SEXUAL SCANDAL AND THE GRACE OF GOD
CWith Christmas just around the corner I thought Matthew Chapter 1 would be a good place for us to dive into the Christmas story because it tells us of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah going back 2000 years:
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez & Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,” - Matthew 1:1-3
Let’s key in on verse 3: “Judah the father of Perez & Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,”
The story of Judah and Tamar is found in Genesis 38. It is a scandalous story for sure.
Tamar married two of Judah’s son’s. Her first husband, Er died. She then married his brother Onan.
According to the customs of the day it was Onan’s job to marry Tamar and get her pregnant with a son to carry on his brother’s name. This was called a Leverite Marriage.
What is a Leverite Marriage?
A Levirate Marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow.
Sounds to me like a stud service. Please don’t get upset with me. This story is found in the Bible.
Judah now had two sons who died. Both were married to Tamar. He had a younger son who was not of marriageable age, so he sent Tamar back to her father’s home.
He should not have done that. Tamar was furious. In their culture the only time a woman returned to her father’s house was when she truly was a widow. In this case she was not considered a true widow because there was another son, even if he was still a child.
Tamar saw the handwriting on the wall. Judah was not going to allow his younger son to marry her. So, she took matters into her own hands.
Long story short Judah, Tamar’s father-in-law, was headed to one of his fields to shear sheep when he saw a woman dressed as a prostitute. He propositioned her. It was Tamar; but he had no clue.When a woman was a prostitute, she kept her face heavily veiled, so Judah had no idea he was propositioning his daughter in law.
As a pledge for her service, she received Judah’s signet ring which was worn on a cord around his neck. She also asked for his staff as a pledge of later payment.
It was like she asked him for his driver’s license, his wallet and his photo id. She wanted to prove that if she got pregnant Judah was the father of her child.
Judah gave them to her and then slept with her.
Tamar got pregnant. Mission accomplished.
When Judah found out that Tamar was pregnant, he demanded that she be put to death. Moments from being burned alive “she sent a message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. “Identify them, please. Who’s the owner of the seal-and-cord and the staff?” - Genesis 38:25
Judah saw they were his. He said, “She’s in the right; I’m in the wrong—I wouldn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” - Genesis 38:26
The entire community was there to watch the burning. And now Judah humbled himself (thank goodness) and admitted he was the father of this child. Actually, it wasn’t one child, Tamar was pregnant with twins. I would think the gossip spread like wildfire.
The Bible tells us, Judah never slept with her again.
Wow! What a story and it’s found in the Bible.
I have to admit that in my own mind I used to ask myself, why is Judah in Jesus family tree? Why not his brother, Joseph? Joseph was one of the godliest men in the Bible surely Joseph, not Judah deserved to be part of the Messianic line.
And Tamar, why her? She was a gentile. She was a Canaanite. And she deceitfully acted as a prostitute to entice her father-in-law for sex.
Hum! Could it be that I had a misunderstanding of God?
Yes, I did and I’ll be eternally grateful for my friend and co-worker, Judy Bauer, who helped me have a proper understanding of God.
We were having a lunch one day and I was complaining about my life. I said, “I don’t deserve this.”
Judy said to me, “You are lucky you don’t get what you deserve, or you would go to hell.”
My mouth dropped open and I said, “What are you talking about?”
She said, “Cindy, you are a sinner. You deserve to go to hell, but you aren’t going to go to hell because Jesus died in your place. He took the punishment for your sin. If he hadn’t died and rose again and if you hadn’t accepted his gift of salvation you would go to hell and pay for your own sin. Do you understand that you are going to heaven because of the grace of God and you aren’t going to hell because of the mercy of God?”
No one ever explained it to me that clearly before. I guess they were concerned that they would offend me; but what my friend said was the truth and I needed to hear it!
Because of the Grace of God, I’m getting something I do not deserve (Heaven).
Because of the Mercy of God, I’m NOT getting what I deserve (hell)
The Messianic family tree is filled with sinners. It was from the Tribe of Judah that Jesus was born.
Imagine that!
Tamar was one of five women in Jesus family tree with a scandalous past. Who would have thought God would ever use Tamar or the whore Rahab, or the adulterer Bathsheba in Jesus family tree?
Maybe you look at them as “bigger sinners” than you are. Maybe you do that to other people. You may see yourself as a “good person.”
The Bible tells us otherwise. “All have sinned.” - Roman’s 3:23
“There is none that doeth good; no not one.” - Romans 3:12
The greatest gift of Christmas is that Jesus came to earth to save us from our sin; that my friend is God’s GRACE. HE was the greatest gift ever given. Have you trusted in Him for the forgiveness of your sins?
