Genesis 38: Tamar and the God Who Changes Our Story

Introduction

"We are walking through the story of a great lady. Her name is Tamar." Elder Junias Anane continues a series at MEISTAD on this woman of Genesis 38, with one question running through it: how does God change our story?

His base text is Ecclesiastes 9:11: the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, "but time and chance happen to them all." And Daniel adds that it is God who "changes the times and the seasons." He is the master of them.

Tamar was rejected, slandered, and condemned to be burned. Yet her name appears in the genealogy of Jesus. From this the preacher draws a message for you: your story will not end in shame, because your God is "behind the scenes."

Message outline

1. The God of Times and Circumstances

The preacher rereads Ecclesiastes 9:11 and applies it to married life: happiness in marriage does not go to the most beautiful women or the most handsome men, and it does not depend on the bank account. Everything depends on time and chance.
Daniel blesses the name of God: he is the one who changes the times and the seasons (Daniel 2:20-21). "Another version says: he is the one who influences."
Matthew 1:3 names Tamar in the genealogy of Jesus Christ: Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. The line continues all the way to Shiloh, the Messiah.
"Where people were ashamed of this woman, the Lord was not ashamed of her." God's plan is glorious and perfect, yet he works with imperfect men and women.

2. Tamar, a Rejected and Condemned Woman

Tamar marries Er, Judah's firstborn, who was wicked and dies without giving her a child. According to the law of levirate marriage, she then marries his brother Onan, who refuses to give offspring to his brother and dies in turn.
She is sent back to her father's house, regarded as a "woman of misfortune," a witch, condemned to endless widowhood. Judah promises her his third son, Shelah, but he lies: he is afraid for his last son. He deliberately breaks his promise.
One day, Tamar positions herself on Judah's path, and he takes her for a prostitute. She demands payment, then a pledge, because she knows he does not keep his word. He leaves her three pledges, "very strong symbols of a person's identity": his seal, his cord, and his staff.
She becomes pregnant. Three months later, Judah is told that his daughter-in-law has played the prostitute. Judah, who is an authority, hands down his verdict: "Bring her out, and let her be burned."
Tamar, a "wise woman," refuses to humiliate Judah by denouncing him publicly. She simply sends him the objects. Judah recognizes them: "She is more righteous than I." He spares her life.

3. God Sees Those the World Rejects

"God does not abandon the abandoned. He does not forget the forgotten." Being forgotten by people does not mean being forgotten by God, and being rejected by society does not mean being rejected by your creator.
Those who were building the line of the Redeemer excluded Tamar: her profile seemed neither honorable nor "eligible" to them. But the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22). "People excluded her, but the Lord included her."
The preacher applies this to those who feel rejected by the country where they live: God can force their integration.
God sees when you are neglected and despised, when your legitimate needs are trampled, when your tears are met with indifference. "God sees all of this, and God does not remain indifferent."
He has surprising ways of restoring what was unjustly taken away or refused. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

4. You Carry God's Plan Within You

For Judah, the word "prostitute" was final. The sentence had been pronounced. But Tamar carried God's plan within her, and God did not allow her to be burned.
The preacher speaks to those going through a trial in court: whatever the decision at first instance, the Lord holds an authority higher than the judge's to overturn any sentence pronounced against your life.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and when you pass through the waters, they will not overflow you (Isaiah 43:2). God knows the plans he has for you, plans for peace, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
"It is not over until it is over." Where shame abounded, God's glory will abound all the more.
"With Jesus Christ, your story will go from shame to glory. And then it will go from glory to glory."

5. A Project of Faith That Does Not Let Go

Tamar had a project of faith: to have a child in this royal family. Everything was working against her. Her first husband, her second husband, and her father-in-law all fought this desire of her heart. The first died, the second died, the third was humiliated and put to shame. "Everyone who fights your inheritance will be put to shame."
She was denied this child even though she was not barren, but her faith was not shaken. She persevered.
The name Tamar means palm tree: a tree that withstands heat and the fiercest winds, finds water in the driest deserts, and bears fruit where few plants survive. "That is called determination and resilience."
The preacher is clear: her way of expressing her faith "was not appropriate." The method went against the custom of the time, and no one can encourage it. "Tamar is not a model to follow to the letter."
Tamar misunderstood the law of levirate marriage, and no one was there to explain it to her. You cannot pretend not to understand. But "if the unconventional way prospered, your conventional way will work."
God honored her faith, her courage, and her determination by changing the course of her story. "Do not give up your project of faith, I beg you."

6. God Was Behind the Scenes

First, God gave her the grace to become pregnant for the first time in her life, after a single encounter, despite Judah's advanced age. The preacher draws a word from this for couples waiting for a child: whatever your age and whatever the doctors' diagnosis, God remains the creator God.
Second, God gave her twins, Perez and Zerah. "Maybe it was to make up for the two husbands she had lost." Judah, who had lost two sons, also receives two boys.
Judah accused her of killing his two sons, and she was called a witch. She gives birth to healthy twins, "the child of destiny." The Lord shows that "she was not a witch."
Third, Tamar was vindicated, since Judah himself declares that she is more righteous than he is, and she was honored: her son Perez becomes a direct ancestor of the Messiah. The woman who was almost burned becomes the first woman named in the Savior's genealogy.
"You are not what people think of you or say about you. You are what the Lord says you are." Those who spoke will one day come to congratulate you and confess the greatness of your God.

7. God's Choice, from Shame to Glory

An invisible hand was at work on Tamar's behalf. God's choice was not recognized, and Judah doubted it, but she was God's choice.
"You and I are God's choice." Jesus says so: "You didn't choose me, but I chose you," so that whatever you ask of the Father in his name, he may give you (John 15:16).
For a Jew, a genealogy is not a formality. It is a statement of identity, belonging, and legitimacy. God did not hide Tamar's story: he highlighted it in the Scriptures.
He always fulfills his purposes, even when the human actors fail: when your spouse, your parents, or the authorities let you down, when promises are broken, when injustice seems to win.
The message leads to the Lord's table with Romans 8:32: he who did not spare his own Son, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? "What are you asking for that is worth more than Jesus?"
Just as Judah recognized Tamar's pledges and spared her life, God recognizes the symbols you hold in your hands and frees you from every condemnation.

Key takeaways

God is the master of times and circumstances: he can change the course of your story.
Being forgotten or rejected by people does not mean being forgotten or rejected by God. He sees, and he does not remain indifferent.
Tamar is not a model to follow to the letter, but God honored her faith, her courage, and her perseverance.
What people say about you does not define who you are. You are what the Lord says you are.
God fulfills his purposes even when the human actors fail. With Jesus Christ, your story goes from shame to glory.

Personal application

In which area of your life do you feel that time and circumstances are working against you?
What word or label that others have put on you do you need to replace with what the Lord says about you?
What project of faith are you tempted to give up today?
Are you looking for shortcuts to get what you are waiting for, or are you trusting God to act through straight paths?
What changes for you this week when you know that you are God's choice?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Why is Tamar in the genealogy of Jesus?

Matthew 1:3 names Tamar: Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and the line continues from Perez all the way to Jesus Christ. For Junias Anane, where people were ashamed of this woman, the Lord was not ashamed of her: he wrote her name in the Messiah's genealogy to show that he is the God who changes the course of our story.

Should we imitate Tamar's method?

No. The preacher says so clearly: the method was not good, and it even went against the custom of the time, and no one can encourage it. Tamar is not a model to follow to the letter. What God honored was her faith, her courage, and her determination.

What does the name Tamar mean?

According to the preacher, Tamar means palm tree. The palm tree withstands heat and the fiercest winds, finds water in the driest deserts, and bears fruit where few plants survive. He sees in it a prophetic name: one of determination and resilience.