Tamar

Obedience to God's Law

I have always been a rule follower. Even rule followers, though, can tend to push boundaries. We speed a little, cuss a little, lie a little, gossip a little…

I remember sitting on the sidelines for one of my son’s soccer games. My daughter was told that her feet could not cross the line onto the field. So, she did what any 3-year-old boundary-pusher would do; she stood on the line, her toes touching the edge, but not crossing it. She gets it from her daddy.

From the perspective of today’s culture, the story of Tamar in Genesis 38 appears to be breaking moral code. However, Tamar was a rule follower, even if it seems like her feet stood right on the edge of the line.

In Old Testament times, a person’s inheritance established his/her identity as one of God’s chosen people. According to Old Testament law, if a woman’s husband passed away, the brother-in-law would essentially inherit his deceased brother’s wife. Since Tamar’s father-in-law, Judah, had no intention of fulfilling this law, she had to action into her own hands. In order to obtain her legal and spiritual inheritance as the matriarch of Judah’s family, Tamar’s last option was to carry the family line through him. 

Fortunately, we live in New Testament times where our inheritance comes from belief in Jesus Christ. God no longer requires us to follow these laws because through His Son all laws – ALL -  have been fulfilled!!! Even though we are no longer required to follow the laws God established in Old Testament times, through our rebirth and spiritual growth, the Holy Spirit presses the desire of obedience into our hearts. 

Because Tamar obeyed God’s law, she gave birth to the direct line of Joseph, who was Jesus’ adoptive earthly father. Her genealogy points directly to the Son of God!  Her obedience yielded generations of obedience. 

Like Tamar, our obedience to God sets the example for generations to come. It is up to us to pave that path for our children.