Me and April were talking today about Tamar it got me thinking.
The story of Tamar is found in Genesis. She was married to Judah’s eldest son and he died. Tamar was then married to Judah’s next oldest son (as was the custom) and he died too. The only son left was too young so Judah sent Tamar home to her fathers house to wait until he grew up. Well he grew up and no one came for her. She was almost past child bearing age. She knew she would have to take matters into her own hands.She was calculating.She planned out ever little detail. She would change her clothes and cover her face with a veil and sit on the side of the road and wait until Judah went down the street to shear his sheep. When he passed she posed as a prostitute and he slept with her. He also gave her his seal, cord, and staff for proof of payment. She became pregnant with twins(Perez and Zerah) and had proof they were Judah’s because she had his belongings. Judah said that Tamar was more righteous then him.
How can the word “righteous” be applied to Tamar, who uses an act of prostitution to secure her future? Also, consider Judah: he lives seperate from his family(over guilt), marries a canaanite, hires a prostitute, fails to keep the law that was meant to protect widows, and the decrees that Tamar should be burned for a sin she committed with him!
Neither one of them fits the current understanding of the word righteous( right standing with God). But amazingly they both find their way into the ancestry of Christ!
These two seriously flawed individuals are listed in Matthew among Jesus’ ancestors. Beautiful proof that God doesn’t wait until his people are perfect or have it all together before using them in his plans. Jesus became wholly human, including having sinful ancestors. He did not place himself above us but became one of us. And his choice was out of his grace, not our merit.
