“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ […] And Judas begat aPhares and bZara of Thamar”
Several women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, most with questionable backgrounds, and today we’ll take a look at the first: Tamar.
After her husband dies, by Levitical law (Deut.25:5-10–“And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the aname of his brother which is dead, that his bnamebe not cput out of Israel”) if they have no children then one of the deceased’s brothers will have intercourse with the widow and produce a son, but the child will be raised as if he was the deceased’s legitimate son and heir. This also means that the resulting son will get his father’s inheritance, reducing the size of his uncle’s inheritance. Which explains why Tamar’s brother-in-laws were so reluctant to get her with child.
This explains why Judah, after her ‘playing’ the harlot to get what was lawfully hers, says: “She hath been more righteous than I” (Genesis 38:26).
Whew, so now that that is out of the way, we can get on with the good stuff.
(Also, before judging Tamar too harshly, remember the Virgin Mary who did everything right but who’s situation looked very, very questionable)
All the women in Christ’s genealogy have unique stories. Isn’t that amazing? The women were just as dynamic as the men, full of personality and the ability to overcome adversity.
What really amazes me about Tamar is how much like Jesus she actually is. Her husband is dead, but by having ‘his’ child, the man has a legacy, a continued ‘existence’ on the earth. We are dead. We are all spiritually dead. We cannot continue, we cannot produce. But, through the power of Christ we can be made alive again, a spiritual rebirth. With Christ, it is like we didn’t die at all.
Judah thought Tamar was a harlot.
Israel thought Jesus was a blasphemer, a false prophet, a drunkard, a criminal, an outcast.
But life came through Tamar; life comes through Jesus. Because of Tamar, Judah was redeemed of that particular sin, and the Messiah came from Tamar. Because of Jesus, Israel will be redeemed, and the Messiah will return to His people.
Don’t ignore the women in the Bible, especially those ‘naughty’ women from Jesus’ genealogy. They gave birth, and so also Christ has spiritually ‘given birth’ to all who come unto Him. Because of His body and blood and agony we are born. He is the mother and father of our rebirth.
Outcast of Israel 