24
¶ And it came to pass about three months
after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played
the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said,
Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. 25
When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By
the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee,
whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She
hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son.
And he knew her again no more. 27 And it
came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
28 And it came to pass, when she
travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon
his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his
hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken
forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had
the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
Tamar is three months pregnant with Judah’s child. An
accusation has been made to Judah that she had done wrong and Judah, who had
denied her his youngest son in spite of his promise, wants “justice” to be done
and she is to be killed. Clearly, in this culture, as in most on earth, the
cards are not dealt in the same manner to men and women. Judah’s use of a
harlot is no big deal but Tamar’s supposed indiscretion is worthy of death.
But, Tamar has a surprise for Judah. She brings out
the items that he had given her, supposing her to be a harlot, as surety
against her payment. It is then that Judah is slapped with the truth of his own
egregious behavior. Judah admits about Tamar;
…She
hath been more righteous than I…
Judah was not angry at Tamar’s deception but
acknowledged that he had been in error in not giving her his son as he had
promised. One can only wonder at how many women in this culture paid the price
for a powerful man’s behavior. Although Tamar was not raped it is nothing today
for a woman in certain Muslim regions who has been raped even to be executed
herself by the village for the crime committed against her. The fact that the
writer, Moses, was led by the Holy Spirit to include that Judah did not use
Tamar again in like manner shows that the possibility of her becoming a
plaything or concubine for him was a possibility in this culture.
Travail
refers
to the process of giving birth in verse 27. For confirmation see;
Jeremiah
4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a
woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first
child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that
spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of
murderers.
Pharez, spelled Phares in the New Testament, was not
the one that was expected to come out first, to be the first born, but he was.
He is in the genealogical line of Christ, not Zarah.
Matthew
1:3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of
Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
Luke
3:33 Which was the son of Aminadab,
which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of
Phares, which was the son of Juda,
Zarah stuck his arm out first and a scarlet thread was
tied to it, but it was Pharez who actually came out. There are many sermons to
be made about this birth and many things can be said about it. For our
purposes, in fleshing out the narrative of God’s ministry of reconciliation of
mankind to Himself, the old saying goes, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” Christ
did not come in the manner the Jews would prefer, as a noble ruler, perhaps a
Pharisee, holding court in king’s palaces with the Gentiles coming to Him for
His wisdom and approval. He came from a poor background, the physical son of
common parents, not aristocrats. What man chooses, indeed, what he holds in
high regard, God regards with contempt.
Luke
16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they
which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Zarah was chosen by Tamar’s mid-wife but Phares was
chosen by God to play the part he played in Christ’s lineage without having any
will to choose anything himself.
Notice how God’s ministry of reconciliation starts and
works through one man or woman at a time. It is only in the very end that
Christ comes to take the kingdoms of the world. Right now, they are under
Satan’s, the god of this world, control (2Corinthians 4:4) and His own people
rejected Him.
John
1:10 He was in the world, and the world
was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Mark
12:10 And have ye not read this
scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the
corner:
Tamar says, in surprise, this breach be upon thee which gives us the meaning of his name and
points out that Christ did not come to unite mankind but to divide them, the
sheep from the goats; those who would trust God and follow Him and those who
would worship themselves and the god of this world through their own hearts.
Matthew
10:34 Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Luke
12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give
peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in
one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son,
and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the
daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and
the daughter in law against her mother in law.
So, now, in Christ’s lineage we have a man who is the
product of a sexual liaison between a woman and her father-in-law. Not very
appropriate from our perspective but clearly showing that the human side of
Christ’s lineage contains imperfect people, sinners like He came to save.
A scarlet thread
will also come into play in Joshua, chapter 2, for a much different reason.
The Holy Spirit, through Moses, now takes us back to
the narrative about Joseph’s experiences in Egypt.
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