The women are in Jesus' genealogy because God's grace overrode their sinful and taboo backgrounds.
Les Feldick teaches that these women—such as Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth—had backgrounds no one would want in a family tree. Their presence in the Messiah's line points to the grace of God, not to moral approval. God's grace, already evident from Genesis onward, brought them into a place of honor and renown.
Matthew 1:3 — This verse places Tamar in the legal line of Christ, the first of the women Les discusses.
Matthew 1:5 — This verse names both Rahab and Ruth in the same genealogy, showing their direct connection to the Messiah.
Matthew 1:3 and 1:5 record the presence of Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth in the legal line of the Messiah. Genesis 38:15 describes Tamar being mistaken for a harlot; Joshua 2:1 identifies Rahab as a harlot in Jericho; and Ruth 1:4 identifies Ruth as a Moabitess. The genealogy itself gives no moral commentary—it simply places them there. Romans 5:20 says, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound," which is the scriptural principle Les applies to their inclusion.
Les Feldick teaches that the women in Matthew's genealogy reveal the grace of God. He points out that Tamar played the prostitute, Rahab was a harlot and a Gentile, and Ruth was a Moabite—a people the Jews were told to avoid. He calls these women "immoral" and says most people would not want them in their family tree. Yet God put them in the lineage of Christ. Les connects this to Romans 5:20: where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. He also stresses this is "the grace of God. Not the license," and that God's grace has been an attribute from day one—even after Adam and Eve sinned, God went looking for them.
Les says "not a one of us would like to have had any one of those four women in our genealogy, because they were all immoral women." He identifies Tamar, who played the prostitute; Rahab, a harlot and a Gentile; and Ruth, a Moabite. The point, he says, is not that God approved of their sin, but that His grace put them in the line of the Messiah.
Les explains that the Moabites were "taboo" because they began with the ancestral relationship of Lot and his daughter. God had mandated that the Jews were to have nothing to do with the Moabites. Yet here is a Moabite girl, Ruth, placed in the genealogy of Christ—a striking demonstration of God's grace.
No. Les is explicit: the point is "the grace of God. Not the license." Their presence does not make their immorality acceptable. Instead, it shows that God can work beyond human failure and bring even those with scandalous backgrounds into His plan.
Les notes that "it was her hap to land in the very field where she had to be to meet her future husband, which in turn put her in the genealogy of Christ." He presents this as an example of God's divine appointments at work.
Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth in the List
Les names Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth and recounts the sinful or taboo backgrounds that make them surprising members of Christ's genealogy.
All Four Women Were Immoral
Les says none of us would want these four women in our genealogy because they were all immoral, but their presence shows God's grace.
Four Women Nobody Would Want in a Family Tree
Les repeats that these are the only four women listed in Matthew's genealogy and that most people would not want them in their family tree.
Ruth's Divine Appointment
Les points to Ruth's 'hap' of landing in Boaz's field as a divine appointment that led to her place in Christ's genealogy.
Is Jesus God? The Prophecies of the Coming King Explained
But in Luke chapter 3, the genealogy of Mary, you have to go all the way to the last verse to pick it up, which was the son of Enos, who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam, who was the son of God, or began with God. Now do you see the difference in those genealogies? Mary's, you see, is the bloodline of Christ, and that goes all the way back to David, I mean back to Adam, because we're a…
God's Grace from Day One
Les shows that God's grace was active from the beginning—after Adam and Eve sinned, God went looking for them.
Is the New Covenant for Israel or the Church? Jeremiah 31 Explained
And so now God is looking at this royal family that's going to begin with David, come on down to Solomon, and then as we pointed out I think down to the two sons of Bathsheba and David, Nathan and Solomon, and then the genealogy just goes all the way down through history until we come up to our New Testament and Joseph and Mary.
Who Did Cain Marry? & The Mystery of Enoch (Genesis 4-5 Bible Study)
Now through the line of Seth will come Noah, and through the line of Noah we've got the three sons of Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Then, from the line of Shem, we come right on down and we get to the man Abraham. And if I had a still larger board, we could just follow right down through Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob.
Matthew 1:3: And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
This verse places Tamar in the legal lineage of Christ, the first woman Les discusses.
Matthew 1:5: And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
This verse places both Rahab and Ruth in the same genealogy.
Ruth 1:4: And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
This shows that Ruth was a Moabitess, the background Les highlights as taboo.
Genesis 38:15: When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
This describes the circumstances that led to Tamar being mistaken for a harlot.
Joshua 2:1: And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
This identifies Rahab as a harlot, the description Les uses in his teaching.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Les uses this verse to explain why these sinful or taboo women could be included in Christ's genealogy.
Les names Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth in the clips. He says there are four women total and that all four were immoral, but he does not name the fourth in the provided evidence.
He says the main lesson is the grace of God, not license. Their backgrounds no one would want in a family tree, yet God placed them in the line of the Messiah to show that His grace surpasses their sin.
Les says the Moabites were taboo because of their origin through Lot and his daughter. God had told the Jews to have nothing to do with them. Yet Ruth, a Moabite girl, appears in the genealogy—showing that God's grace was not limited to Israel.
Watch the Teaching: Why Was Jesus Baptized? The Answer Most People Miss