Tamar

Hi, this is Bernie Dake. Welcome to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Give thy cross, assembled Master, at thy feet we fall, Seeking power to send us faster, here, Lord, while we call. Soul and body consecrating, leaving every sin, Longing for a full salvation, victory we would win. Fire that changes earthly craving into pure desire, Fire destroying fear and doubting fills and saves us higher. Fire that takes its stand, for Jesus seeks and saves the lost.

Fire that follows where he breathes, fearless of the kind. Welcome to Words of Life. I'm Cheryl Gillum.

And I'm Bernie Dake. Today is our final episode in our series with Lieutenant Colonel Helen Starrett. A huge thank you to Helen. Thank you for your time and your passion in sharing this series with us over the past couple of months.

This series began on June 26th, so visit SalvationArmySoundcast.org if you missed any episodes to get caught up. Full disclosure, I know Lieutenant Colonel Helen Starrett and two of her three daughters. And I will tell you, not only does this woman know women in the Bible and can tell us all about them, but she's raised women to love the Lord and the Word. And I'm really grateful for her just as an example. In this final episode, Helen talks about the story of Tamar.

And to be honest, I've said this to our staff, I don't know this name. So this is a great introduction for me to a new character in the Bible that I hadn't previously known. It's a story of perseverance. This poor girl goes through so much, but we see God use her for a tremendous purpose in the family line of David. Yeah, who then ultimately is the lineage of Christ. And so this whole series has been just extraordinary in helping us to see if you go through every episode and you listen to every character, none of them are the perfect package of what we would consider God would use for extraordinary purposes. They all have some kind of backstory.

And it's just amazing to me how God uses the ordinary for His kingdom and for His extraordinary purposes in this world. And so it's been an exciting journey with Helen. It's a short 12 weeks.

It seems impossible that we're already here in September. And we hope that you've enjoyed this series. You know that you can subscribe to the podcast in both audio form and video form. So we want to encourage you to check out salvationarmysoundcast.org in any platform. And you'll find out every way that you can consume these episodes.

And you won't want to miss next week we start our new series. So go again to salvationarmysoundcast.org. God bless.

Welcome. Buckle up. This is reality TV at its finest. It would make the Kardashians look like the Brady Bunch. This story has it all. Mysterious death, deception, mistaken identity, hidden pregnancy, a woman condemned to be burned at the stake. You don't even have to turn on your television for this kind of drama.

This is real life reality and it's all truth. Much of the culture that influences our lives today is dark. Secular podcasts that may be a little off. Gossip, inspirational but unbiblical preachers. This is exactly where Tamar finds herself. In the middle of Judah's family tree.

Her story is found in 2 Samuel 13. This story is so much information we watch and read. It makes us uncomfortable.

It angers us, shames us, convicts us and leaves us on pins and needles to its end. Now keep up because reality TV moves fast. Judah has three sons, Er, Oran and Sheila. Enter Tamar and an arranged marriage for Er. Before we go further, there's a sacred law that states that if a woman's husband dies and he has a brother, he was to marry her and conceive a child that would be the heir to his deceased brother.

This was designed to help provide for women who were widows. Er dies, not just dies, but he's an evil man and God kills him. Judah follows the law and gives Tamar son number two, Onan. Onan was not happy about this. If there was no Er from either brother, there would be more of an inheritance for him.

Onan made certain that he would not conceive intentionally. God saw this wicked behavior and kills him. The real loser now is Tamar, widowed twice, no children.

But we must remember that God will always have a plan to bring beauty from ashes. Judah didn't know that he lost two sons because of their own wickedness. In his mind, the common denominator was Tamar. Remember, there's one more son, so Judah tells her to go home to Timnan and her family, and when son number three is old enough to marry, he will send for her. Judah lied.

He had no intention of giving his third son, afraid he also might die. It appears that fear paralyzed Judah, causing him to do the wrong thing. Judah leaves Tamar in limbo. He didn't release her from his family, nor give her the husband she deserved.

Tamar had no rights to search for a husband in another family. She returns home and waits, as Judah requested. She realized that she was being dismissed, abused, and rejected by the very person who should be protecting her. She has three strikes against her. She's young, but not marriageable, barren, twice a widow.

Her life is on pause. Years pass, and Judah's wife dies. Son number three is grown up, but Tamar still has not been sent for in order to marry. Those years would have been shameful, lonely, and Tamar would have been treated as an outcast. Judah is planning a trip to Timnah for a time of celebration and sheep-sharing. Tamar learns her father-in-law plans to attend the event. She knows no arrangement for son number three has been made to marry her.

Enough! Tamar takes action. She removes her widow's clothes and dresses as a prostitute and goes and waits for Judah to enter the city.

She tricks him into sleeping with her. Do these ends justify the means? Tamar's goal was to produce an heir for Judah's line and carry on the family name, and it would have given her financial security and may have been noble, but her plan now has turned to desperation. Desperation leads to deception.

Deception leads to downfall. Judah's downfall. He noticed her. His sin began with his eyes.

Here's the decline. Judah noticed. He stopped. He voiced his request. Let me have sex with you.

Little did he know his one-night stand would change his life and ours forever. The bargain. Will you give me in exchange for sex? He offers a goat. He would send his payment. She also wanted his ring and his staff.

This is as good as DNA today. Tamar is pregnant with her father-in-law's child. Judah sends a friend to collect his collateral. He's told, as he's looking for her, there is no town prostitute, and he can't find the woman that Judah describes. Judah seems unconcerned and dismisses the interaction. Three months later, Judah learns Tamar is pregnant.

How can that be? He hasn't given son number three to her. Judah is angry and demands justice. Burn her. She's guilty of adultery because she should be engaged to brother number three, which makes her obligated to Judah's family even though they didn't give her a husband. He's angry, seeks drastic measures.

Usually the penalty would be stoning. Even though Judah had responsibility for Tamar all these years, he was in order, and now he's embarrassed. Judah wanted justice. Before Tamar comes out to face what was to be justice, she sends a message to her father-in-law.

The owner of these things made me pregnant. Oh, Judah, you are the father. Judah immediately understands and declares, making no excuse. She is more righteous than I. This is one of the first examples of a public confession of personal sin recorded in scripture. God uses Tamar to bring restoration and redemption to Judah. Tamar would deliver twins.

One of these babies would be the fifth great-grandfather of King David, putting Tamar in the lineage of Christ. This is an example of how God can take ordinary human selfishness and create extraordinary abundance. This is my last week to share with you, and I would pray that God would continue to show you the extraordinary from the ordinary.

God bless you abundantly. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support, and we'd love to hear from you. Call 1-800-229-9965 or email us at radio at uss.salvationarmy.org.

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