar: A Story of Redemption 

05:50 Rahab: Faith Overcomes the Past 

10:05 Ruth: Loyalty and Legacy 

13:20 Bathsheba: Enduring Consequences and Finding Redemption 

17:01 Mary: The Humble Mother of God 

21:33 Reflection and Prayer 

Transcript

Your Past Isn't too much for GOD, The Five Women In Jesus Family Tree
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[00:00:00] 


Introduction: Unlikely Ancestors in Jesus' Family Tree
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What if I told you that Jesus family tree includes a prostitute, a widow who seduced her father-in-law, a foreigner from a cursed nation? A woman caught in a royal scandal and a teenage girl with no status. These aren't the people you expect to see in the bloodline of the son of God, but they're exactly who God chose.


Host Introduction and Episode Theme
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So before I jump in, my name is Erica and welcome to Where is Your Voice Ministries podcast. I went to a woman's conference this past weekend and one of the guest speakers was Sherra McKee, who also spoke on this topic, and the Holy Spirit told me to keep that message flowing. So today's episode is called Your Past [00:01:00] Isn't Too Much For God, the five Women in Jesus Family Tree Who Proves it.

This is for anyone who feels unworthy. Ashamed, overlooked, broken suffering, or even outcasted from society, not just because of your past, but maybe even your present. 


Tamar: A Story of Redemption
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The first woman up in Jesus' bloodline is Tamar. There are three different women in the Bible named Tamar. But we are speaking of the one listed in Genesis chapter 38.

Tamar had a lot going against her, especially in age ancient times in what she lived. Not only was she a woman, but she was also a Aite woman belonging to a ethnic group that God's people were strictly forbidden to marry. Tamar . Does end [00:02:00] up getting married to Judas eldest son er, but the Lord said he was wicked and took his life shortly after they were married.

And because of the law of that culture, she married Judas other son. So that way er will have an air. Onan, the brother of heir married Tamar, but didn't wanna give her a baby. In Genesis, chapter 38, verse nine through 10, it reads, but Onan knew that the child would not be his. So whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.

What he did was wicked in the Lord's sight, so the Lord put him to death also. Which is of course devastating for Tamar. [00:03:00] Imagine losing two wicked husbands back to back and you still don't have a baby, which was a must during that time for a woman to have child. Also imagine Judah who just lost two sons after marrying the same woman He is probably thinking this woman is cursed, but he tells Tamar that he will give her his other son when he is old enough.

And sends Tamar back to her father house. Tamar, after some time, realizes that Judah is not going to keep his promise, so she takes matters into her own hands. When she realized Judah was coming in town after he lost his wife, Tamar dresses up like a prostitute. And when Judah. Saw Tamar, he didn't know it was her, so he tried to, you know, proposition her [00:04:00] and promised to send her a goat for payment.

But Tamar. I also ask for a pledge as well in Genesis chapter 38, verse 18 through 19. It reads, what pledge should I give you? Your seal and its cord and the staff in your hand? She answered, so he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow clothed again.

Judah has sent his servant. To send the goat to Tamar, but she was nowhere to be found and a few months later someone told Judah that Tamar was guilty of prostitution and is pregnant, and Judah orders her to be murdered, burned to death. Then in Genesis chapter 38, verse 25 through 26. As she was being brought out, she [00:05:00] sent a message to her father-in-law.

I am pregnant by the man who owns these. She said, and she added, see if you recognize who seal in court and staff, these are. Judah recognized them and said, she is more righteous than I since I wouldn't give her to my son, Sheila, he did not sleep with her again. Then Tammar gave birth to twin boys named Perez and Zarah.

A lesson you can take from Tamar's story is God is the redeemer, and he sees everything we go through and he knows the why behind it, and this is why he is constantly saving us from. Even our own choices. 


Rahab: Faith Overcomes the Past
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Next we have rehab. She is mentioned in Joshua chapter two, rehab, a Canaanite prostitute. [00:06:00] Rehab was not someone you would expect to be cast as a biblical hero.

But when Rehab showed mercy to others, even though she had not received much mercy in her own life, she discovered that God was already loving her. She was not valued by her own people. She had no idea of a better life, one with hope in Jericho. Her hometown rehab heard about the Lord, the God of Israel, and the Lord's deeds were known in that place, but the Lord had dried up the water of the Red Sea and had delivered the land of canine and its kingship into the hands of Israel.

In Joshua chapter two, verse one through 14. Then Joshua's son of none secretly sent two spies from Ham, go look over the land. He said, especially Jericho. So when [00:07:00] they went and entered the house of a prostitute named rehab and stayed there, the king of Jericho was told, look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.

So the King of Jericho sent the message to rehab, bring out the men who came to you and entered your house because they have come to spy out the whole land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, yes. The men came to me, but I did not know they had come from at dusk. When it was time to close the city gate, they left.

I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them, but she had taken them up to the roof and hitting them under the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road, I. That leads to the fors of Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone [00:08:00] out, the gate was shut.

Before the spies laid down for the night, she went up to the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in the country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea.

For you when you came out to Egypt and what you did to Sheena and Aog, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven, above and on the earth below.

Now. Then please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare [00:09:00] the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death, our lives, for your lives.

The man assured her. If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us this land. The story of rehab describes one of Israel's early saviors, a woman. A foreigner, a Canaanite prostitution was her stigma, but she turned out to be smarter than the king himself considered among the lowest by society.

She acted with bravery and a mind of an army Commander. Rehab story does not end there. She ends up married to the Prince salmon and they gave birth to Boaz. A lesson you can take from rehab is [00:10:00] faith matters more to God than your past. 


Ruth: Loyalty and Legacy
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Next we have Ruth, a Mobi Woman. I. And God had forbidden the Israelites , from being around Moabites because they had practices of sex, traditions, and idolatry that God didn't want the Israelites to start doing.

Naomi who had moved to Moab with her husband and sons is the reason why Ruth was married to an Israelite, but sadly, Naomi husband and sons died. Naomi tells Ruth and the, and her other daughter-in-law, they don't have to stay with her because she has nothing to offer, neither woman. But Ruth says in Ruth chapter one, verse 16 through 18, but Ruth replied, don't urge me to leave.

You are turn back from you where you go. I will go and where you stay, I will stay. [00:11:00] Your people will be my people. And your God, my God, will you die? I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me. Be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

So Ruth goes to Israel with Naomi, which in that time wasn't easy because now she is a foreigner widow and childless. She was being judged relentlessly and faced persecution because she was a mobi woman. She started working in the fields near the, this man named Boaz, who started taking a liking to Ruth and even asked about her in route chapter to verse five through seven, boas asked the overseer of his harvest.

Who does [00:12:00] that young woman belong to? The overseer replied. She is the moac woman who came back from Moab. With Naomi, she said, please let me glean and gather among the, shes around the harvester. She came into the field and she has remained from here morning to now, except for the short rest in the shelter after some time goes by.

Boaz realizes that he may be able to marry Ruth and redeem her, and he does. Then they end up having a baby. As mentioned in Rule chapter four, verse 16, I. Through 18, then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The woman living there said Naomi has a son, and they named him, oh, bad. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

[00:13:00] A lesson that you can take from Ruth is your loyalty and humility in hard times. Can lead a legacy you never imagine. Ruth didn't chase a platform. She followed God through faithfulness and he lifted her up. 


Bathsheba: Enduring Consequences and Finding Redemption
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So next we have Bathsheba. The name Bathsheba is thought by some to be linked to a region of Sheba, which is also associated with the Queen of Sheba.

The Queen of Sheba is a figure known for visiting King Solomon and is sometimes depicted as a black woman. Bathsheba husband was a hill Tie, a group from. Anatolia not Israel, this further led some interpreters to consider her as possibly having a Nonis Israelite ancestry. Not much is known about [00:14:00] Bathsheba other than what she endured with King David.

She is mentioned in the book of two Samuel, chapter 11 and 12. The Bible states King David, who decided to stay back. From war was walking on his palace and saw Bathsheba during her bathing and said, this woman is very beautiful. And he asked about her and they told him she was married, but he still sent for her and they had sex.

Be Sheva sends word to King David that she is pregnant. And King David tries everything he could to hide the fact that she was pregnant by someone other than her husband. But when that failed, he had her husband purposely placed in an area of battle to where he would be murdered, and in fact, he was murdered in Second Samuel [00:15:00] chapter 11, verse 29 through , it says.

When Rah wives heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done, displeased the Lord, 

So God sent a prophet named Nathan to King David to let him know all the consequences that will happen because of what he had done to the Bathsheba. One of those consequences was that the baby they just had will die.

In Second Samuel chapter 12, verse 22 to 24, it reads, he answered. While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live, but now that he is dead, why should I [00:16:00] go on fasting? Can I bring him back? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, , and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him and because the Lord loved him, he sent word to Nathan the prophet, to name him jab. Whew. Something to take in here about Bathsheba is. She had to face the same consequences for someone else.

Actions. How many times have you faced consequences for someone else actions? And hopefully those consequences were not as extreme as losing your husband and your firstborn child. A lesson you can take from Bathsheba is God can [00:17:00] redeem. 


Mary: The Humble Mother of God
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What was done to you and restore honor where there was one shame last and definitely not least, because she is the goat of all these women to me, and that is Mary the Virgin Mary, second Eve, mother of God.

Mary was a young Jewish woman who lived in Nazareth. And that's now Israel. The early traditions of the Christian community named Mary parents Ann and Joseph King, because of Mary's faithfulness as a Jewish woman, we can imagine that her parents were also devout Jews and raise their daughter , in accordance with their faith, their tender care and devotion.

Helped Mary to grow into the confident, yet humble [00:18:00] young woman who would say yes to God because of the time and area in which Mary lived, we can make some pretty good guesses about what her life was like. Mary was probably a peasant life in a rural village in the Middle East, such as Nazareth would have been filled with hard work.

Most women and men were illiterate during this time period. Mary's homeland was occupied by the Romans. It was difficult life. Under Roman rule filled with violence and poverty. The Jews looked for a Messiah who would liberate them from the oppressive rule of Caesar. Mary notes the injustice of the world around her.

When she recalls, God promised to throw down the rulers from their thrones, but lift up the lowly in Luke chapter 1 46 through 55. Most of what is told [00:19:00] about Mary, the mother of Jesus, occurs in the early chapters of Matthew and Luke. She is not mentioned in the letters of the New Testament, except in the phrase born of a woman.

In Galatians four, four, the book of Revelation portrays a woman who is very splendid and heavenly, a woman of great power. She gives birth to the Christ child. The vision may be regarded as having a reference to Mary. When the angel Gabriel appeared to marry, he said to her, you have found favor with God.

Later, her sister Elizabeth said to her, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. In Luke chapter one, verse 41 through 44. When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a baby, she said, how can this be since I'm a virgin? In Luke, chapter one, verse 34, [00:20:00] prophecy predicted, behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they should call him Emanuel, meaning God is with us.

And Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14. Mary did not understand some of the things that were said and done, but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. In Luke chapter two, verse 19, Mary trusted God. Mary was not spared a life of suffering just because she was the mother of God when Jesus was, but a young child.

Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt with him because Harold wanted to kill him. They stayed in Egypt till Harold died, and then returned to Israel and later to Nazareth. Mary had other children after Jesus, several brothers and sisters. Mary was present at [00:21:00] the Crucification. And Jesus assigned his disciples, John, to look after her as though she was his own mother.

After Jesus ascended to heaven. Mary, his mother was with her sons, among the disciples in Jerusalem who were gathered to pray. A lesson you can take from Mary is God often used, the humble, the overlooked. And the unlikely to carry his greatest promises. 


Reflection and Prayer
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Do you see yourself in any of these women? Maybe your story feels too broken.

Your past or present, too complicated. Are your voice too small? But just like them. You are not disqualified. You're exactly the kind of person God delights in using. Which woman's story speaks to you the most? What [00:22:00] lie about your past or present do you need to let go of today? So I hope this really resonated with you, and I'm gonna go ahead and pray.

Lord, we come to you, God, and we wanna say that we know Lord, that forgiveness is with you. We know that grace is with you. We know that hope is with you. We know that redemption is with you, God, and you can use. Anyone. You want God to get your glory, and we're just asking God that we can be one of the many people that you used God, and that we can know that despite our past, despite our circumstances, despite our presence, despite our ways, despite our desires, that you can still partner with us, God, and use us in such a way.

For such a time and we are asking God for your mercy and that you will clean our hearts and create a new heart within us [00:23:00] and break us from things Lord, so we can be used as the mighty vessel that you want us to be. 'cause we know that we are your masterpiece. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 


Conclusion and Call to Action
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All right. Thank you so much from watching.

Send us to someone who needs some encouragement that God can still use them despite their past and despite their presence. All right.