Tuesday, December 6, 2016

WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS - TAMAR - SHE WHO WAS DECEIVED BECOMES THE DECEIVER

TAMAR – SHE WHO WAS DECEIVED 
BECOMES THE DECEIVER

Judah superstitiously thought if he gave Shelah to Tamar, he too would die; so he did not keep his promise to give him in marriage.

Genesis 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

Genesis 38:12 (AMP) But quite a while later, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah with his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

The Amplified version makes it clear that Judah had mourned his wife an appropriate amount of time before attending the sheep shearing.

Sheep shearing was a time of celebration and partying often accompanied by licentious behavior.

John MacArthur Study Bible

38:13 shear his sheep. Such an event was frequently associated, in the ancient world, with festivity and licentious behavior characteristic of pagan fertility-cult practices.

Sheep shearing was an event attended by men only. Any women even near it were assumed to be prostitutes.

Genesis 38:13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

Someone tipped Tamar off to the fact that her father-in-law was attending the sheep shearing. We do not know the motivation of this person. Perhaps they thought she might want to see Judah or confront him about the fact that she was still not married to Shelah.

Tamar posed as one of the temple prostitutes covering her face with a veil so that Judah would not recognize her. It speaks to Judah’s unrighteous character that she would presume he would proposition a prostitute. Her plan was to lure him into a sexual encounter in order to preserve her husband’s lineage and provide herself with a child since Judah had not allowed her to marry Shelah. The Hittite culture of the time condoned the practice of having a child with one’s father-in-law if the brothers of the deceased husband would not or could not give the woman a child. Pregnancy was her end game. She figured she had waited long enough.

Genesis 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

Judah’s wife had died some time before, and he was now past the time of bereavement; so he sought out who he thought was a pagan temple prostitute.

Let us put this conversation between Judah and Tamar in plain language:

Judah says, I want to have sex with you. Tamar says, what will you pay me to have sex with you? I’m not giving it away for free!

Thus, she purposely deceived Judah into believing she was a prostitute. Her assessment of her father-in-law’s lack of respect for God’s ways, proved to be correct.

Genesis 38:17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

Judah promised to pay her with a baby goat which would have been a high price to pay and only affordable to someone who owned multiple herds. Since he did not have said goat with him, she asked what he would give her to hold until he sent the goat.

Genesis 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

She demanded three forms of identification which was a common legal proof in those days. She wanted his signet used to seal deals, the bracelet or cord the signet hung from, and his staff which must have been identifiable as being his rather than someone else’s. This would be like giving someone your driver’s license, social security card, and credit card! Judah must have been dense or desperate because he gave her what she demanded.

They had intercourse and she became pregnant which had been her plan. She was using worldly wisdom to accomplish her desire for a child and to carry on the lineage of Er and also of Judah instead of asking God to intervene and waiting on Judah.

Genesis 38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

After tricking Judah into lying with her in order to conceive, Tamar went back to wearing her widow’s clothes and living in her father’s house.

Genesis 38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. 23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

Judah asked his friend to deliver the promised baby goat to the prostitute, but she was nowhere to be found. To continue searching for her would bring dishonor to Judah, so he just resigned himself to letting her keep the items he had given her – his signet, its bracelet or cord, and his staff.

Ponder this: Tamar who posed as a prostitute, deceived Judah, and committed incest with her father-in-law is listed in the lineage of Jesus! It is a brain-twister. Think about it! However, this is a demonstration of God’s grace to His people. Judah’s line would have ended had Tamar not deceived the deceiver. The Messiah was to be called “The Lion of Judah,” so Judah had to have an heir to carry on his line for there to be a tribe of Judah. 

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