Two Women in Dire Circumstances

Genesis 38:12-26

In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He went over to her at the road side, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she got up and went away,and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’ ” Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

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You grew up where young girls they grow up fast
You took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
but what they asked baby wasn't right
you didn't have to live that life,
I was gonna be your Romeo you were gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait on Romeo's you wait on that welfare check
and on all the pretty things that you can't ever have and on all the promises

"Point Blank" by Bruce Springsteen from "The River"

Here is one of the truths of the ancient world, the "state" did not help take care of its citizens. Of course, what we understand as a "state" or "nation" didn't exist in that day or time either, but that's another point for another day. Instead of the "state," it was up to individual families to take care of themselves.

In a society where men held most of the power, this left woman, orphans, widows, and the like at a great disadvantage. In this time, to protect widows and keep the names of all of the sons alive in the nation; if a son died, his brother would take the widow and when they conceived, the male heir would be the dead brother's son.

In this instance, Tamar was married to Judah's son Er. Er died without leaving an heir so his brother Onan was responsible for producing Er's son through Tamar. Well, Onan wasn't pleased with the prospect of siring his brother's son so he would not plant his seed in Tamar's fertile soil. This ticked off the Lord who put Onan to death. Judah's third son, Shelah was then responsible, but he was not yet old enough. Tamar was told to wait so she did; but Judah did not fulfill his responsibility to provide a son for Er by Tamar.

In our reading, we see Shelah is now ready, but Judah is not going to fulfill his responsibility to his son's widows nor to his son's lineage. So being a little randy himself, Judah finds Tamar thinking she's a temple prostitute. They get to "know one another in a biblical way" and Judah leaves his ring, cord, and staph as collateral to guarantee he'll pay the prostitute a kid from the flock.

You read how this ends, Judah learns of Tamar's pregnancy and suspects whoredom (which by the way is in truth what she was forced to do to guarantee not just her future but the name of her husband as well). She is brought in to be burned for her actions. Before this can happen, she shows Judah that he is in fact the sire of his own grandson because he would not fulfill his family responsibilities.

Women grew up fast in those days, and they grow up fast today too. Women are found in situations nobody should find themselves in because of dire circumstances. We have read Genesis, Springsteen sings of a woman whose life has taken horrible turns.

Bruce sings of a woman whose life has taken such tragic turns that he sees as her hoping without hope that tomorrow everything will be alright. But she knows that tomorrow's fall in number in number one by one. She finds she's dying doesn't even know what from.

Like Tamar she only waits for the promises that she never knows will come. This woman, like Tamar, has a choice. She could wait in despair or she could do the most drastic thing she could think of to ensure her future. Tamar was almost killed for her deeds, as for this woman... she's a lot like Tamar. As Bruce sings, "You're walkin' in the sights, girl of point blank and it's one false move and baby the lights go out."

Tamar lived because Judah, her father-in-law knew what she did was right. We need to pray for women everywhere who are living in Tamar's situation yet today. We need to act so that their fate never ends like the song, "bang, bang baby you're dead"