Mothers of Jesus - Tamar
Few women are mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, which in itself is unusual. Genealogies traditionally only feature the fathers, not their wives. The women Matthew choses to include aren't your typical women either.
One woman who features, Tamar, isn’t even a wife. She is a widow and the daughter in law of Judah. The saviour was prophesied to come from the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10). Straight away the Jewish readers of Matthew's gospel would be reminded of Tamar’s story (Genesis 38) and reminded of the shame that she carries.
Tamar was pregnant outside of marriage; pretended to be a prostitute; tricked her father in law (Judah) to sleep with her; and is in the lineage of Jesus.
Tamar lived a life of shame at the hands of Judah and his sons. Her first husband was wicked so God ‘put him to death’. His brother refused to fulfill his duty to provide Tamar offspring so was also ‘put to death’. After this Judah promised and then refused to give her his third son.
In a society where a woman's worth was determined by the men in their life, being a childless widow would have made Tamar an outcast. So she resorts to deception and trickery, to get what she is owed. Desperate enough to commit such a shameful act; she disguises herself as a prostitute and sleeps with Judah.
Her shameful act is cemented in history. But you see, God isn’t scared of shame. God is in the redemption business. God can take ashes and turn them into a crown of beauty (Isaiah 61:3). We see the ashes of Tamar's shame turn into the ultimate crown of beauty. Judah’s line doesn't come through one of his sons with his wife, Shua, but one of the sons he has with Tamar. God takes Tamar’s ashes and redeems them to be the ultimate crown, the King of KIngs.
We all carry things we are ashamed of, that we feel guilty about. This is especially prevalent in women - there’s a reason that the term ‘mum guilt’ is so common in our vernacular. Through the story of Tamar, God shows us that He is bigger than our guilt and our shame. In fact, the baby that comes at the end of this genealogy, the baby that comes from the line of Tamar, would grow up and one day pay the ultimate price and die in place of our sin and our shame. Through this Christchild, there is redemption and restoration for all of us.
However you feel this Christmas time, take time to remember that God is in the restoration business. That through this baby, through Jesus, we can all find freedom from our shame and redemption for our guilt.
By Laura Young