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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you."
"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.
"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said.
"Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked.
He said, "What pledge should I give you?"
"Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered.
So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?"
"There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said.
So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.'"
Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."
About three months later, Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!"
As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."
Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.
When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!"
And he was named Perez. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.
Genesis 38:12-30
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the end of yesterday’s message, we saw how Tamar, the woman who was married to Judah’s first son, Er, had been reduced to permanent widowhood after first Er, and then his brother, Onan, had been put to death by the Lord because of their sinfulness. This state of widowhood became ever more apparent to her after she had waited and waited for Judah to make good on his promise to allow her to have a child through his youngest son, Shelah, after he got older.
Well, the scriptures for today tell us that Shelah did grow up and Judah had failed to make good on his promise. I’m sure he never expected Tamar to display incredible resiliency and perseverance in her desire to receive what she saw as rightfully hers. The end result of her actions allowed her to regain her dignity and a special place in God’s overall mighty plan.
First, we see where Tamar poses as a shrine prostitute and lures Judah into having sex with her. This comes after the death of Judah’s wife so he no doubt was lonely and vulnerable, yearning for companionship and intimacy as he unknowingly propositions his own daughter-in-law. And although Judah didn’t know who he was dealing with, Tamar certainly knew all about Judah, especially his penchant for not telling the truth. And so anticipating that he might not send a young goat from his flock in exchange for sex and to prevent him from trying to deny having sexual relations with her, she convinces him to make pledge. The scriptures tell us he gave his seal, cord and staff to Tamar as security for the vow he had made and it was only then that Tamar slept with him. Later becoming pregnant.
Interestingly enough, Judah did honor the obligation of his pledge and sent a goat to the prostitute only to find that he had been fooled because no shrine prostitute existed at that time. But three months later, Judah receives news that his daughter-in-law had become a prostitute and became pregnant. And not knowing that Tamar was the one he had slept with, Judah orders Tamar to be burned to death.
Can you imagine what an embarrassment it must have been when Tamar holds up the seal, cord, and staff, saying that the father of her child was the owner of these items?
Immediately realizing what had happened, Judah cries out:
"She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah."
In other words, Tamar was determined to see that she had a child to carry on the family name and lineage, whether Judah was going to help her or not.
And she succeeded.
In the grand scheme of things, Tamar’s actions were actually part of a broader plan that God had set in motion. For had it not been the will of Lord, she would have never found success in luring Judah to her and she certainly would not have ended up pregnant, bearing two sons by him.
You see, one of the twins born to Tamar and Judah, Perez, would actually go on to be a part of Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:3) and you will also notice that Tamar is listed as well, God’s blessed reward for her unwillingness to give up in the face of adversity.
Friends, life is often hard and we can find ourselves in times of challenge and difficulty. Thankfully, the Word of God offers us inspiration through figures like Tamar who can bring us encouragement and strength in times of need. Let us all adopt her dogged determination, unwavering faithfulness, and unwillingness to give up which allowed her to succeed even though adversity had come her way.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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