Devotion for August 26th
Kevin Peterson
Devotional Text: Genesis 38 (To read and even listen to this text for free, click here.)
Verse in Focus: “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” (Genesis 38:24-26).
Related Verse: “... and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman." So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son” (Ruth 4:12-13).
Devotional Thought:
“She is more righteous than I” (38:26). That simple phrase on the lips on Judah, son of Jacob, fascinates me. I suppose part of this fascination stems from the startling contrast between the course of events that led up to Judah’s speaking and the words themselves. I mean, seriously, she—that is, Tamar—is more righteous? The one who tricked her father-in-law into sleeping with her by disguising herself as a prostitute? Did I mention he was her father-in-law? Yep, this story has one serious “eewwww” factor! But despite all that, the truth remains—Judah was right. She was more righteous than he was.
Judah and Tamar had gotten to this place because he had been disobedient to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It had been Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery and deceive their father about the whole thing. The lie that Joseph was torn apart by wild animals broke Jacob’s heart, and Judah left home soon after—most likely out of guilt and an inability to face his father. Heading further south, he was befriended by a local and ended up settling down with a Canaanite woman—duplicating the mistake of his uncle, Esau. This wife ended up bearing Judah three sons before she died.
Tamar’s involvement in all this, of course, was that Judah’s two older boys each died shortly after marrying her. While it is clear from our text that Tamar in no way contributed to their deaths, Judah believed otherwise. Let me clarify that. Judah did not believe that Tamar had somehow murdered his sons, just simply that she was somehow cursed and that any man married to her in the future—such as his last remaining son, Shelah—would likewise perish. The truth that Judah refused to face was that the problem was not with Tamar, but with his sons. The son with the birthright from his father—the inheritor of all the promises first given to Abraham—has raised sons who are so evil that God is forced to take their lives. The blame lies entirely with Judah.
Compared to her father-in-law, Tamar was righteous. She was a faithful wife to both of her husbands. And she was obedient to Judah when he told her to return to her father’s home and wait until Shelah grew up. Unfortunately, all she did was wait—wait for something Judah was never going to allow to happen. She put on the garb of a prostitute, not because she was promiscuous, but strictly in an effort to correct an injustice. For her own future and to provide an heir to her first husband, she fooled Judah into impregnating her.
“She is more righteous than I.” With those words, Judah finally acknowledged all that he had done wrong. It does not excuse Tamar of her sinful choices—but it does admit the cause of them. Judah had unrighteously backed his daughter-in-law into a corner. And she did the only thing she could think to do. And out of this sad, sordid story, God brought out much good—twin boys, one of whom will be the true heir of his father’s birthright and the ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. Blessings on your day!
Vaya con Dios!
Pastor Peterson
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