Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page
In the last article we learned that Tamar sought revenge on Judah by seeking out to deceive him as well. She did this by disguising herself as a harlot and tricked Judah into sleeping with her. Judah would indeed have sexual relations with her and because of this Tamar would become pregnant. Now we fast-forward a bit to about three months later from within this particular account, and this is where we would find that Judah would receive word that his daughter-in-law Tamar was found guilty of prostituting herself. But of course this wouldn't be all that Tamar would have to worry about, being that she would also be found, to be with child. Be that as it may, after Judah had heard of these accusations when it came to Tamar, he would become enraged and he responded by saying: "Bring her out and have her burned to death!" Now this type of action on Judah's behalf shows that at this point in his life, Judah had become, perhaps a very powerful man. For it would seem that he was now a man of great estate and persuasion, and because of this, he was now able to get the townsmen to do his biding. And it would soon be revealed that the townsmen would do as they were told and they went and seized Tamar. Soon after they had brought her out to stand before the magistrate. It was at this point that Judah knew that she would be found guilty of adultery, since she was still being held to a promise that she would marry Judah's youngest son Shelah. But as we now know, Judah had no intention of handing Shelah over to Tamar, for he was afraid that his youngest son would suffer the same fate as his brothers, being that Er and Onan had died after they had married her. Be that as it may, this would be Judah's chance to get rid of Tamar, being that he was now beginning to blame her for tainting the family name. And on top of that Judah was also frustrated because he now saw Tamar as being a heavy burden on the overall household as well. But keep in mind that Tamar had not asked Judah for the things he had originally promised her. Judah took it upon himself to make these promises towards her, for he wanted his family name to continue on, out of respect to his oldest son, Er. As we move forward, and like I'd stated earlier, we now find that Tamar was being brought out to stand before the magistrate, but she had a message sent to her father-in-law Judah, which stated: "I am pregnant by the man who owns these items. See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." After Judah had received the message, he realized that he was the father of her unborn child: "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah," he thought to himself. Understand that this response is brought on by the fact that Judah, although surprised by the message and items that revealed that he was the father of Tamar's unborn child. He also knew at that moment it was by his doing that Tamar had been led down the path that she ended up eventually traveling. Judah knew that he had broken his promise to Tamar, by not giving his son Shelah over to her as he had pledge. So therefore he had her released. Who knows, perhaps Tamar's chastity would have been preserved if it were not for Judah's deceitful and misleading ways. Now he must face the shame that he had sought to dodge, for his secret encounter that was done in the dark -- has now, been brought to light. Note that the Holy Scriptures also pointed out to us that Judah did not sleep with Tamar again after this episode had happen. Which should somewhat prove that he was totally deceived by Tamar, and had no way of knowing that she was indeed his daughter-in-law when he had first slept with her. However, sometime later, Tamar would give birth to twin boys. The Sacred Record informs us that one of the boys had put out his hand and the midwife had tied a scarlet thread around his wrist: "This one came out first," she would proclaim. But the child drew back his hand and his brother came out before him: "So this is how you have broken out," she remarked. The son that was born first would be called - Pharez which signifies "breach", and he would be followed by his brother who was called - Zarah and his name signifies "rising". Now we return back towards Joseph's account. On our voyage we will learn where he ended up? And perhaps, what's next for him while he's on the path of uncertainty? For he was once a favorite son who held tremendous favor - but what about now? Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
69) Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams 71) Joseph & The Pit of Darkness 72) Jacob the Father of Sorrow 73) The Importance of Judah's History 75) The Reaping Season of Judah 76) Tamar's Revenge 77) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 78) Joseph the Servant of Favor 79) Potiphar's Wife Pursues Joseph 82) The Dreaming Cupbearer & Baker 84) Joseph's Dark Dreams Interpretation  |
|
|
