Problematic Passages Week 1

The Story of Tamar in Genesis 38.

Good morning, over the next 4 weeks we will be looking at 4 unique stories in scripture that modern readers often have a difficult time understanding or a difficult time explaining to younger believers or non-Christians. These are the stories that seem to paint or do paint God’s word in a bad light or God’s people in a bad light. Some of the topics we will cover, including this week are the story of Tamar, the time when Jesus seemingly compared a woman to a dog, a story about Elisha when he had some young men killed for making fun of his baldness and Jesus’s teaching that a person must hate their family in order to inherit the kingdom of God. If you are familiar with these stories, then you probably know why they are refereed to as “problematic passages.” If you are unfamiliar with the stories, then you have a great opportunity to gain some insight into some of the more difficult passages. A familiar theme that runs through our passages is that the stories seem to contradict the principles that are taught in other parts of scripture. My goal over the next 4 weeks is to dispel that idea and pull out of these stories what God wants to teach us. So, let’s go ahead and pray, then we will get started with this week’s story.

PRAY

This week we are going to be looking at the story of Tamar. Now, actually there are 2 women in the Bible named Tamar and both of them are in rather problematic stories. We will be looking at the first one, chronologically at least. What I mean by that is our story is found in Genesis Ch. 38, while the 2nd Tamar story is found in 2nd Samuel. In that story, Tamar is the daughter of King David. Unfortunately, she gets sexually assaulted by her own brother, Ammon. David didn’t exactly handle that situation the way a good father should have done…which, to be honest is something that story has in common with our story found in Genesis 38. In both instances, the father figures failed miserably. I remember when I was a children’s pastor, I set out to do a little series on “Parents in the Bible.” At the end of the lesson, I would have the kids vote whether or not they thought the mom or dad was a good parent…just a note to anyone who teaches kids, that’s not a good series as there are very few good examples of parenthood in scripture…especially according to the standards of our society…I mean, even Mary and Joseph didn’t realize that Jesus was not with them when they left Jerusalem.

Amos 5:24

“24 “But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Proverbs 24: 24-25

“24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him; 25 But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.”

Isaiah 1:17

“17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”

Because of what is going on in society today, many Christians are hesitant in talking about the idea of justice. All 3 of the passages I just read are centered around the idea and principle of justice. A few months ago I did a sermon on the difference between God’s Justice and human justice. God’s justice is always perfect, even when we can not understand it. On the other hand, human justice is and always will be imperfect. That said, our job as believers is to live justly as much as possible and to ensure that those who are legitimately preyed upon or taken advantage of are advocated for. All t hroughout the O.T. and the N.T. we can read passages instructing us to act in a just manner.

So, go ahead and turn to Genesis 38 while I set up the situation and give some context to what happens. So, there are a few things we must take into account with the story of Tamar. First,