Did You Know? - Pt. 4

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar…” (Matthew 1:1-3 ESV).

 

Our reading today comes from the genealogy of Jesus found at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. The interesting thing about this list is found in several things. We should remember that the New Testament was written at a time when genealogies didn’t normally contain even a single female name. Matthew includes five different women (cf. Matthew 1:1-17). One of those, Tamar, had an unusual means of making the list. She is the first woman named in the genealogy (v. 3), and is the mother of Judah’s twins Perez and Zerah. Her story is told in Genesis 38. Tamar was the wife of Judah’s first-born Er who became a widow when her husband died because of his wickedness, leaving her with no children.

 

According to Jewish tradition, Tamar’s father-in-law Judah was obligated to marry her to one of his other sons to raise up an offspring for the firstborn. However, Onan did not want to comply so the Lord put him to death as well. Apparently, Judah considered Tamar a source of bad luck. For fear that his youngest son Shelah might die also, he told Tamar to live with her father while she waited for him to grow up. When Tamar realized later on that she would never be Shelah’s wife as Judah had no intention of giving him to her, she decided to deceive Judah into providing her a child. After the death of Judah’s wife, Tamar took an opportunity to keep her ties with her dead husband’s family. She tricked Judah into impregnating her by veiling her true identity and disguising as a prostitute. God granted Tamar conception with not just one but two boys. Perez, one of the twins, is in Jesus’ lineage in fulfillment of the prophecy that the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah (cf. Genesis 49:10).

 

You may be tempted to think that, while interesting, this isn’t really applicable. Well, when we understand the key truth in it we discover an essential truth for us today. None of this surprised God. Further, it serves as a clear reminder that God’s purpose will be achieved. Judah’s line would produce the Messiah. No fear or hesitancy, no disobedience on his part would keep that from being achieved. Don’t be misled by Tamar’s deception. That was not God’s choice. His choice was in making sure even that would work together for good. As Paul said, All things work together for good… (cf. Romans 8:28). Trust the future to the God who never fails His promises!