Are you the Tamar in your generation?

For those who are not aware,Tamar was a young lady married to some guy (named Er) who was evil, and the Bible says as a result of his wickedness, God killed him. According to Jewish custom, the brother was to take her on and sire children through her so that his late brother could have descendants. This son number 2 (called Onan) misbehaved by spilling semen on the ground and this angered God and so God killed him too. The young men's father, Judah, advised Tamar to go to her father's house and live as a widow until his 3rd son (Shelah) was of age and she would be married to him. She obeyed but Judah did not keep his part of the bargain and Tamar had to think fast and posing as a roadside prostitute (the politically correct term in this generation is sex worker) and guess what! Judah came by and yeah, the rest was history. In due time Judah was told that his daughter-in-law was pregnant and he was furious only to be hit by the reality that it was he who had let down the young lady by not keeping his part of the bargain. In the end Tamar had twins: Perez and Zerah sired by her dad-in-law, Judah. (Genesis 38)

That is not the end of the story; otherwise it would just be like any other scandalous story that we read about in various gossip columns in this age, right?

Tamar is mentioned again in Matthew 1:3 as being in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Who would ever have thought that such a "scandalous woman" would make it on the roll of honor?

On that same list we have Rahab the prostitute (sex worker if you like), Ruth the outsider (the non-Israelite), Uriah's wife (she committed adultery with King David - and she is listed???), and Mary the mother of Jesus (she would have been shunned and been included among the teenage pregnancy statistics released by some international NGO which would have then justified having safe abortions for teenagers like Mary).

Reading about Tamar in depth, and going through this genealogy where "respectable" women like Sarah, Rebeccah, Leah and Rachel are not even mentioned beside their husbands' names, I realized how much value God has placed on the broken-hearted, the rejected, the ones in pain, the ones who do not fit into society's expectations and perfect mold. There are those of us who are "respectable", everything is in place, and society applauds our near-perfection; but then in our midst there are those bearing the shame that comes with being a single mother with no husband in sight, a history of casual sexual relationships, living with HIV, separation, divorce, being a second or third wife, barrenness and hence shunned by in-laws, and many other unspoken struggles. 

I don't know where you are at, or who you are, but I would like to encourage you with the stories of Tamar, Ruth, Uriah's wife, and Mary the mother of Jesus.There is no one who comes to God who will be shunned. In fact, God is close to the broken-hearted, and He will minister grace to you, in ways you never thought possible. Our God, unlike man, does not judge you on the basis of your failures in the past. He embraces us when we come to Him with repentant hearts and gives us a new beginning. Indeed the reason Jesus came was to seek and to save that which was lost, the sick, and not the healthy. 

You may be the Tamar in your generation but that does not mean that you give up. The baby you are carrying in your womb means as much to God as that baby conceived in the confine of marriage and so do not despair. Do not think of getting rid of the baby. Reading Psalm 139 reveals that God knows the intricate details of that baby and He is working out something good for him or her or both (if they are twins) and that baby's name will make it to the roll of the King of kings, the roll of the Lamb's Book of Life. We make mistakes, but God, in His love and compassion, draws us to Him in repentance and once we have repented, and turned away from our wrong choices and lifestyles, He leads us along the path of righteousness for His Name's sake.

Are you a Tamar in your generation? There is hope. And that hope is through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You are special in His sight, you are loved, and you are truly precious.

He bids you to come, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

Amen.