Genesis 38:1-39:23
Oh my Lord what on earth were you doing with Tamar? Just to make sure we are all clear on what we are looking at; Judah is a son of God’s promise to Abraham (I’ll give you more descendants than sand on the seashore). Not only that, Judah is the head of one of the twelve tribes who form the backbone of God’s holy people; Israel. And, even more than that, we see in Matthew 1 (January 1 reading) that Jesus was proud to proclaim that he was a direct descendant of Judah through Perez, his son of whoredom. This whole thing is pretty darn offensive. But, I guess, that is grace in action.
Onan was about as callous as it was possible to be in his situation. Tamar had no pension, no support, no means of income and no retirement fund. She needed children to care and provide for her and to give her status; in ancient Israel everything was about family and passing things on to the next generation. So, asking brothers to provide heirs for their deceased siblings was the ancient equivalent of an endowment fund. It chaffs a bit now but actually probably made reasonable sense back then. Onan knows his role towards Tamar is to ensure she will be well looked after in future life but decides all he will do is enjoy a bit of fooling around and then, almost to spite her, spill his semen on the ground so she can watch her needs and hopes draining away into the dust. Tamar now has no way of actually getting a future for herself so, completely and utterly at the end of her rope, she uses the well-practiced family skill of deception to get herself a son. Can you imagine Judah’s face, and that of his wife!, when Tamar pulled out his seal and chord as proof of his fatherhood? He was most definitely in the wrong, grossly so, but he acknowledges it and acts with compassion towards Tamar from that point on.
So we see the offensiveness, even to our ears, of God’s grace and compassion to the oppressed and the down-trodden. It is easy to point fingers back at these people of old and decry them for their (very obvious) failings. But I for one am so glad that they are laid out so clearly on display because in them we see the nature of our God; slow to anger and quick to forgive, faithful to generation after generation and determined to see his promises come to pass.
Matthew 13:36-58
As we press deeper into Matthew we see more and more of the character of Jesus. Here is one part of him I think is often overlooked - everything he did, and certainly every parable he told, was expertly crafted specifically with the intention of provoking a decision. People could not just sit and listen to him; they had to make a choice at the end. Am I good seed or a weed? Will I sell all I have to gain the kingdom or will I just ignore it? Am I a good fish or a bad fish? The implications of each decision are laid out for even a child to understand. When we approach Jesus, and when we speak out for him, we need to keep this at the forefront of our minds. This is not just therapeutic stuff to listen to but is a call to change, to give up or take up, to sell or to buy, to hope or to repent. We must regain this dynamic initiative to speak and demonstrate truth, to challenge and inspire radical transformation of our world.
Psalm 11:1-7
The Lord is loving and gracious but, as this psalm declares, he also examines us closely. That is why the (slightly lost?) act of repentance is so crucial to us. We do not bear close scrutiny (at least I don’t), but through repentance we find again the cleansing of the Spirit and become convinced of the purity of Jesus living in us.
