Tamar: The Forgotten Woman
Tamar is often a forgotten woman, because her story isn’t pretty and we’d rather overlook it. But God didn’t overlook her. She is the first woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus. You can read Tamar’s story in the book of Genesis (Genesis 38:6 – 30).
The Bible is silent about Tamar’s genealogy. All we know is that she was a Canaanite woman. She was married to a man named Er, who was the son of Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Er displeased God in some way (we are not told what he did) and was slain by God. According to Hebrew law a widow was to marry the next son in the family, so Tamar was wed to Er’s brother Onan, so he could raise up seed for his deceased brother. Onan didn’t like this idea. He knew that according to Hebrew law any offspring would not be considered his so instead of fulfilling his responsibilities to his dead brother’s memory and posterity, Onan spilled his semen on the ground instead of impregnating Tamar. This angered God and for Onan’s faithlessness to the dead, God slew him, leaving Tamar a widow once again. According to Hebrew law, Tamar should have been given in marriage to Judah’s third son, Shelah. Judah promised Tamar that when Shelah became of age, she would be his wife. In the meantime, he sent her back to her father’s house to wait for that day. When Shelah grew into manhood, Judah broke his promise. Maybe he was afraid that Shelah would suffer the same fate as his brothers, but we are not told. Regardless, Judah’s failure to give Shelah in marriage to Tamar, as was promised had far-reaching results.
As far as Judah was concerned, his promise to Tamar had been forgotten. But Tamar refused to be forgotten. She does the unthinkable. If her father-in-law wouldn’t give her his son to raise up an heir for her dead husband, she would see to it that she had that heir, in her own way. She disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced Judah. Nine months later she bore twins as a result of this union. One of those twins, Peraz is listed in the Messianic line.
Now this was a questionable relationship, to put it mildly. Was this God’s will? I don’t think so. I’m sure God would have preferred to have Judah follow Hebrew law by giving Shelah to wed Tamar, which would have resulted in perpetuating an heir to the Messianic throne. While Judah chose to shirk his duty to provide male heirs to keep the messianic promise alive, Tamar would not let him. Tamar refused to be forgotten. She refused to be shoved aside. Although there is no evidence that Tamar worshipped Israel’s God, it is assumed that she must have had known the significance of Judah’s family line and she was determined to provide a male heir. Though she resorted to methods we cannot condone, God used this situation for His own good purpose.
We may be shocked when we see both Judah and Tamar listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, but we cannot presume to question God’s ways. Perhaps their heritage played a part in their being chosen to be in the line of the Messiah. Judah was a Jew. Tamar was a Gentile. Perhaps their union was a foreshadowing of the fact that both Jews and Gentiles were to share in the blessings of the gospel.
* Excerpted from Old Fashioned Holidays from History’s Women, by Patricia Chadwick. Read about more historical women at: http://www.HistorysWomen.com.
Going Deeper
1. Comment on the devotional blog. Interact with others who are reading today’s devotional. Visit http://talk.thelife.com/ and double click on “Comment” (just under the devotional title).
2. Read more: Letting go of regrets: http://www.christianwomentoday.com/growth/regrets.html
About the Author
Patricia Chadwick: http://www.talk.thelife.com/authors/patricia-chadwick/
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The story of Tamar has many facets. She can be the victim or the victor, the disobedient or the obedient, the forgotten or the remembered. But you have to admit she has one of the most descriptive steamy stories in the Bible.
My question is, was she reacting to divine guidance by seducing Judah or taking matters into her own hands?
The beauty of the story is God’s Sovereign hands are holding on to us. Tamar was not forgotten. The greatest book on earth tells her story. The sweetest gift on earth came from her, Jesus.
Thank you Lord for choosing the lowly things of earth to be precious in your eyes.
There is an excellent book by author Francine Rivers called “Tamar”. The author writes this book somewhat fictional, more or less just bringing the story to life, but it is Biblically correct. The story of Tamar is one of a series Francine Rivers wrote on different women of the Bible and how their lives affected history.
Er didn’t obey ( Maybe stubborn? He married outside the faith so to speak), Onan didn’t obey (self-righteous? Maybe he thought he knew what Er had done wrong and didn’t want the Canaan woman either), Judah didn’t obey (HE FORGOT???)Shelah might have been too young to have a say (she was ‘sent home to wait”? How many YEARS??)but what young man would want his dead older brothers old wife? Certainly no compassion for his dead brother. We could speculate on how much older she was than he…)Well, anyway, what astonishes me is that God took ALL those wrongs and molded them right into His plan. Isn’t He amazing? May god truly bless us for hearing His Word this day.
These devotionals on the women of the Bible are uplifting and offer words of encouragement. God never leaves us alone.He is there in our darkest hours when we feel all that all is lost.
Reading the devotionals on the women of the Bible for the last several mornings has been very interesting and uplifting. It is great to be reminded that simple acts or big acts can all work together in God’s plan.
I couldn’t help but giggle at how Tamar achieved her goal. God is amazing in how he operates and we never know what our actions outcomes may be. I’m not condoning her sin, but I still find God continually amazes me with his plan.
These isn’t an easy story to read. Apparently Judah’s sons Er and Onan had trouble obeying God. They both lost their lives instead of being obedient to God. God had a very special destiny for that heir that these men had no understanding of. I do not think it was God’s idea, but rathar Tamar who was taking matters into her own hands. Judah refused to obey God by keeping his promise. God did not forget Tamar inspite of the way she chose to keep the promise.
We are not to disobey God, or his word. The consequences are far reaching. Yet his mercies never fail.