Title: Merciful God
Contents
♡♥♡ Merciful God / Genesis 38:12-19
*** Introduction
“We always betray the Lord, but my Lord Jesus still calls me and shows his true love. Follow the Lord, my brother. Lord it rains for you Always begging.” These are the lyrics of hymn 412, which sings the disposition of a merciful God. God's mercy is a quality that enables us to come boldly before the Lord even though we are sinners. In Exodus 34:6, God passed before Moses and proclaimed. “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The LORD. Yahweh. A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness and truth.” This is the God we serve.
There are many stories in the Bible that show the mercy of God. The text is one of them. The central character in the text is a woman named Tamar. This woman is the daughter-in-law of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. Judah had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah, and Tamar was the wife of the eldest, Er. But this woman named Tamar had the honor of being included in the genealogy of Jesus.
1. First, let's look at the contents of this case.
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, married the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua and had three sons. The eldest son ‘El’ married Tamar, a native of Timnah, a mountainous region of Judea. But for some reason, Er did evil against God and was put to death. Tamar, who suddenly became a widow, welcomed Judah's second son, Onan, as a bridegroom according to the "criminal acquisition system" at the time. But even Onan sinned against God and was put to death. Now all that is left is their third son, Shelah, who was still young and could not get married. So Tamar died at her father-in-law's order.
Years passed and Shelah grew up, but Judah did not call Tamar. Then one day, Judah went to Timnah, near Tamar, to shear the sheep of his flock. Upon hearing this news, Tamar made a serious decision. Tamar took off her widow's clothes, took a face mask, and waited for Judas in the streets of Timnah. At the same time, Judas was wounded and while he was on the road, he saw Tamar disguised as a prostitute and slept with him. Tamar became pregnant immediately, and the news spread throughout the village, even to her father-in-law, Judah. Judah ordered Tamar to be burned at the stake.
When Tamar was taken away to be burned, it was revealed that she had conceived because of her father-in-law, Judas. And as proof of that, he presented the seal, string, and staff that Judah had given him as evidence when he slept. Judas saw this and confirmed that it was his, and admitted that Tamar was more right than he was because he had not given Shelah to Tamar. When Tamar gave birth, it was found that they had twin sons, who were named Perez and Serah respectively. Among them, ‘Perez’ entered the genealogy of Jesus. There are several issues in this story that we need to understand and move on.
2. Let's look at the problem we need to understand to get the meaning.
There is a criminal prosecution system. The criminal receipt system is a customary law for linking families. In other words, if an older brother gets married and dies without children, the younger brother marries his brother-in-law and gives the firstborn son as the older brother's son, so that he can inherit the older brother's family. After that, the son becomes his own son. This law, often referred to as shuhon ( 婚), was also included in the law commanded by God, and many peoples in the ancient Near East at that time kept this law. Deuteronomy 25:5-6. “If brothers live together, and one of them dies and there is no son, the wife of the dead shall not go out and marry another, and the husband’s brother shall come in to him and take her and take her as his wife, and fulfill the duty of being his husband’s brother. I will do everything to him. The firstborn son she bore will be the heir of her dead brother, so that his name will not be cut off in Israel.”
Next, the reason why Onan, the second son of Judah, died. In verses 8-10 at the beginning of the text, Onan married his brother-in-law, but he did not want to have children in his brother's family, so he set the ground so that he could not conceive. This was an evil act in the sight of God. Why is this thing evil in the sight of God? Of course, he broke God's law, but it was because his thoughts were evil. If there are no children from the older brother, all the inheritance of the parents belongs to the person who inherited the authority of the eldest son, and he and his children will inherit the family. For the Jews, the authority of the firstborn is great.
(Reference/ Masturbation is called masturbation in English and 'onani' in French. These two words are commonly used to mean masturbation and masturbation. Among them, the word 'onani' appears in today's text. Ha is named after Judah's second son, "Onan," who was established on the earth.)
Next, why is Tamar disguised as a prostitute? When Onan died, Tamar had to marry the young Shelah, but her father-in-law became afraid that Shelah would also die, so she had to postpone the marriage. When the marriage with the third is delayed, Tamar makes a single decision. Tamar transforms into a prostitute and seduces her father-in-law, Judah, so that she can inherit El. In other words, the reason Tamar turned into a prostitute was to succeed the family of El.
Anyway, how can this be justified? But God was gracious to Tamar and Judah. God provided providence and accomplished His will through this path. This is the mystery and mercy of God's providence.
3. Let's see what this event means.
The fact that, despite Tamar's transgression, he entered the line of Christ, does not mean that God has approved of sin. This shows that God used even human failures to accomplish His will. The Bible is not about heroes. The Bible shows God's plan and providence for this world, and it shows the experiences of those who were used in God's plan. God always accomplishes His will in any circumstance and condition. In other words, even if humans disobey and deviate from God's will, His will is accomplished. Therefore, people should not judge each other. Because he doesn't know how God will use him.
Isaiah 14:24. “The LORD Almighty has sworn, saying, ‘What I have planned will surely come to pass, and what I have planned will surely come to pass.’ In Romans 14:10-13, “Why do you judge your brother? Why do you despise your brother? We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. It is written, 'As I live,' says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Therefore, each of us will give account of his work to God. Take care, then, that we should no longer judge one another, but rather that we will not set before our brothers something to stumble or to be harsh.”
God planned to send the Messiah through the house of Judah. Before he died, Jacob blessed his twelve sons, and this is what he blessed Judah. “Judas, you shall be the praise of your brother. Your hand will take hold of your enemy's neck. Your father's sons will bow down before you. Judah is a lion cub. My son, you tore up what you grabbed and went up. He prostrates himself and crouches like a lion, like a lioness, who can offend him? The scepter will not leave Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, to whom all peoples will be subject.”
What is “silo”? The promised Messiah, that is, Jesus Christ. God had a plan to send Jesus Christ to this earth. Tamar came into the plan. Although Judah's two sons were put to death for their sins, God accomplished His will through a new way. In this way, God's will must be fulfilled, and no human action can affect God's will. Job 35:6-8. “If you have sinned, what will it have to do with God, if your iniquities are pervasive, what will it have to do with God, if you are righteous, what will you give to God, and what will he receive from your hand? Your evil only harms people like you. Your righteousness only benefits life.”
The only way we can overcome the world is by relying on God's mercy. In Isaiah 48:17, it is said, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit you, and guides you in the way in which you should go,” says the Lord, your Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. I pray that you will be able to depend on, obey, and follow this God forever.