Last year, I wrote a blog post on “God and the Sex Scandal Lineage“. This year, I wrote a devotional study on the life of Tamar- the first woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Tamar was traumatized, abused, rejected, and she committed incest. Yet, God saw it fit to have her in Jesus’ lineage. As one who speaks to the intergenerational transmission of trauma, I examined the story of Tamar through the lens of trauma and the redemptive power of grace. The four- day devotional reminds us that we matter to God and God is not ashamed of our story.
Here is a sample of day 3:
Tamar’s life was placed on hold while waiting to marry Shelah. She must have felt forgotten and rejected when her father-in-law refused to let her marry Shelah, as promised. So she deliberately committed incest. The incestuous union produced twin brothers Perez and Zerah. God could have said, “That is it. I cannot allow such scandal in my son’s earthly lineage.” Perhaps God could have continued Judah’s lineage through Shelah. God showed mercy and Tamar’s story was rewritten. By inspiring Matthew to list her in Jesus’ genealogy, Tamar was given a place in history.
God is not ashamed to be associated with those who have a dark past or come from broken homes. You may have conceived out of wedlock or you may not have been conceived the proper way based on the society you live in. Your life matters to God and God is not ashamed of you. Culturally, I was not conceived in the proper way. I was not conceived in a marital relationship and my mother was advised to abort me. God is working in my life in ways that assure me he is not ashamed of my story. Some of us were conceived in adulterous and incestuous relationships, through rape and other complicated circumstances. Tamar and her children’s place in Jesus’ genealogy is God’s way of telling us he sees us and is not ashamed of us.
Continue reading here or click on the image below
An exciting thing about this devotional is that it is also available in audio version. Not my voice though. You need to check it out! Be blessed and share with someone who needs it.
PS: I miss you all- reading your posts and all the good stuffs. Finals, another little one, and other interesting responsibilities are on my plate at the moment.
God will rewrite the life of anyone who comes to Jesus 🙂
Amen! Our stories are more beautiful with Jesus. Thank you Papa Matt!
love you 🙂
This is beautifully written and got to me because I can relate to deep brokenness. Yet God loves us flaws and all.
Thank you! Amen! Our flaws can reveal God’s grace 🙏
Beautiful my friend. Love the story of Tamar. Earlier this year, I began studying the women of the Bible and Tamar’s story was indeed fascinating 🧐. Love how the Lord uses anyone in spite of our past to complete His work. He writes a beautiful story
Thank you. Tamar’s story is fascinating. We cannot put God in a box. He works in mysterious ways.
Amen 🙏🏽
God accepts us we are. Amen
Very encouraging post on acceptance. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am doing my best to stay on course to serve the Lord without being ashamed and it’s truly amazing. I recently had the opportunity to help a non-christian businessman find Jesus in his practical life and he was so excited when praying to Jesus worked when everything else he had tried had failed that he wanted to share a testimony. I have just uploaded it on video on my channel and would be happy to share it with anyone looking to see the power of Jesus at work even among the non-believers.
Thank you for sharing. I will checkout your page. Testimonies transform lives.