The Genealogy of Perez

[Read Ruth 4:18-22]

This past week, I realized that many of our favorite—most treasured portions of scripture—have a dark underside. We love the brightness and glory that reveal the glory of God, but we often forget that the brightness is shining out of the darkness, the glory is contrasted with difficulty. 

Take a look at Psalm 23. This is one of the most well-known passages of scripture. It’s regularly read at funerals because it brings so much comfort to families. We love the imagery of the Shepherd leading us, providing us with whatever we need. We even love this line from Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, ESV). Yet, as I meditated on this line, I realized something. Why are the sheep walking in the valley of the shadow of death? They are in the valley of the shadow of death because the shepherd led them there. He led them from the green pastures, from the still waters, to the valley of the shadow of death. Of course we find great comfort knowing that our God is with us in the valley of the shadow of death—guiding us and protecting us—but do we also find great comfort knowing that He is the one who led us there?

I also spent time thinking about Hebrews 11. I’ve actually spent a LOT of time meditating on Hebrews 11 over the years. It’s one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture. Many call it The Hall of Faith. In Hebrews 11 the author gives us example after example after example of God’s people living out their faith in the world. And as I read the chapter, my heart is stirred deeply and my faith is increasingly strengthened. We love the passage. 

Yet, again, as I meditated on this chapter throughout the week, I noticed something. Every instance of faith in Hebrews 11 was exercised in the valley of the shadow of death—in a time of severe difficulty. At the beginning we read, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain…” (Hebrews 11:4, ESV). Then what happened? He was murdered by Cain. We also read, “By faith Noah…in reverent fear constructed an ark…” (Hebrews 11:7, ESV). Remember what the world was like when Noah exercised this faith. It was so wicked God flooded the earth to wipe everyone out—except Noah’s family. Abraham’s faith meant leaving everything he had ever known to head to someplace he didn’t know. Sarah’s faith meant being barren for almost 100 years. Joseph’s faith meant being forced in slavery and thrown in prison a couple times. Moses’ faith meant leaving Pharaoh’s palace to be mistreated with his people in slavery, lead them to a Promised Land he would never enter. The passage alludes to Daniel’s faith stopping the mouths of lions, but that faith required him to serve a godless king, disobey that godless king, and be thrown into a pit of lions. The passage alludes to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo’s faith quenching the power of fire, but again that faith required them to live in a godless country, refuse to worship the gods of that country, and be thrown in a fiery furnace. Their faith was exercised in periods of intense difficulty and thorough rejection of the One True God. 

And, to bring this discussion to another level, The Hall of Faith ends on a darker note saying, “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:35–40, ESV). Not everyone’s faith resulted in victory in this life. Some had faith in the midst of torture and still died. They were stoned, sawn in two, or killed with the sword and they endured it by faith. Others weren’t killed because of their faith, but rejected by society. They were mocked, beaten, mistreated, poor, sick, without any place to live and they endured it by faith. It even says,  “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,” (Hebrews 11:39, ESV). They didn’t even receive what was promised in this life even though they had faith! 

So, how were they able to endure it all? By faith! They endured the beatings, the mocking, the sickness, the godlessness, the trials, the difficulties, the struggles by faith—even when they didn’t receive the promises in this life. Faith looks BEYOND this life. Faith looks BEYOND what is seen to the unseen. That’s how Hebrews 11 starts: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV). Faith is assurance of things hoped for. Faith is conviction of things not seen. So, as these faithful servants experienced such difficult circumstances, their FAITH moved their eyes beyond the current circumstances—beyond what they could see in that moment—and brought them assurance of hope and conviction of God’s promises. They couldn’t see the hope. They couldn’t see the assurance. They couldn’t even see God’s promises in those dark moments. But their FAITH moved them beyond what they could see in that moment. That’s why we read that they died “so that they might rise again to a better life.” (Hebrews 11:35, ESV). That’s FAITH that looks beyond what can be seen. Others endured difficulty and struggle with the FAITH that “God had provided something better for us…” (Hebrews 11:40, ESV). That’s FAITH that looks beyond what can be seen. 

All of this brings us to this week’s passage—a genealogy—the type of passage most people skip over. Yet, this final passage of Ruth—even though it seems boring and dry after reading this love story—actually tells us the purpose of the entire book. I talked about this briefly last week, but I want to look at it more in-depth this week. In the end, this book is not about Naomi or Ruth or Boaz. It’s about the great King of Israel. 

Yet, the author reminds us of the Great King’s family history. It begins with Perez—the great, great, great, etc. Grandfather of King David. Yet, remember how Perez was born. The story of his birth is not a proud story of Godliness. To be honest, it’s pretty messed up. 

I’m not sure how many of you remember this story. Tamar is married to one of Judah’s sons. Yet before Tamar could conceive a son, her husband was put to death by God because of his wickedness (Yes, that’s exactly how it’s worded in the Bible). Because of the levirate marriage laws, Judah has another son marry Tamar to help provide for a son. Yet, this son also does something wicked in God’s sight and was also put to death by God. To say the least, after this people are hesitant to marry Tamar. Judah doesn’t want anyone more sons to die. So, he lies to her and doesn’t do what God requires him to do. So, what does Tamar do? She waits for quite a few years, then tricks Judah—her father-in-law—into sleeping with her by dressing as a prostitute. Both acts of adultery that are thoroughly condemned by God. And out of this lurid story comes Perez—the great, great, great, etc. grandfather of Boaz and David. It’s a mess!

Then, as we see the name of Boaz, we’re reminded of this story from the book of Ruth. We’re reminded how it started. This entire story happens in the period of the judges—when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The period of the judges is one of the darkest periods in the history of God’s people. Everywhere you looked you saw God’s people turning away from him, doing whatever they wanted, and suffering the painful, devastating results of that rebellion. 

We even see some of this in the life of Naomi. Her and her family turned away from God, went to the land of Moab, trusting in their gods to provide for them. Yet, they also suffered as a result of their rebellion. Elimelech died. Then Mahlon and Chillion died. They had no children. There was no one to provide for Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah. 

Yet, this final passage of Ruth reminds us that God was still at work in the midst of this mess. God was still at work in the midst of this unfaithfulness and Godlessness. He was carrying out his plans and purposes. He was protecting his people. He was bringing about King David and he was bringing King David into the world through a messy, messy, messy family history and messy cultural moment. 

Sinclair Ferguson has a beautiful reminder for us in this regard. He says, “There is a broad and general lesson to be learned here. The explanation for much that takes place in our lives lies well beyond our own lives, and may be hidden from us all through our lives.” (Faithful God, p. 125). We may never fully understand why things have happened in our lives. It’s very possible that the reason something is happening to you right now, will be revealed hundreds or even thousands of years down the road. You don’t know. Why did all of that crazy stuff happen between Judah and Tamar? A few thousand years later it produced King David. Why are all these crazy things happening to us right now? Why all the COVID craziness? Why all the political tension? Why all the rioting? Why is the younger generation leaving the church? Why is the church slowly turning away from God’s Word to do what’s right in their own eyes? We can answer those questions two different ways. One way: We don’t know. We may never know. We don’t need to know. The Second Way: God is at work doing something. He has always worked through messy situations.  He has always worked in the midst of trials and difficulty. He has always worked in the midst of unfaithfulness. He’s doing something. He’s bringing about his plan and his purposes but those plans and purposes may not come to pass for another thousand years. 

This is why Ferguson also reminds us, “As Hebrews chapter 11 makes clear, it is a mark of genuine faith to look beyond our own day to the time when God will fulfil his promises.” (Faithful God, p. 125). “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV). So, just as God’s people have always been called, we are called to live by faith in our current messy situation. Our faith gives us assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things unseen. Our faith looks beyond our ability to SEE the reasoning for this craziness. We cannot see the reasons why these things are happening, but our faith is assurance, hope, and conviction that God is at work, bringing about his promises. 

We see this exact same genealogy somewhere else in God’s Word—in the book of Matthew. We read, “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king…of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:3–6, 16; ESV). THIS IS THE POINT of the book of Ruth. It’s pointing beyond Naomi, beyond Ruth, beyond Boaz, BEYOND even King David to Jesus Christ. Our Savior Jesus Christ came from the messed up family situation of Judah and Tamar. To make things even more interesting, Matthew tells us who Boaz’s mother was—Rahab the prostitute. Jesus is the result of that family. Our Savior Jesus Christ was born from a family that had been disobedient to God, almost wiped out completely, coming out of the darkest period of God’s people. 

This is the scarlet thread running through all of the craziness of those days—the tiny shaft of light shining in the darkness. Think about it. When Judah and Tamar were being unfaithful, God was faithfully bringing a redeemer into the world who would cleanse them of their unfaithfulness. When God’s people were rebelling against Him, doing what was right in their own eyes and suffering as a result, God was bringing about a redeemer who would cleanse them of their rebellion and give them new life. When Boaz is called a redeemer, or even little baby Obed is called a redeemer, they were looking BEYOND these two to the one who would eventually come from their family—the ULTIMATE REDEEMER—Jesus Christ. 

But don’t forget, we receive Christ’s redemption BY FAITH. We’re told: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:23–25, ESV). When we look to Jesus in faith—trusting him, having assurance and hope and conviction that HE HAS died for the forgiveness of our sins—we are redeemed and changed. 

Then, we live out that faith in whatever place God puts us and whatever story He is writing for us. Most likely, the story will include difficulty and hardship and messiness. Yet, as we encounter these things, our faith pulls us through because we can look BEYOND the difficulty, BEYOND, the hardship, BEYOND the messiness to the promises of God. And our FAITH gives us assurance, hope, and conviction that we will receive these things one day—either in this life or the next. And our FAITH reminds us that God is at work in the difficulty, the hardship, and the mess to bring about his purposes. So, we don’t quit, but keep pressing on by faith.