Tamar

1 Chronicles 1-2 – Everyone Matters!

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Ever face a job and thought, “I really don’t want to wade into this!” Whether it was cleaning the garage, painting the house, or cleaning out a closet, you just weren’t looking forward to it.

That’s how I felt when I opened 1 Chronicles and saw 9 chapters of genealogy. I wasn’t excited about wading through a list of names I couldn’t pronounce and people I knew nothing about.

Perhaps God knew this would be an issue for readers because scattered throughout the genealogy are nuggets of information that catch your attention and make you think.

When I came to the descendants of Judah, in 1 Chronicles chapters 1-2, I read that Judah had twin sons by his daughter-in-law, Tamar! (1 Chron. 2:4) According to Genesis chapter 38, when Tamar’s husband died, Judah (her father-in-law) failed to provide another husband for her, as was the custom of the time. She took matters into her own hands, dressed as a prostitute, and seduced her father-in-law into sleeping with her. Out of this, she gave birth to twin sons.

This sordid story is noteworthy because Tamar and her sons are mentioned in another genealogy… Matthew chapter 1…the genealogy of Jesus!

Most of us try to hide the sordid parts of our family tree, but God makes sure to mention a shady pregnancy and two illegitimate children in the genealogy of the Son of God! Why? Because everyone matters! Everyone counts! Every person whose name I so quickly glance over played a critical part in the progression of events that brought us to now.

If it’s true of a morally questionable father-in-law, a deceiving daughter-in-law, and her two illegitimate sons…then it’s true of us. We matter! We count!

Someday, a generation far removed from us will be skimming through some genealogy and glance over our name. Our name will mean nothing to them. It won’t even cause them to slow down. But, like the generations before us, we will have had an impact on their present and future.

2 Samuel 13 – Have You Become Your Parent?

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It happens to everyone. If you live long enough, it will happen to you. It’s the day no one wants. The day you fought so hard to avoid. It’s the day where something you say or do causes you to stop dead in your tracks and say, “Oh no! I’ve become my parent!”

It’s inevitable. Whether it’s due to nature, nurture, or natural consequences of actions, parents will end up passing some things on to their children. Some of those things will be good, and some of those things will be not-so-good.

This is what is happening in chapter 13 of 2 Samuel. In chapter 12, the prophet Nathan confronts David with his sin and tells David that the consequences of his sin will ripple out into his family; and eventually into the nation itself. (2 Samuel 12:10-11). And that begins in 2 Samuel chapter 13.

But David’s sins of immorality and murder were not handed down to one child. They were spread out among two children. We find Amnon re-enacting David’s immorality by raping his half-sister, Tamar. And we find Absalom re-enacting David’s murder by killing his half brother, Amnon, for raping his sister Tamar. Like a drop of food coloring in a pitcher of clear water, David’s sin begins to infiltrate his family and his nation.

It’s a sobering thought, not just to parents, but to all of us. Our sin and poor judgment can actually infect those around us. This should cause us to stop and think each time we’re about to make a decision of some sort. “How will what I’m about to do live on in the lives of those around me?”

So here’s the question: What kind of legacy will you be leaving if your children, or the people close to you, eventually look or sound like you?