Tamar | Matthew 1
Matthew 1:1–16 (ESV)
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
Importance of Biblical Genealogies
Genealogies as Theology
Genealogies with Women!?
3 Movements to Tamar’s Story
1) The descent of Judah
2) Tamar’s courageous verdict
3) The ascent of Judah
Judah’s Descent into Evil
Tamar’s Courageous Verdict
Levirate Marriage Law
Judah’s Ascent into Righteousness
Tamar saves Judah’s lineage
Tamar saves Judah’s moral future
B. GROUP QUESTIONS
1) Have you read Matthew 1, and Genesis 38? What strikes you as odd, convicting or horrible in the story of Tamar? Where do your feelings go? To whom?
2) Do you find Biblical genealogies hard to read? What can you do to help you see the theology and beauty and purpose in them?
3) What are all the things you can think of that the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 tells us about Jesus?
4) Tamar’s actions are never seen as moral or prescriptive, but also never condemned. She is “more righteous than Judah.” What does this tell us about how we see morality (science, black and white, rules) and how God may see morality (also including motivations, options available, desperation, injustice, power disadvantages, etc.)
5) Why did Judah need Tamar?
6) In what ways can we see the shadows of a future Christ in Tamar and the later Judah?
7) Prayer and praise