Robert W. Odom PH. D
I love that the writers of Scripture do not whitewash the stories detailed in the Bible. Throughout Scripture, we find a discussion of some challenging situations. These include abuse, rape, deception, broken promises, and more. The question is often asked why this is. I believe that God allows this so that we see the need for a Savior and what life looks like when we do not follow the principles God has established for us. The story of Tamar is one such story.
Historically and contextually, the law of that day required that if a man died before he had children, his brother would marry the widow, and their first-born child would take on the name of the deceased husband. This would allow that child to have his place in the lineage of the coming Messiah.
This was the one hope of the Jewish people. They longed to be in the family lineage that would give birth to the Messiah. This expectation was that Jewish people would wait with wonder for the birth of the Messiah. They would have great expectations at the birth of every male child. They would often greet one another with the words, “Have you heard any good news?” This meant Have you heard of His birth? They waited eagerly for the coming Messiah, the savior of the world and the redeemer of all humanity. That is why this story is both sad and amazing at the same time.
Let’s look at the story. Tamar married Er, Judah’s first-born son. The Bible tells us that he was such an evil man that he died. The Bible says that “he was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.” We do not know how or when. We know that he was wicked, and he died.
Onan, who was the second brother in line. He married Tamar according to Jewish culture and religious law traditions. He was to have a child so that the lineage of the Messiah would be established. He married her but refused to conceive a child with her. He faked everyone and lied about what he did. (Because this is a G-rated article, I cannot describe what he did). This action and the refusal for him to obey the law cost him his life.
And this is where it gets to be a real lifetime network movie. Tamar was promised Judah’s youngest son. He never gave him to Tamar for fear that he, too, would die. He failed to recognize the real reason his sons had died. They were evil. It does not say it in scripture, but I imagine he blamed Tamar, not his sons, for their deaths.
To get even, Tamar dressed up as a prostitute. Judah saw her, and he took her. Because of this interaction, she conceived a child (we later find out they are twins). She was brilliant because she requested a goat for her payment. Since Judah did not have one available, she asked for a security deposit. She asked for his signet, the cord, and the staff/rod. He gave them to her.
After they made love, he sent men to give her a goat to honor their agreement. But she could not be found. Three months later, Judah received word that Tamar was pregnant. What does he do? He calls for her to be burned, which was the penalty for having a child out of wedlock and breaking the law of the time. Do not forget that women were not honored that day.
Being the intelligent woman she was, she produced the evidence she had been holding. She asked him to identify them because the man to whom they belonged was the man who was the father of her child. Things changed quickly, and he realized he had wronged her and had been caught. He could not have her put to death because it would have jeopardized his own life and standing in the community. He also recognized that he had betrothed his youngest son to her but never allowed this to happen. He had forced her hand. She knew how important it was for her to keep her husband’s namesake alive, even though he had been evil. Tamar, an outsider, was more focused on the Jewish law of Messiah than Judah was.
In the end, she gave birth to twins Perez and Zerah. Here is the fantastic part of this story. Perez became the father of Boaz, who became the father of Jesse, who became the Father of David, who we now know was in direct line through which Messiah would be born.
Wow, what a story. And this is the G version. This story is complicated, messy, and filled with trickery. However, God used a terrible situation to bring about His will and purposes in the life of humanity. Ultimately, God cares about the widow, the hurting, and the forsaken. Remember, Christ came to minister grace and mercy in significant ways.
As we have noted before, our past does not dictate our future. While our past may form who we are, it does not have to define us. God does not use our past against us. He redeems our past so that we can live whole and complete lives in the present. God chose a broken and rejected woman to be included in the genealogy of Christ.
God takes the messy and broken pieces of our lives and restores them. Broken promises are a part of life, but God turns these hurts and wounds into opportunities for healing. We become more sympathetic and empathetic to those who hurt around us. We are filled with more compassion to see others in a redemptive light rather than one that judges and condemns.
Listen to the mission of Christ in His own words. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
God set Tamar free, and He can do that for you today. Trust Him. Turn to Him. Ask Him to help you. You might be surprised at the outcome.
So let me ask you:
- What lessons do we learn from this story?
- Have you experienced the grace of God like Tamar did? She deserved death, but she received life and ended up in the lineage of Christ.
- Where have you experienced broken promises and deceit? How did that impact you?
- How do you see the grace and mercy of God at work in this story?
© Robert W. Odom Ph. D. 2023
Life on the edge 