When I saw that newborn onesie with a cute baby lion on the chest, I decided to buy it for my future baby collection. That baby lion reminded me of the Lion of the tribe of Judah (a biblical reference to Jesus). As I pray and wait for my children yet-to-come and wonder what their future lives will hold, I have thought a lot about the generations preceding the birth of Jesus Christ. Five women were mentioned in His family tree (in Matthew 1), and although God could have chosen those who had it all together, with stable marriages, whose babies were conceived easily, God instead hand-picked women with messy lives who struggled to conceive. He allowed this ugly thing called infertility to be part of His story, part of the history of Jesus’ family.

Rahab was a prostitute. There is no mention that she had children during those years of her life, but after she aligned herself with the people of God, she was adopted into the family of God, and she married one of God’s chosen people. In her fresh start, within her marriage to Salmon, she mothered a child named Boaz.

Ruth was married, and had no children when her husband died. Although she had the option of pursuing a fresh life in her hometown, she chose to be faithful to one who knew God: her mother-in-law Naomi. She moved with Naomi, back to the homeland of her in-laws, where she ended up married to a respected, godly man – Boaz. With him she had a son, Obed, who was the grandfather of King David.

Bathsheba was a wife to her soldier husband, and while he was off at war, King David was hanging out on his palace roof. (He’s received criticism for that decision ever since, but this King did some amazing things and some stupid things.) That particular day, he made a stupid decision when up on his rooftop. From his vantage point, he found himself watching Bathsheba take a bath, and called for her to come to his chambers. He had an affair with her, and although the Bible makes no mention of any children she already had, this affair produced a baby. To make a long story short, David tried to trick her husband into thinking the baby was his own, and when that plan failed, David arranged for the husband to be killed in battle so it would appear that his new wife, Bathsheba, was legitimately having David’s baby. God allowed that baby to die soon after birth, but in His mercy, He gave this couple a second chance – and they had a son named Solomon, who went down in history as a man of great wisdom, whose family line eventually produced Jesus.

However, Tamar is my favorite these days, and her story happened before all of the others. Her story indicates that she was determined to carry on the family line of Judah. She married into this family – the head of this tribe was her father-in-law, Judah. Her wicked husband died before she had any children, so following custom, she was married to her husband’s brother. He refused to cooperate in this marriage, denying her a chance to become pregnant. And he too died, leaving her still childless. I’ll make a long story short (although I intend to share more writing about this story later): Tamar eventually acted like a prostitute to get Judah to sleep with her, and God allowed her to become pregnant on that first attempt, giving her the son who would carry on the line of the tribe of Judah.

That line of the tribe of Judah brought forth the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, who came to save us from sin, heal us from sickness, lead us with His Lordship, and walk through life with us as Friend, to name a few. He sees us in this struggle to conceive, and He knows that He is able to still do miracles today. Infertility was part of His family’s story, but the God of miracles brought new life when it seemed impossible.

That little lion cub pictured on the newborn onesie reminds me of the Lion of Judah who is able to do more than we ask or imagine.

Genesis 49:9 “You are a lion’s cub, Judah”

Revelation 5:5 “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.”