Tamar

In Matthew 1:3, we see that Tamar is listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, our Messiah. “What a great honor” one would immediately think! But often we don’t understand the hardships a person had to endure, to receive this kind of credit. Tamar, just like each and every one of us, has a story to tell. Her story is the moving narrative of a small-town girl, who was bestowed upon a half-Jew / half-gentile man, who ended up falling pregnant with her father-in-law’s child after two of her husbands passed away. Sounds more like a modern-day drama from Hollywood, than an inspiring story from the Bible, don’t you think?

Tamar was of Canaanite descent. Even though God warned the Israelites on numerous occasions not to intermarry with the Canaanites, her Israeli father-in-law (Judah), decided to take her as a bride for his firstborn son, Er. She was just a young girl without a choice when she became the wife of the evil Er. How often do we not stand without choice when life happens? And how often are we expected to just accept the outcome of a situation, even if it means that we are the topic of gossip for the people around us?

Judah decided to give Tamar to his secondborn, Onan when the Lord took Er away because of his wickedness. Sadly, Onan was not much better. He used Tamar for his own selfish sexual pleasure but did not want to give Tamar a child. As we can see, no kind of evil is new to this world. Sadly, people’s self-centered motives, have caused them to mistreat & use people, from the beginning of time. Yet, despite all the heartache and pain her husband caused her, Tamar did not run away. I believe that somewhere, hidden deep in her innermost being, she believed in the God of Israel. A God of goodness and grace. A God that will save her, no matter her circumstances or her background.

Yet again, Tamar was left without a choice when her 2nd husband died. She could not go out and find herself another husband. The custom of the day was that her father-in-law had to give her a husband. In this case, his 3rd son. But as the story goes, Judah didn’t give his third son to her, and Tamar decided to take matters into her own hands. She deceived Judah, by disguising herself as a prostitute. And after Judah learned that his daughter-in-law was pregnant with his son, he finally stood up (after many years of disobedience) and became the man God intended him to be. And because of his obedience, both Tamar & Judah now forms part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Obedience is such a beautiful thing. So if you feel like Tamar today, I want to encourage you to not be anxious, but by prayer and petition to present your circumstances to God (Philippians 4:6-7), and to take every negative thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), and use your circumstances to bring glory to God.

Written by Yolandi Wirth for Women of the Word

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