Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him. And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. Genesis 38:6-14
Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, married a Canaanite woman who bore him three sons. His first son married Tamar a Canaanite woman as well. The scripture tells us that because the son was wicked God killed him. Then his Judah’s son married Tamar. He ensured that Tamar wouldn’t conceive a child because the child would have been considered his brother’s child. God saw this action wicked and killed him as well.
Judah had only one more son left. He promised Tamar that when the third son was grown, he would give him in marriage to her while he had no intention of doing this. Tamar went back to her father’s house, and she continued to mourn as a widow waiting for the third son to marry her. However, over the course of time, she found out that Judah wasn’t really intending of giving his third son in marriage to her.
The scripture tells us that Judah thought that he had lost his two sons because they married Tamar. As a result he was concerned about losing his third son if he married Tamar. The fact was that the first two sons didn’t die because they were married to Tamar, but because they were wicked before God!
Isn’t that what we do sometimes with those we love? When something happens that they are subject of a controversy or a problem, we think others have done them wrong. We assume that they are a victim of a bad situation. All along similar issues follow our loved ones.
If a few independent people complain about the same thing regarding our friend or family member, then there must be some truth to this person’s character flaws. All these people can’t be wrong, jealous, or inept in recognizing the problem. Sometimes it is the Lord who is having an issue with our loved one, and He wants to discipline him/her. Some of us instead of seeking the will of God, we want to rebuke the devil, cast him out, and defend our loved ones.
The sad reality is the very thing we try to protect our loved ones from, at some point in time, will impact us. Character flaws can never remain contained because it’s the way an individual operates in life and under pressure.
I will continue with Tamar’s story in the next devotional.