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30 April 2013

Tamar, pt. 2

Have you ever felt like someone didn’t have your best interests at heart? Wondered if there was another way you could make that person do the right thing? Did you ever want to take matters into your own hands and felt like you couldn’t? If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Tamar felt this way when she was sent back to her family after the death of Onan. Heck, she felt this way before she ever married Er, the first son.

In the society she lived, Tamar like all women was considered a 2nd-class citizen at best. She didn’t have any rights; well, maybe some inheritance rights if her husband preceded her in death and then it was only if there were heirs. So, when she was sent back to her father’s house and not married off to Shelah she patiently psalm 401waited on Judah, and God, to do the right thing by her. When several years had passed and still nothing happened, she took matters into her own hands.

 

Imagine this scenario: you are promised to a man by his father. You wait and wait trusting all the while in the words said to you. You learn that your father-in-law is in the local area and you want to seek revenge. What do you do?

Tamar, with the help of her mother, dressed as a temple prostitute, waited on the side of the road by which Judah was traveling, seduced him, and took his seed.

Imagine this: you have just prostituted yourself to avenge yourself. Little do you know that God has BIG plans for you and your progeny! That’s right, Tamar gave birth to 2 sons (Perez & Zerah) who would become ancestors of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

What a burden she must have felt she was carrying to go to such lengths.

I Can Only Imagine–MercyMe

15 April 2013

Tamar

This is the first woman we are studying in the Bible Study “A Lineage of Grace”. For those of you unfamiliar, Tamar was the wife of Judah’s son, Er. She was given to Onan when Er died, as per custom. When Onan died, Judah sent her back to her family to live until his youngest son, Shelah, was of age to marry. This never happened so Tamar took things into her own hands. If you want to learn more about her, read Genesis 38.

While I haven’t finished the reading or done the study guide portion on my own yet, I have found in what I have read that I relate to Tamar in many ways. One significant way is the desire to have children. She did not conceive until she tricked her father-in-law to lay with her (at that time, it was probably more proper to say “Lay with” instead of “sleep with”; translations may use some variation). She ultimately gave birth to twins!

Once I finish this first novella and study guide portion, I will post more. For now, I leave you with this:

Genesis 38 (NKJV)
Judah and Tamar

38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. (taken from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+38&version=NKJV)

10 April 2013

Changing Tides

I keep trying to revamp this here blog of mine and it seems to stall out on me. Yeah, I am the one making it stall and I realise that. No follow through. Anyway, I am revamping it once again. This time it will serve a specific purpose: journaling as I go through a Bible study with some women at church.

We just started a women’s Bible study Sunday past. My sister thought it would be neat to do a study on the Proverb 31 Woman. One of our pastors agreed and we even found a couple other women that showed an interest. The pastor found a great book to use: A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers. lineageI must say, after having only read a few pages I am intrigued. The book is actually a collection of 5 novellas centering on 5 different women from the Bible: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. All are [direct] ancestors of Jesus Christ.

At the end of each novella are several pages of study questions. This is what I will primarily be blogging here. In addition, I will from time to time blog some commentary (for lack of a better term); my thoughts and feelings as I go through the readings.

01 April 2013

Easter Sunday or Resurrection Day

Either way you wanna say it, March 31, 2013 will forever be known as the day I was baptised!




The water was C.O.L.D.!!!!