Her beacon of hope

Her beacon of hope

Scripture:

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar… Matthew 1:3a

Observation:

In the genealogy of Jesus listed in Matthew 1, only 5 women are mentioned, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. Each character is very special, and studying their life also give us godly insight for our own spiritual growth.

First is Tamar. Her story in Genesis 38 tells us about a young Canaanite woman who started life with high hopes when she married into Abraham’s blessed line via the son of Judah, Er. Unfortunately, Er died before giving her any children, and as was the custom in those days, the second brother Onan was commissioned to marry her. He knew that the first son born to them would be considered Er’s and made sure she would not bear any children. Shortly, Onan also died, and by now, Judah was worried to let his only surviving son, Shelah marry her, considering the possibility that she might be cursed.

Tamar knew her situation was hopeless and as things stood, she would have no part of Judah’s family and instead live the rest of her life in disgrace in her father’s house. However, an opportunity came, and she went to great lengths to disguise herself as a prostitute in a place where she knew Judah would pass. Judah solicited her services and even left his seal and staff as a pledge for the payment of a young goat that he was to send to her.

In due course, Tamar became pregnant and Judah quickly ordered her to be burdened to death for prostitution. However, she promptly produced his seal and staff and Judah understood her motive, declaring that she was more righteous than him. In the culture of those days, it was acceptable for a male family member, even the father-in-law to procure an heir on behalf of a dead relative by marrying his wife. Thus Tamar gave birth to not one, but two boys, and one of them, Perez, became an ancestor of Jesus.

Application:

What was so special about Tamar’s story that caused her to be highlighted in Jesus’ genealogy? Here was a woman who risked her very life to achieve a better destiny for herself. The hallmark of her character is hope. Many would view what she did as reckless and much too risky, but at the base of all her actions was hope. Hope for a better life, hope to extend the offspring of her husband, hope to lift the disgrace from herself and her family. She did not let disappointment and discouragement cause her to give up, but she patiently yet actively sought out an opportunity to redeem herself, by any means possible. This hope is symbolic of the hope that we must have in the Christian faith. Our hope of salvation in Jesus is not just a trivial hope like “I hope it doesn’t rain today”. It is a deep, longing hope that puts complete trust into our Lord Jesus to save us from our sins, to bring us from death to eternal life. It is a hope that is secure and steadfast in the Lord no matter what troubles life may throw at us or how bad circumstances may seem. Let us desire to have that deep hope like Tamar, that we too will become part of the Lord’s godly line that He has enabled us to enter.

Prayer:

Thank You, dear Heavenly Father, for the story of Tamar, and for showing us how important it is for us to have that solid hope in our Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus, let our hope in You always stand secure and steadfast. Give us strength and courage to hold on to hope in you in all circumstances and to the very end. In Jesus name, Amen.