Monday, January 19, 2009

Day 19 A desperate woman resorts to desperate means!

"When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Psalms 11:3

That really sums up the story of Judah and Tamar in Gen 38. Tamar has two husbands die on her and puts the hope of having children within the confines of Judah's household, as was expected in those days. We are told that both Er and Onan were wicked in his sight and so cut them off - early in years. Judah thought the fault lay with Tamar and refused to give his youngest son as husband to Tamar. Tamar resorts to extreme measures and ends up with Twins fathered by her father-in-law Judah. No one rebukes Tamar for deceiving Judah, probably as it was evident that Judah was cheating Tamar out of her kinsman redeemer. Judah says of her that she is more righteous than he is because he didn't give her his youngest. v26
Judah, Perez and his mother Tamar are remembered in Matt 1v3 in the genealogy of the house of David, directly after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Also in Ruth 4:11-13 The elders in Bethlehem blessed Boaz and Ruth by referring to the family of Perez.

There are two things to ponder, What if Tamar didn't go through with this scheme to have children, what would the genealogy look like?
Why twins? God only needed Perez for the genealogy, could it be that God was replacing the two children as she had two husbands..Whatever HIS reason we know that the "Judge of all the earth will do right" Gen18:25 Siobhan

6 comments:

  1. Hum Siobhan now this is where it is a good thing for women to step up to the plate or things would not get done. LOL just kidding! Actually I was thinking maybe Judah was reluctant because he had already lost two son's already and did not want to lose another. But God always know's the end. Diana

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  2. Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him at the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down to Egypt. And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ( Gen 3:1-2
    "The LORD was with Joseph." This is the summation of the man's life. It is interesting how that God can sum up a person's life with just a few words: "The LORD was with Joseph". When I have gone thru some long valley’s of life I have felt like saying to the Lord and have, but would you mind choosing somebody else for a while", because of all of the calamities that seem to be happening at this time and place.
    The Lord was with Joseph but it is interesting that the Lord being with him did not spare him the hatred of his brothers, the jealousy. Did not spare him being sold by his brothers. It did not spare him from slavery. It did not spare him from false accusations. It did not spare him from temptation. It did not spare him from false imprisonment.
    Being a Christian is not any kind of a divine immunity from problems. "In this world, Jesus said, ye shall have tribulation" John 16:33. Peter said, "Don't consider it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened unto you" 1 Peter 4:12. Everybody has problems, Christians and non-Christians alike. The big difference is with the Christians; the Lord being with us gives us a way out of temptation, a way out of our trials, or victory in the midst of our trials.
    Now here Joseph was a slave. And what does it say about him in his slavery? "The Lord was with him.
    And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph Gen 39:15-21
    "The Lord was with Joseph". That's the story of his life. In prison, in slavery, the Lord was with him.
    It's glorious to know that the Lord is with me in the toughest circumstances of life. When everyone else has turned against us. When everything else has failed, the Lord is still with us. Oh, praise the Lord! Others may desert me. Others may turn against me but the Lord never will. The Lord was with Joseph even in prison.
    and He showed him mercy, and He gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph the hand of all the prisoners
    God's hand upon his life, whatever he did, God blessed it because of Joseph. The Lord was with him. So beautiful how God is with us and will be with us. He said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you" Hebrews 13:5.
    Joseph is one of my favorite characters in the bible. There is so much we can learn from his life. He had a servant spirit early in life he had respect for others and in his teen years also. Also he realized at a very young age that God was in control of His life. And the Lord was with him. And the Lord is with us as His children. You can tell I like Joseph sorry for the length of this I could not stop. Diana

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  3. There are things in the Old Testament that are difficult to understand in light of our grasp of the principles of God, i.e. God blessing Tamar and seeming to indicate her righteousness. It speaks to me of God's willingness to meet us in our culture and with the understanding we have.

    There have been times in the past that I misunderstood principles of God's word and consequently misapplied them. Yet God was gracious and accepted my offering of service despite the fact that I was wrong.

    Shirley Fay

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  4. Thanks Shirley, I wonder if God is more concerned with our "rightness" rather than our "wrongness". siobhan

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  5. I believe that is true for the majority of us Shirley. And yet amazingly we grow when our trust and hope is in Him. He never leaves us as we were. Diana

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  6. I like that Siobhan God is more concerned with our "rightness"rather than our "wrongness" and to think if we could see others as God see's them I do wonder of the peace that we would walk in. Diana

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