Promise Keeper
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”
About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again. -Genesis 38:24-26
Judah was Jacob’s fourth son from Leah. When he was born, Leah said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. (Which sounds like the Hebrew word for “praise”.) (Genesis 39:35) Judah and his wife had three sons. The eldest married a woman named Tamar. When he died, Judah gave her to his second son (this fulfilled the levirate law of the Hebrew people). This son also died, and Judah was afraid to give Tamar to his youngest son. In his broken promise to Tamar, she pretended to be a prostitute and Judah himself made her pregnant with twins. When Judah found out she was pregnant, he was furious and demanded that she be put to death. But he had a change of heart when he realized that it was by his own doing that she was with child.
This complicated story of Judah and Tamar sounds like a modern-day soap opera! People have always created sordid and complex relationships. Even in our biggest failure, God can create redemption. Judah is the tribe of King David and generations later, Jesus. Jesus is called “the lion of Judah”. God didn’t ignore Tamar. God didn’t sweep this story under the rug out of shame or disgrace. We read the names of both Judah and Tamar in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-3 “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 and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar…”
God can redeem our worst moments and bring life and hope out of despair. Even when we fail to keep promises to one another, God is the faithful promise keeper. Please join us in worship this summer as we explore some perhaps unfamiliar stories from the Old Testament. They may bring insight and challenge our understanding of God’s work in the world… There’s trouble brewing in the Old West-ament.
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
