“Injustice”
The Savior for Suffering Sinners
Midweek Lent 1 / Genesis 38 / March 4, 2020
When you first read Genesis 38 you wonder why the Holy Spirit had Moses record Tamar’s story for us. One thing is clear; Tamar did not get what she deserved. Under Old Testament Law her husband’s brothers should have cared for her by giving her a son and an heir.
Tamar suffered at the hands of the very men who should have cared for her. They wrongly blamed and shamed her for her husbands’ death. Her burdens were multiplied. Her husbands had died. Their brothers and father neglected her. She, no doubt, felt the sting of injustice. She had not done anything wrong, yet she was blamed, alone, and unloved, not receiving what God wanted for her.
The Lord certainly was at work to vindicate Tamar. Her first husband was wicked and he died. Her second husband was wicked toward Tamar and he also died, but Judah and his third son did not see the Lord’s hand in this. They continued on in their evil ways, not giving to Tamar what the Lord expected them to give, acting as if God did not see them and would not punish them. They were like the men addressed in Psalm 84, “Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?”
God’s work is often hidden from our eyes and that can compound our sense of injustice when we suffer by being sinned against. That is likely why Tamar took matters into her own hands. Moses doesn’t reveal her motives as she disguised herself along the road to Timnah, but she must have known something of the habits of men at sheep shearing. What happens at sheep shearing stays at sheep shearing. She veiled her identity which is exactly what shame had done to her. She was no longer a daughter-in-law to Judah but a prostitute. She had been neglected and now she was willing to be used to set a trap.
See how toxic shame is. It distorts our identity. In our hurt we want to hurt others. Even though God is at work our eyes are so veiled we cannot see Him or trust Him.
Tamar committed a wrong in hoping to make her life right and get back at her father-in-law Judah. That never works, so don’t try it. Once again Tamar suffered injustice. Her father-in-law thought it acceptable to sleep with a prostitute while he was fine having Tamar and her unborn child burned to death for committing adultery.
Did God ever take care of the injustice that Tamar suffered? Did He finally remove her shame? Yes, He did. In Christ. At the end of Genesis 38 Tamar conceives two boys, Perez and Zerah. Perez would be about the sixth great-grandfather of King David. That means Tamar would be the great grandmother (with about 30 greats in there) of Jesus. Micah the prophet promised that from the clan of Judah, in little Bethlehem town, a Ruler of Israel would come forth. That’s Judah and Tamar’s grandson.
In Jesus God became a man, a man directly descended from Tamar and Judah. The good news is that the Son of God was also a man for Tamar and Judah. Tamar suffered neglect and injustice. Jesus suffered that for us. He was abused by sinners, betrayed by a friend, forsaken by His Father. To human eyes it appears an injustice, but to faith God was working His mercy. He was taking our suffering as His own. He was bringing us back to Himself. He was cleansing us by His blood.
God loved Tamar so much that He didn’t neglect her. He works justice for Tamar with His own flesh and blood. Amazingly God also loved Judah not condemning him for His abuse, but by dying for His sins. It might seem unfair that both Tamar and Judah are recipients of God’s love, but that is the way of God’s Kingdom-it isn’t fair. It is merciful. Jesus suffers what He does not deserve. Jesus dies for sins He didn’t commit. He who deserves all honor and praise is mocked, scorned, and killed by the very people He came to save. In the mystery of God’s plan the greatest apparent injustice of all works justice. You are loved. You are forgiven. God Himself has suffered for you and declared you justified in Christ.
God did not cast Tamar aside, but regarded her in love and grace to be among those through whom Christ would come. Tamar was in the family line of Jesus. So also you, no matter what has happened to you, no matter the injustices that may have come your way in this messed up world, you are not cast aside by God. The Holy Spirit calls you by faith into the family line of Jesus. Through baptism God makes us all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Could Tamar see through her injustice to behold Jesus? Only by faith. It was 1900 years later that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This is another truth we need to learn about shame. It is not quickly removed. I visited with a man this week at the Dream Center after my monthly devotion. He said that after his “season of sin” he sat in church Sunday after Sunday for three years. He said all the preacher gave him was grace upon grace in Christ. He said it took that long to wash away the guilt and shame of what he had done and who he had been. You need God’s Word, the conversation of Christian brothers and sisters, repeatedly and regularly, in large doses for your suffering. That’s why one of the Lenten disciplines is more time in prayer, more time in the holy conversation of meditation on God’s Word and speaking to Him in prayer. The good news is that we have the Word. The Holy Spirit inspired Moses to record these events of Tamar and Judah so you can have hope in the midst of injustice. You might not see it with your eyes, but your faith will see it in Jesus. God already saw Jesus coming when Tamar suffered. He already saw you when Jesus suffered. Such is His love those who suffer. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, Tamar suffered injustice at the very hands of those who owed her love and care and protection. This is not how you intended men and women to treat each other. This is not right, yet in Christ You made brought righteousness. You worked justice – not by saying such neglect or sexual abuse is acceptable to You, but rather by sending your Son to suffer in our place, to bear our shame and our sins. You were wronged to declare us right with you. Grant us to trust in the midst of injustice that You have worked justice in Your Son. Give us hope in the truth that you have placed us in the family line of Jesus and will never neglect us. Give us endurance until that day when we will indeed see all things, including ourselves, made right. In Jesus’ name. Amen.