Real people. Real Savior: Perez : Part 8
Matthew chapter 1 lists the ancestors of Jesus. You will learn more about your Savior as we trace through segments of his family tree.
Perez
God is willing to be part of a family that includes the worst of sinnersāincluding you and me.
Thomas D. Kock
Judah, fourth son of Jacob, went off to live with a friend named Hirah, an Adullamite. There Judah married a Canaanite woman, and had three sons. When his oldest son Er came of age, Judah got a wife for him. Her name was Tamar.
A SHOCKING STORY
But God put Er to death because he āwas wicked in the LORDās sightā (Genesis 38:7).
So Judah asked Onan, his second son, to marry Tamar in order to provide a son that would be considered the son of Er, his dead brother. It was a proper request even if it seems strange to us. But Onan didnāt want to provide a child who would be considered his brotherās, so when he and Tamar had relations, āhe spilled his semen on the groundā (38:9). What he did was also āwicked in the LORDās sightā (38:10), and God put him to death too.
With two of his three sons dead, Judah told Tamar to live in her fatherās house as a widow until Shelah was old enough to be married.
After a long time Judahās wife died. After a time of grief, Judah went to where his men were shearing his sheep. Tamar was told that her father-in-law was going to visit the sheepshearers; she dressed up as if she was a shrine prostitute.
Judah saw her and wanted to pay her to have sexual relations with him. He promised that heāll give her a young goat as payment; she wanted something to keep as a pledge. So he gave her his seal, cord, and staff, all of which would have identified him.
Later when it becomes obvious that she was pregnant, Judah wanted to burn her to death as a prostitute! He still did not know that he was the father of the child. She produced the evidence (seal, cord, staff), and Judah recognized his own sinfulness.
From that sinful alliance, Tamar bore twins, Perez and Zerah. Amazingly, Perez was one of the ancestors of our Savior.
GOD’S AMAZING LOVE
If you havenāt heard that account before, perhaps you are surprised by its graphic sinfulness. But if weāre honest as we look at our own hearts, itās not much of a surprise. Lentāspring and sheepshearing timeāgives us that opportunity to examine our hearts. But Lent is so much more. Itās about the Savior who came for us. He was willing to be part of a family that included Judah, Tamar, and Perez!
He is willing to be part of a family that includes you and me too. Thatās amazing! The holy God was willing to suffer and die so that you and I could be part of his family. Thatās even more amazing! The holy God made sure that you and I heard about what he did for us, and he led us to trust it. That too is amazing! And thankfully, itās also true.
So, goodbye to regret and sorrow. Hello to Jesus and his gracious victory for us.
Contributing editor Thomas Kock, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a member at Atonement, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
This is the eighth article in a nine-part series on people in Jesusā family tree.
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Author: Thomas D. Kock
Volume 103, Number 3
Issue: March 2016
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