Skeletons in God’s Closet – Matthew 1:1-17
Do you have any skeletons in your closet? This figure of speech means: “A secret source of shame, potentially ruinous if exposed, which a person or family makes efforts to conceal.” Some have suggested that the phrase comes from a practice of medical doctors in England in the 19th century who would hide in their closet the cadavers they used in teaching and research. The phrase is most often used, however, in fictional literature.
When I refer to “skeletons in God’s closet” here in Matthew 1, I am not talking about something secret (indeed, it is put in the Bible for all the world to see), nor are these a source of shame or ruin. But, through it all, we see the powerful hand of God working, sometimes in mysterious ways, to bring Jesus into the world and bless the world through Him.
Matthew wrote his gospel primarily for a Jewish audience. Matthew tells us in his first verse that he is writing to prove that Jesus was the son of Abraham and the son of David, the promised Messiah from the Old Testament. So, Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of the kingdom of God.
Aside from Mary, there are four other women listed in the genealogy of Jesus and, as some might think, these are “skeletons in God’s closet.”
TAMAR – 1:3:
Tamar is found in Genesis 38. The significant fact about Tamar and her story is that God guided history in such a way that He preserved the seed of Abraham because of His plan to send Jesus into the world. Tamar has a questionable morality and questionable ethnicity. Yet, God can still work out His plans as He knows best.
RAHAB – 1:5:
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RUTH – 1:5:
Although Ruth was a Moabitess, because of her and Boaz’s faithfulness, God gives them a son named Obed who becomes the father of Jesse, the father of King David. Then, Ruth passes into the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
BATHSHEBA – 1:6:
Abigail was beautiful and smart and David’s second wife but God chose the seed of the Messiah to come through Bathsheba. Bathsheba was married to Uriah, the Hittite. But, once again, she was blessed by God in the ancestry of King Jesus.
So, these four women, these “skeletons in God’s closet,” show us a few things about the Son of David, the coming king:
1. Jesus did not come just to save men. He came to save women as well.
2. Jesus did not come just to save Jews. He came to save Gentiles as well.
3. Some of these women are associated with sins, or indiscretions at the least (not that they are any more sinful than the men in the list) and illustrate the purpose of the Savior’s coming, which is spelled out specifically in verse 21: “He will save His people from their sins.”
4. God moves in mysterious ways; to be open to His guidance is to be open for surprises!
