Month: May 2017

Glory Days

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Glory days are defined as “times in the past that are regarded as being better than the present.”

Glory days can be that winning pass of the high school championship, that time we were big on campus and had the hot date, or that carefree summer we spent at the beach with friends. Whatever they may be, we all have glory days in the past that seem better than the present.

As a married couple, you have glory days. Maybe it was when you were dating and everything was fresh and new. Maybe it was the excitement of your wedding day. Maybe it was the early days of marriage when hope and passion were always high.

But what if those glory days now seem like a distant memory? What if those glory days have been replaced with marital conflict, parenting demands, financial pressure, and work stress. What if the days of passion have changed from “I can’t beat them off with a stick” to “I want to beat them up with a stick?”

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Genesis 38 – Obligations

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In Genesis chapter 38, Judah’s oldest son (Er) marries a girl named Tamar. But Er is considered by God to be wicked, and he dies before he and Tamar have a child.
In their culture, Tamar is to conceive a child with the next oldest son, Onan, and that child will be considered Er’s child. (This is for the purpose of carrying on a family name.) But Onan doesn’t like the idea that the child will not be his, so He sabotages the conception. God judges Onan for not honoring his obligation, and Onan dies.
Judah only has one son left…Shelah. Shelah is too young to conceive with Tamar, so Judah tells Tamar to wait until he is old enough. But when Shelah is old enough, Judah ignores the promise he made to Tamar. This leaves Tamar childless, vulnerable, and frustrated.
Sometime after Judah’s wife dies, he takes a trip to Timnah. When Tamar hears this, she dons a veil, disguises herself as a prostitute, and goes out to meet Judah by the roadside. Not recognizing her, Judah sleeps with her and leaves some of his possessions as a promise of future payment.
Tamar conceives a child from this encounter. Three months later, Judah finds out Tamar is pregnant and he is incensed that she didn’t wait for the youngest son. Judah makes plans to put her to death, according to the laws and customs of the day. Then Tamar reveals to Judah the possessions he had left with her when he thought she was a prostitute, and Judah is forced to admit that he had wickedly refused to fulfill his obligation to her.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the sex and secrecy of this story, but those are story elements to communicate a larger principle. We, like Judah, Er, and Onan need to remember that failing to keep our obligations, whether to God or other people, is a sin. (Ecclesiastes 5:4) (Romans 13:7.)
Have you made an obligation to a spouse, child, friend or employer you’ve not yet kept? Now would be a great time to take steps towards fulfilling that obligation.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Bull Riding and Marriage

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I often tell people that marriage can be like a bull ride. Here’s what I mean by that…

In the beginning, when the bull rider gets on the bull, they look good, feel confident, and are surrounded by a lot of supporters. Those supporters speak words of encouragement, slap them on the back, and tell them, “You can do this!”

All this is like a bride and groom on their wedding day.

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