Part 1 – Flexibility Training – Reading
Before carrying on with Joseph’s story, we take a quick break to read a series of events from the life of Judah.
In today’s reading you will hear about a practice commonly found in the Bible. It is called the ‘levirate’ law [aka, the brother-in-law law]. If a man dies without an heir, his brother is supposed to marry the widow and have children. The first born male of that second marriage is considered the son and heir of the brother who died. If the second brother dies without producing an heir, the third brother must marry the widow of his two brothers to produce heirs for his brothers. It’s rather complicated, but the idea is to allow for the bloodlines and the inheritances to have clear lines.
Read Genesis 38:
That was very desperate thing Tamar did – to risk death for prostitution & adultery all for the possibility of a son. But as Judah finally recognized, though she did the wrong thing, she was right to desire an heir for her dead husband, and a support for herself in her old age. Tamar risked all and, as a result, became an important woman in the Bible. But most of all, God gave her two sons!
PART 2 – Strength Training – Memory & Thinking
Because all the troubles in today’s reading results from Jacob’s favoritism, today’s memory work is about that. Keep reviewing the verses from before!
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
James 2:8-9 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
Psalm 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
There are several references to Tamar throughout the Bible. Take, for instance, the genealogical lists of David and Jesus. Many people consider the genealogies boring reading. But check out the beginning of Jesus’ genealogy found in Matthew 1 – only four women are mentioned in it, and each had a sordid past, interestingly enough. Take notice: Tamar is the first woman in the list.
Matthew 1:1-6 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…
1 Chronicles 2:14 These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; these three Bath-shua the Canaanite bore to him. Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death. His daughter-in-law Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
Ruth 4:11-12 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Part 3 – Cardio Training – Prayer
Perhaps today You are praying, like Tamar, for a husband or a child. Perhaps, like her, you have been waiting a very long time. God knows your desires, and yet He encourages us to continue to pray, to petition, for those dear desires of our heart. In 1 Samuel 1, we see the example of Hannah, who earnestly desired a child and continued to pray for one. In Luke 18, Jesus told the parable about a widow who kept petitioning an unrighteous judge. It says in verse 1 that Jesus told the parable “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (NIV) Whatever it is that sits heavy on your heart today, keep asking God about it. Keep petitioning like the widow. It may be that God will say yes.
Father, You are a good Father who cares for His people. You desire to give us good things. As we wait, help us continue in faith, believing You are good and will provide all our needs. Help us not move ahead of You as did Abraham and Sarah. But show us when we should take action, even as Tamar did. Help us act in faith.
Part 4 – Endurance Training
Like Tamar, keep enduring through difficult seasons. But be sure to dig deep into the Word of God so you will know what the truly righteous path is.
An Extra Lap
Take a moment and ponder Tamar’s life. She had married into the very people God had chosen for His own. Then she found out that she had married the scoundrel of the family. He was so evil God struck him dead. And then she was told to marry the next oldest brother who also did evil so that God struck him as well. Then she was told to go home to her father and wait for her third husband to grow up. What desperation she must have come to to ultimately put on the clothes of a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law. When Judah found out what had happened, he declared her righteous and honored her with the position and respect of a wife. Even God honored her by giving her twins, and then a place in the lineage of Jesus.
Faith Gym 