Bible in a Year January 13: Gen 37:25 – 40:8

 

January 13: Gen 37:25 – 40:8

It never ceases to amaze me how God, who demanded such perfection from the Israelites, graciously included broken and sinful people in the lineage of Christ.

Judah was responsible for selling his brother to the Ishmaelites and then lied to his father, saying Joseph had been killed by wild animals. Fast forward several years, and Judah marries, has at least three boys, and finds a wife for his oldest, Er, a woman named Tamar.

Now it’s hard to imagine the life of a widow in the time of Genesis – how difficult would it be to have to marry your brother-in-law once your husband died. Apparently Er was so wicked that the LORD put him to death, so I imagine her life wasn’t easy to start with. Her brother-in-law Onan most likely already had a wife and children, and she would not only be an additional burden on the household, her child (if she were ‘lucky’ enough to become pregnant) would be reducing the inheritance her nephews would receive.

But since Er was the oldest son, his children would inherit the majority of Judah’s estate, so it was important for Tamar to bear a child. She waited a very long time (long enough for Onan to die and the young son Shelah to ‘grow up’). Desperate to get out of her father’s house and to bear a child, she does the only thing she can think – trick her father-in-law to sleep with her. But she was smart enough to take evidence of his transgression, and he believed her.

Tamar has twins, and the officially first born, Perez, is mentioned in the lineage of Christ. We never hear any more about her. Did Judah take her in? Did he raise the twins as his own?

And a random thought – did God keep Tamar barren while she was married to Er so his evil influences could not affect the line of Jesus?

More questions to ask in Heaven when we get there!

TOMORROW’S TEXT:  Gen 40:9 – 42:28