The Scandalous Skeletons In Jesus' Genealogy - Tamar Series

No Israelite could take this record seriously without a deep sense of humility. Israel’s “roots,” if you will pardon me for saying so, were rotten. They could not look back upon their ancestry with any feelings of pride. There were too many skeletons in the closet for that. Instead, they must acknowledge that whatever good had come to Israel was the result of grace alone.

The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a might hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

The Bible is silent about Tamar's genealogy. As far as Judah was concerned, his promise to Tamar had been forgotten. But Tamar refused to be forgotten. She does the unthinkable. If her father-in-law wouldn't give her his son to raise up an heir for her dead husband, she would see to it that she had that heir, in her own way. She disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced Judah. Nine months later she bore twins as a result of this union. One of those twins, Peraz is listed in the Messianic line.

Now this was a questionable relationship, to put it mildly. Was this God's will? Definitely no. I'm sure God would have preferred to have Judah follow Hebrew law by giving Shelah to wed Tamar, which would have resulted in perpetuating an heir to the Messianic throne. While Judah chose to shirk his duty to provide male heirs to keep the messianic promise alive, Tamar would not let him. Tamar refused to be forgotten. She refused to be shoved aside. Although there is no evidence that Tamar worshiped Israel's God, it is assumed that she must have had known the significance of Judah's family line and she was determined to provide a male heir. Though she resorted to methods we cannot condone, God used this situation for His own good purpose.

We may be shocked when we see both Judah and Tamar listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, but we cannot presume to question God's ways. Perhaps their heritage played a part in their being chosen to be in the line of the Messiah. Judah was a Jew. Tamar was a gentile. Perhaps their union was a foreshadowing of the fact that both Jews and Gentiles were to share in the blessings of the Gospel.

Tamar’s sons fulfill the promise that “though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel” (Micah 5:2), This prophecy speaks of the promised Messiah.

This is the message of Christmas - God came down in the form of man to reconcile both Jew and Gentile to Him.