Genesis 38
Frodo’s wandering through Shelob’s lair in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is possibly the darkest moment of the entire story. Sure, he made it up to the top of Minas Morgal, but he kicked Sam out in the process and found himself in a cave that was pitch black with sticky surfaces, the burden of carrying the ring, and the near destruction of their world. And even once the lights came on, Shelob sunk her stinger into Frodo, seemingly ended the hope of him fulfilling his quest. This is when we learn that Sam was still there, giving us hope for victory even in the darkest of moments.
Advent allows us to celebrate and anticipate the light that is coming. Jesus, through the incarnation (Jesus’ entrance into the world through Mary) and ultimately His return as King is the hope we’ve been needing for all eternity. In this first week of Advent, we focus on hope. We desire to have hope that better is out there, that things will turn around, that it will all come together in the end. Jesus promises us this hope and as weird as it sounds, the dark story of Tamar may be one of our strongest evidences for it.
Between us, I have been struggling with how to best tell this story. Genesis 38 feels more like it was written for an episode of Game of Thrones as opposed to scripture. While it is probably one of the top 5 most disgusting and uncomfortable stories in the Bible, it is included to show the beginnings of the line of Jesus that God promised to Abraham. This is Judah’s story, through which would come David, Solomon, all the way to Jesus! Matthew 1:3 connects Judah, Tamar, and Perez to our Savior’s genealogy. God shows that out of the mess, the muck, the mire, the nastiness of humanity’s vile sinfulness, He is active and involved. It is in the ugliness of this story that we see God at work. Because of God’s commitment to work in the worst of situations, we can trust Him to still be at work in the dark places of this world (and of people’s hearts) today.
Hope for Tamar
What happened to Tamar was wrong! She was mistreated by her first two husbands and then was basically tossed aside by Judah who kept her hidden away and never intended to give her to his third son. And that’s just the beginning. Fast forward to when Shelah was grown and Judah’s wife died. Tamar was never given her opportunity, so she decided to make her own hope and disguised herself to be a dark companion for a grieving widower. Judah, who wants to pay for her companionship by credit, offers her proof of his identity as collateral. When he goes back to pay, he can’t find her, so he forgets it and goes on his way. This story is about as uncomfortable and ugly as it gets! But it gets worse.
READ Genesis 38:24-30.
About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.
When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah. — Genesis 38:24-30
Tamar got her justice on Judah for his evil by sleeping with him, then shaming him for getting her pregnant. And through this we have the birth of Perez, bringing us back to Matthew 1:3 and these three people being named in the genealogy of Jesus.
Hope for All
These people are all looking out for themselves, protecting themselves, putting themselves first. This story completely reeks of sin and selfishness, from beginning to end. Yet in that story is hope. Hope that God will answer for injustice, hope that we matter, hope that the wrongs will be righted. Tamar was fighting for hope! There are dark places like that in our world today, too. The Middle East is a really dark place. People who convert to Christianity put their lives at risk from friends and family members who won’t suffer them leaving Islam. Yet, even there, God is working. Through schools, community centers, and hospitals, people are finding refuge from the oppression and hope for life. That’s hope in the work God is doing in a dark place.
Next Steps
Because of Christmas, we have hope; hope for a future, hope for joy, hope for restoration.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. — Isaiah 53:4-6
The hope of Christ is healing, restoration, wholeness. Lean into that hope and let God work in the dark places of your life.
- Gather with trusted friends and share about the dark places in your life. Bring them into the light and let God’s hope shine on it.
- Explore cmalliance.org/stories to read about amazing things God is currently doing in the world.
- Pray and give God your hope. Invite Him to lead you to a brighter life.
Frodo experienced a lot of dark places – in the hearts of people, the evils of the world, and the reality of the darkness within himself. This Christmas, search for deeper hope – not the events, or the people gathering, or the gifts under the tree. Put your hope and focus on Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Heb 12:2-3).
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