Three Rivers Grace Church
Sunday Worship Gathering 10:45am
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Welcome
    • Sunday Schedule
    • Affiliation
    • Mission and Values
    • Beliefs >
      • Statement of Faith
      • Church Covenant
      • Church Constitution
    • Leadership
    • Membership
  • Media
    • Sermons
    • 3RG Blog
    • Videos
    • Facebook/Twitter
    • Sunday School Audio
    • Special Event Audio/Video
    • Music
  • Get Connected
    • Small Groups & Bible Studies
    • Worship Gathering
    • Sunday School
    • Children and Nursery
    • Youth Ministry
    • Men's Ministry
    • Women's Ministry
    • MOPS
    • Table Talk
    • Missions & Outreach
  • Contact
    • Contact Info
    • Directions
  • News & Events
    • Calendar
    • Weekly Newsletter
    • Upcoming Special Events
  • Resources
    • Recommended Resources >
      • Links
      • Reading
      • Bible Reading Plans
    • Church Library Database
    • Sunday Worship Folders
    • Ministry Coordinators
    • Documents
    • Prayer Board
    • Member Directory & Portal
    • Christianity Explained Resources

Jesus’ Family Tree, Part 1: Tamar

12/18/2014

0 Comments

 
Ben Reaoch | Category: Christmas
Picture
You can often get to know a lot about a person by understanding their family.  When we’re getting to know a new friend, we will ask questions about their parents and siblings and grandparents.  Where do those family members live?  What do they do?  What are they like?  Are they believers or unbelievers?  It’s also fascinating to study a person’s extended genealogy.  What is the ethnic heritage of the family?  What are the stories that have been passed down?  

When we come to the very beginning of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy.  The very first words of the New Testament say this: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  Then the following verses list the family tree of Jesus, starting with Abraham and tracing the generations all the way to Joseph and Mary.  

As we’re thinking about the birth of Jesus Christ, it’s fitting to dwell on His family tree and what God intends for us to glean from this genealogy.

One thing that stands out is the fact that 4 women are mentioned.  Tamar in verse 3, Rahab and Ruth in verse 5, and Bathsheba in verse 6 (although she is simply referred to as “the wife of Uriah”).  It was not the custom to include any women in genealogies, so Matthew is breaking out of his cultural mold as he mentions these 4 women.  So it’s surprising to see women named here.  It’s even more shocking when we learn about the stories of these women.  These were shameful women, immoral women.  They were notorious sinners.  Ruth is the exception.  She was morally upright, but even her reputation was questionable because she was a Moabite woman, and in Deuteronomy 23 there is a curse on the Moabites.

The story of Tamar is from Genesis 38.  The story is about Judah and Tamar.  Judah was the fourth son of Jacob.  He married a Canaanite woman and had three sons.  Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah.  When the oldest son, Er, was ready to marry, Judah found a wife for him, and her name was Tamar.  But the Lord killed Er, because he was wicked.  So, as was the custom, Judah told the second son, Onan, to marry Tamar.  But the Lord killed Onan as well for his wickedness.  That left Judah with only one son—Shelah.  And Judah was afraid to give Shelah to Tamar in marriage, because he feared that Shelah would have the same fate as his brothers.

When Tamar realized that she was being overlooked, she took matters into her own hands.  She knew of Judah’s moral depravity, and so she dressed up as a prostitute, and put a veil over her face, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, where she knew Judah would pass by.  Exactly as she planned, Judah passed by and requested to sleep with her.  It was from that sin that Perez and Zerah were conceived.  And as we see in the genealogy, Matthew 1:2 lists “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, etc.”  So it was from this adulterous union that the Messianic line was preserved.  The Messiah would be a descendant of Judah, and it was through these depraved events that Perez was born, and it was Perez who was next in Jesus’ genealogy.

That’s the story of Tamar, the first woman mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Blog Homepage

    3RG Blog

    The purpose of our church blog is to serve the overall mission of our church: to delight in the beauty of God's greatness,
    to proclaim the truth of God's Word, and to ignite a joyful passion for the Gospel of Jesus among all the peoples of Pittsburgh and the world.

    Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions or feedback!

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    Receive weekly posts by email
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Announcements
    Baptist Instittue Of Pittsburgh
    Bible Study
    Children's Sunday School
    Christmas
    Church Planting
    Culture
    Easter
    Library Resources
    Marriage
    Meet The Volunteers
    Mission
    Monday Meditation
    Parenting
    Personal Testimony
    Preparing For Sunday
    Resource Friday
    Resources
    Sunday Follow Up
    Sunday Gathering Overview
    The Christian Life
    The Church Community
    Theology For Life
    Worldview
    Worship

    Archives

    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

FOLLOW US

ABOUT   |   DIRECTIONS   |   CALENDAR  |   CONTACT  
 © Three Rivers Grace Church | 1028 Chartiers Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15220 | 412.450.0733
 WORSHIP. WORD. WITNESS.
Proudly powered by Weebly
Picture
Photos used under Creative Commons from TerryChen - Blooming Beauty 綻放美麗的力量, AJU_photography, DncnH, israeltourism, hamron, swimparallel, Javcon117*, Andrew Stawarz, andreasbohlender, Michiel Thomas, Logan Brumm Photography and Design, David Rosen Photography, angelocesare, -Tripp-, Karim D. Ghantous, Leslie Richards, Frank Jakobi, craiglea123, Madhan Karthikeyan, roseannadana: Thank you for 1 million views, paulhami, Furryscaly, martinak15, mysza831, Rob.Bertholf, SMcGarnigle, dmott9, khrawlings, Grzegorz Łobiński, waitscm, ConstructionDealMkting, Elvert Barnes, tedeytan, francisco_osorio, K Tao, InAweofGod'sCreation, rolle@bassfire, dgoomany, Waiting For The Word, Skakerman, cbcmemberphotos2477, Markus Grossalber, y.caradec, eflon, Lars Relander, Simon Donini, diloz, SurFeRGiRL30, .FuturePresent., Rennett Stowe, The City of Toronto, banjipark, jovom, Wedding Photography by Jon Day, Gerry Dincher, donnierayjones, Hernan Piñera, Randy OHC, Martin Cathrae, JayCob L., quinn.anya, xophe_g, chrisgrayphotos, Orin Zebest, avarty, Brett Jordan, yummyporky, Liamfm ., One Candle Photos, Alyssa L. Miller, nada abdalla, Images_of_Money, ttarasiuk, cyanocorax, aaronisnotcool, article27, Bravo_Zulu_, chuckrock123, Mark Ittleman, robinsan, Ryk Neethling, symphony of love, emma.buckley, Chindit76, mikecogh, Jaykhuang, zeevveez, Georgie Pauwels, michael_swan, Dougtone, M.Pastor, Wayne Large, avrene, Johan Larsson, craigCloutier, Woody H1, BasketStreaming, kaferris, Calsidyrose, rachel_titiriga, BryonLippincott, Lies Thru a Lens , Rohit Arun Rao, bobosh_t, Graeme Darbyshire, __MaRiNa__, h.koppdelaney, Pierre Lognoul, annnie, craigCloutier, visualpanic, Ravi_Shah, e.c.johnson, Wetsun, Sara Björk, Teri Lynne Underwood, angelocesare, Wonderlane, BarelyFitz, EuroMagic, oliver.dodd, fishhawk, Lost Albatross, Renaud Camus, CJS*64 "Man with a camera", LeonArts.at, ThoseGuys119, Gellscom, dolbinator1000, donjd2, saturn ♄, quinn.anya, briannalouder, mkhmarketing, ℓαurα suαrez, BarnImages.com, Justin Ornellas, Mike Kniec, Kimberly*, visually_conscious, schmollmolch, Sean MacEntee, Andi Licious, Lel4nd, erix!, thisisjamesj, withbeautiful, Sir, Rony, stimpsonjake, Alefshgree, Imagens Evangélicas, Marco Arment, MIKI Yoshihito (´・ω・), micadew, bigbirdz, photoloni, @ANDYwithCAMERA, Dainis Matisons
✕