Coming from Brokenness: LeAnne Jenkins
Broken: having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order (smashed shattered); (of a person) having given up all hope, despairing
How many of us feel broken? We can feel broken by life, our circumstances, our sin, our choices, or any combination of these. Being broken can make us feel like we are no longer useful, less than ideal. It can leave us with a lack of trust. It can cause us to build walls so others can’t see our flaws and vulnerabilities. That’s where God steps in! He can take our brokenness and make something beautiful. He can take us in our brokenness and put us back together piece by piece. Then if we will allow Him and trust Him, He can shine through our cracks, or our brokenness. I want to take a look at some broken women that had the honor of being mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. Before I began, I want you to think of brokenness like a smashed teacup. Seems pretty useless, right? But I hope to show what can happen when we allow God to take those broken pieces and put them back together.
The first chapter of Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus, God in human flesh, the Messiah. We don’t have to look any further than the first six verses to see the names of three women. Women were typically not mentioned in family genealogies, but when God inspired the writing of His Word, He chose to mention three women. Each of these women were broken in some way, but God used them in the lineage of Jesus.
The first woman mentioned is Tamar. She was the daughter-in-law of Judah, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Her story sounds like something straight out of a soap opera (for the details read Genesis 38:1-30). Tamar’s brokenness comes from: 1.) losing her husband because of his wickedness, 2.) being rejected by her second husband because of his selfishness, and 3.) her own desperation (prostituting herself to her father-in-law in order to have children). Even though Tamar took matters into her own hands, instead of trusting God. He had a plan and nothing would keep this plan from being fulfilled. Tamar births twin sons. One of these sons, Perez, is in the family line that will lead to Jesus, the Savior of the world. This story reminds us that God can use us, even after we have been broken by others and our own lack of trust in God.
In Joshua 2:1-24, we meet a woman named Rahab. Many of us are familiar with her story. She lives in Jericho. Rahab ran the last place that anyone would expect spies to visit, a brothel. She may have even been a prostitute herself. When the walls of this great city come crashing down, after Israel’s seven-day march around it, Rahab and her family are the only survivors. This is her reward from God for hiding the spies that were sent into the land. Rahab’s brokenness comes from her choices. Her brokenness is from her own sin. How many of us have been broken by our own sinful choices? Those are the things that tend to haunt us for a long time because we caused our own brokenness. God, though, in His great love for us, can forgive us and put us back together and use us. Just look at Rahab. Rahab married a man from the tribe of Judah. She had a son named Boaz. Boaz was Jesse’s grandfather. Rahab was David’s great-great grandmother. Rahab is the second woman mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.
The next woman mentioned in Matthew, Ruth, gets a whole book in the Old Testament to tell her story. Ruth was a Moabite woman that was married to an Israelite man. In a span of ten years, Ruth loses her father-in-law, her brother-in-law, and her husband. Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, tells her and her sister-in-law that she is returning to Israel. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi and goes with her to Israel. Ruth says, “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die will I die, and there I will be buried.” A widow’s life is a hard life, but a man named Boaz allows Ruth to glean from his fields. Eventually, Boaz marries Ruth. Ruth’s brokenness comes out of harsh circumstances in life. God was faithful. He provided for Ruth and Naomi. He provided another husband for Ruth. Ruth has a son, named Obed. Obed is David’s grandfather. How many of us have been broken by life? We did nothing. That kind of brokenness can cause us to feel useless and without value. It can, like Ruth, come from death, but it can come from other places too, such as feeling unwanted as a child, abuse in whatever form, or being rejected. That is a brokenness that only God can heal, and He can because with Him nothing is impossible. He can take that brokenness, put those pieces back together, and shine through that brokenness.
Why would God choose to have three broken women included in Jesus’ family line? I think He wanted to show His children especially women, that He can still use a broken vessel. Remember that broken teacup from earlier. It seems useless after it is broken. Take that broken teacup and gently glue those pieces back together. Then put a small candle under that teacup. Turn the lights off. Do you see it? The light shines through the cracks! This is what our loving Father does with those of us who have been broken. If we allow Him, He will gently take those pieces and put them back together. When the work is done, He can shine through our “cracks”. He can use us to help someone else who has been broken.
LeAnne Jenkins is a homeschool mom. She has been married to her husband, Brian, for twenty years. They have a teenage son, Christopher. She is currently working on her M.Div. in Ministry to Women at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has a passion for missions, evangelism, and discipleship. She enjoys serving in Africa each year, reading, teaching, sewing, quilting, and listening to podcasts. Her ultimate goal is to see women become passionate about sharing the gospel and discipling other women her in the states and around the world.