Women of the Bible Part 4

Contrary to what Leah may have felt, G.o.d had taken note of her sorrow. Knowing well that Jacob's heart was too cramped a s.p.a.ce to harbor both Rachel and Leah, he made Leah a mother, not once, but seven times, extending her influence in Jacob's household.

With the birth of each child the unhappy Leah hoped to secure her husband's affection. But each time her disappointment grew. She felt the old curse a.s.serting itself: "Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you" (Genesis 3:16).

Perhaps Jacob still resented Leah for tricking him on their wedding night, disguising herself as his beloved Rachel. Surely Leah's love had been pa.s.sionate enough to deceive him until morning. She felt both glad and guilty for her part; though, truth to tell, she had little choice but to obey her father, Laban, in the matter. And she thanked G.o.d each day for enabling her to bear Jacob's children. Still, children often caused a mother untold sorrow.

Dinah, her only daughter, had been raped by a local prince on their return to Jacob's homeland. Leah hardly knew how to comfort her. To make matters worse, her sons Levi and Simeon avenged their sister by savagely murdering a town-full of people. Then Reuben disgraced himself by sleeping with his father's concubine Bilhah.

Hadn't G.o.d promised to protect us if we returned to this land of promise? How, then, could such things happen? Leah wondered. True, G.o.d had watched over them as they faced Esau and his four hundred men. But Leah's joy at the brothers' friendly reunion was eclipsed by her sorrow at once again being proved the lesser-loved wife. Jacob had made it plain enough by placing Rachel and her children last in their long caravan, giving them the best chance of escape should Esau prove violent.

But Jacob's love could not prevent Rachel from dying in childbirth. Leah, not Rachel, was destined to be his first and last wife. Alongside her husband, the father of Israel, she would be revered as a mother of Israel. In fact, the promise of a Savior was carried not through Rachel's Joseph but through Leah's Judah, whose descendants would include David, Israel's great king, and Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. In the end, Jacob was laid to rest in the cave of Machpelah, next to his first wife, Leah, rather than his favorite wife, Rachel, who was buried somewhere near Ephrath.

The two sisters, Rachel and Leah, remind us that life is fraught with sorrow and peril, much of it caused by sin and selfishness. Both women suffered-each in her own way-the curse of Eve after she was expelled from her garden paradise. While Rachel experienced great pain in giving birth to children, Leah experienced the anguish of loving a man who seemed indifferent to her. Yet both women became mothers in Israel, leaving their homeland to play essential roles in the story of G.o.d's great plan for his people.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

T he customs of marriage were far different in ancient biblical times from our own modern customs. Seldom did a man or woman marry for love. Jacob is a notable exception by expressing his love for Rachel and his desire to marry her. Jacob married both Rachel and her sister, Leah, a practice that was later forbidden by law (Leviticus 18:18).

Usually the bride and groom were very young when they married. The bride was often only around twelve and the groom around thirteen. Their marriage was arranged by parents, and their consent was neither requested nor required. Even so, such marriages could prove to be love matches, like that between Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 24:67).

By New Testament times, the marriage ceremony itself was usually very short, but the festivities connected with it could go on for many days. The groom dressed in colorful clothing and set out just before sunset, with his friends and attendants and musicians, for the home of the bride's parents. There the bride would be waiting, washed and perfumed and bedecked in an elaborate dress and jewels. The bride and groom then led the marriage procession through the village streets, accompanied by music and torchbearers, to the groom's parents' home. The feasting and celebration began that night and often continued for seven days.

G.o.d's design for marriage to be between one husband and one wife was often not practiced in early biblical times. Leah shared her husband, Jacob, with not only her sister, Rachel, but their maids, Zil-pah and Bilhah. Although polygamy was less common after the exodus from Egypt, Gideon had a number of wives (Judges 8:30), and, of course, Solomon had many (1 Kings 11:3). But, as the New Testament indicates, a union between one husband and one wife continues to be G.o.d's design and desire (1 Timothy 3:2, 12; t.i.tus 1:6).

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read Genesis 29:20 - 35.

1. What do you think Leah might have felt during her wedding night, when Jacob was deceived?

2. How do you think Leah felt and acted toward Jacob as the years pa.s.sed? What do you think his reaction was?

3. Many women today have husbands who love something more than their wives: their job, their position, their money, sports. Others have felt the lack of love from someone else, such as parents. Have you ever felt unloved by someone? If so, how did you feel and act?

4. G.o.d saw Leah's suffering and had compa.s.sion for her (Genesis 29:31). How aware are you of G.o.d's compa.s.sion for you? Where do you see his compa.s.sion active in your life?

5. What helps or hinders you from receiving love from G.o.d?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb.

- Genesis 29:31 The Lord noticed Leah's misery. He looked down and saw a woman who was lonely and sad because her husband loved his other wife better than he loved her. So, to ease her sorrow, to provide her comfort, G.o.d gave her children-beautiful, intelligent, strong children, one of whom would establish the lineage of the priests of Israel and another who was an ancestor of Jesus himself.

This same G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Leah is our G.o.d. He sees our miseries, no matter how small or how large. He knows our circ.u.mstances, our feelings, our hurts. And, just as in Leah's life, he is willing to step in and create something beautiful in and through us.

Promises in Scripture He [G.o.d] has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

-Isaiah 6i:i - 3 I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

-Jeremiah 31:13 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."

- Genesis 29:31 - 32 Reflect On: Genesis 29:16 - 31.

Praise G.o.d: That though human beings often judge by outward appearances, G.o.d always sees the heart and judges accordingly.

Offer Thanks: That G.o.d is moved by our sorrow.

Confess: Your tendency to compare yourself with other women, judging them and yourself merely by appearances.

Ask G.o.d: To enable you to base your ident.i.ty on your relationship with him rather than on what you see in the mirror.

Lift Your Heart Take five minutes a day this week to pay yourself a compliment by thanking G.o.d for making you the woman you are. Call to mind everything you like about yourself-your quirky sense of humor, your love of great literature, your compa.s.sion for other people, your curly hair, even the shape of your toes. Resist the temptation to think about what you don't like. (Imagine for a moment how G.o.d must feel when he hears us complaining about how he has made us!) Instead, decide now to honor him by your grat.i.tude. At the end of the week, treat yourself to lunch with a friend or a leisurely latte at your favorite cafe in celebration of all the natural gifts with which G.o.d has blessed you.

Lord, I don't want to be critical of how you've put me together, relying on what others think of me for my sense of well-being. Make me a woman who is confident that I am lovable, not because of any outward beauty but because you have loved me from the moment you called me into being. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Tamar.

Daughter-in-Law of Judah.

HER NAME MEANS.

"Date Tree" or "Palm Tree"

Her Character: Driven by one overwhelming need, she sacrificed her reputation and nearly her life to achieve her goals.

Her Sorrow: That the men in her life failed to fulfill their responsibility, leaving her a childless widow.

Her Joy: That her daring behavior resulted, not in ruin, but in the fulfillment of her hopes to bear children.

Key Scriptures: Genesis 38; Matthew 1:3 Monday HER STORY.

Genealogies hardly make compelling reading at bedtime - or at any other time, for that matter. Perhaps you welcome them with a yawn, or skip over them entirely as you read through the Bible. But even long lists of bewildering names can reveal interesting insights into G.o.d's mysterious plan. That's the way the Scriptures work, yielding hidden riches on every page.

Take the genealogy in the first chapter of Matthew, for instance. It lists a grand total of forty-one male ancestors of Jesus, beginning with Abraham, and a mere five female ancestors, three of whose stories (those of Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) are colored by such distasteful details as incest, prost.i.tution, fornication, adultery, and murder.

Jesus, the perfect Son of the perfect Father, had plenty of imperfect branches in his family tree and enough colorful characters to populate a modern romance novel. That women should be mentioned at all in his genealogy is surprising, let alone that four of the five got pregnant out of wedlock. In addition, at least three of the women were foreigners, not Israelites.

Tamar fell into both categories. Her father-in-law, Judah (son of Jacob and Leah), had arranged for her to marry his firstborn, Er. Half Canaanite and half Hebrew, Er was a wicked man, whom G.o.d killed for his sins. That's all we know of him.

After Er came Onan, Judah's second son. As was the custom of the time, Judah gave Onan to the widowed Tamar, instructing him to sleep with her so that she could have children to carry on Er's line. But Onan was far too crafty for his own good. He slept with Tamar, but then "spilled his s.e.m.e.n on the ground," thus ensuring Tamar's barrenness. That way he would not be saddled with the responsibility for children who would carry on his brother's line rather than his own. But G.o.d took note, and Onan, too, died for his wickedness.

Already Judah had lost two sons to Tamar. Should he risk a third? Shelah was his only remaining son, not yet fully grown. To placate his daughter-in-law, Judah instructed Tamar to return to her father's house and live as a widow until Shelah was of marriageable age. But time pa.s.sed like a sluggish river, and Tamar continued to wear her widow's garments as Selah grew up.

After Judah's wife died, he set out one day for Timnah to shear his sheep. Hearing the news of her father-in-law's journey, Tamar decided to take desperate and dramatic action. If Judah would not give her his youngest son in marriage, she would do her best to propagate the family name in her own way. Shedding her widow's black, she disguised herself in a veil, impersonating a prost.i.tute, and sat down beside the road to Timnah. Judah slept with her and gave her his personal seal and cord along with his staff in pledge of future payment.

About three months later, Judah learned that Tamar was pregnant, little realizing he was responsible for her condition. Outraged that she had prost.i.tuted herself, he ordered her burned to death. But before the sentence could be carried out, Tamar sent him a stunning message: "I am pregnant by the man who owns these. See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."

The man who had so quickly pa.s.sed judgment, little heeding his own secret tryst with a prost.i.tute, was suddenly taken up short. To his credit, he told the truth, saying, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah."

Six months later, Tamar gave birth to twins. Once again, as with Jacob and Esau, the children struggled in her womb. A tiny hand came out and then disappeared, but not before being tied with a scarlet thread by the midwife. Then a small, slippery body emerged, but with no trace of the red thread. They named the first boy Perez (meaning "Breaking Out"). Then the little one with the scarlet ribbon was born and they named him Zerah (meaning "Scarlet"). Perez was recognized as the firstborn. From his line would come King David and finally, hundreds of years later, Jesus of Nazareth.

Judah had shown little concern regarding the continuance of his line. Instead, G.o.d used a woman, shamed by her own barrenness and determined to overcome it, to ensure that the tribe of Judah would not only survive but that it would one day bear the world's Messiah.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

PROSt.i.tUTION.

As abhorrent as it seems to us, prost.i.tution was actually an expression of worship in the ancient Near East. Pagan peoples often believed that fertility G.o.ds granted blessings to those who practiced cultic prost.i.tution. The sacrifices and the payments for the use of a cult prost.i.tute brought huge amounts of money into the coffers of the G.o.d or G.o.ddess being worshiped. The s.e.xual intercourse itself symbolized the hoped-for fertility and abundance of the harvest.

Judah, a widower who had only recently "recovered from his grief" (Genesis 38:12), traveled to Timnah during sheep shearing time to watch his own sheep being sheared of their wool. It may be that when he saw Tamar, he took her for a shrine prost.i.tute and had intercourse with her to ensure a good crop of wool. That hardly justifies Judah's act, but it may shed light on his motives.

Shrine prost.i.tutes usually kept themselves heavily veiled before and during the act of intercourse, an attempt to create the illusion that the partic.i.p.ant was actually engaging in the s.e.xual act with the G.o.ddess herself. This practice worked in Tamar's favor, giving her the perfect disguise so that her father-in-law would never recognize her.

Prost.i.tution was the imagery used often by the biblical prophets to describe Israel's waywardness, their p.r.o.neness to follow false G.o.ds. They saw G.o.d as the husband of Israel, her keeper and her true love. Whenever the Israelites turned from the true G.o.d to false G.o.ds, they "prost.i.tuted" themselves. It is a strong picture, but an accurate one, of turning away from the G.o.d who truly loved them and was willing to care for them and watch over them, if only they would remain true to him.

Tamar's story takes us by surprise, repulses us. We recoil from the sordid details of prost.i.tution and find little to inspire us. Yet stories like Tamar's are what make the Bible so believable. Who would ever invent such a thing, then record it not only in the historical narrative but also in the lineage of the Messiah? Only the G.o.d of eternal surprises. The G.o.d who takes the unfit, the desperate, and the profane, and uses them to his eternal and holy purposes.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read Genesis 38:1 - 30 and Matthew 1:3.

1. Onan was supposed to father children through Tamar for his brother Er. This is the same act as that of the "kinsman-redeemer" found in the book of Ruth. The closest of kin was to father a child to carry on the line of the deceased husband. None of the men in Tamar's life fulfilled their responsibilities to her, including her father-in-law, Judah. Describe what you think Tamar was feeling throughout the course of these events.

2. In that culture, a woman's whole worth was in bearing sons to carry on the family line. A woman who failed in that was nothing. What makes you feel you're worth a lot or not much?

3. When you consider what Tamar did in offering herself disguised as a prost.i.tute to her father-in-law, do his words in verse 26 surprise you? Why or why not? Explain what Judah meant by those words.

4. The story of Tamar is tough to digest. There is simply no way to a.s.similate what she did with our current way of thinking. Yet Matthew makes a point of mentioning her in Christ's lineage. What do you think G.o.d is saying by including her story in the inspired Scriptures and her place in Jesus' human heritage?

5. How has G.o.d worked good out of the bad things that have happened to you or the bad things you've done?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

The story in Genesis 38 reveals nothing about Tamar's knowledge of G.o.d's hand in the events of her life. More than likely, she was totally unaware of the power of G.o.d at work. But he was at work nevertheless, bringing good out of tragedy and blessing out of less than honorable events.

That's the beauty of this story. G.o.d's power to bring positive things from the negative, even sinful, events of our lives is just as much at work now as in Tamar's day. We may not see it today or tomorrow-or perhaps ever-but we can trust the G.o.d we love to do what he loves: bring blessing to us in spite of ourselves.

Promises in Scripture Not one of all the good promises the Lord your G.o.d gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

-Joshua 23:14 Your ways, O G.o.d, are holy.

What G.o.d is so great as our G.o.d?

-Psalm 77:13 And we know that in all things G.o.d works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

-Romans 8:28 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

Judah [was] the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.

-Matthew 1:3 (genealogy of Christ) Reflect On: Genesis 38.

Praise G.o.d: That he allowed his own Son to be intimately linked with fallen human beings from whom he was descended.

Offer Thanks: That G.o.d can use everyone and everything to bring about a good result.

Confess: Any tendency you may have to judge others with a double standard, as Judah did Tamar.

Ask G.o.d: To take any desperation you may be feeling and replace it with hope, calling to mind the verse in Jeremiah 29:11: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "

Lift Your Hear Ii you've never sketched out your family tree, make an effort to trace your heritage, going back at least four or five generations- more if you have the time and energy. Ask older relatives to supply as much information as possible about your ancestors. Pay special attention to the women in your family tree. Take notes on everything you discover. Then transcribe all the information into a keepsake book that can be pa.s.sed along to your own children after you're gone. Include any photos and news clippings you can find. You may discover some fascinating insights into your family background.

Lord, you formed me in my mother's womb. You knew then what every single day of my life would be like. You saw the great things and the hard things, the joy and the sorrow. Right now I come before you with the situation (or the memory) with which I have not yet made peace. As I look back at painful circ.u.mstances, help me to realize that you were present even in the midst of them. And now, as I surrender them to you, help me to sense your healing presence in my life.

Potiphar's Wife.

Her Character: The wife of a prosperous and influential Egyptian, she was unfaithful and vindictive, ready to lie in order to protect herself and ruin an innocent man.

Her Sorrow: To be rebuffed by a slave.

Key Scripture: Genesis 39.

Monday.

HER STORY..

We don't even know her name. She is merely presented as the spoiled wife of a prosperous Egyptian official, a miniature Cleopatra, determined to employ her charms to seduce the handsome young Hebrew slave, Joseph.

At the age of seventeen, Joseph was sold into slavery by his half brothers, the sons of Leah. The favorite child of Rachel and Jacob, Joseph seems to have unwittingly done everything possible to ensure his brothers' enmity, even recounting a dream predicting that he, the younger son, would one day rule over them. Envious, the brothers faked Joseph's death and contemptuously sold him to Midianite traders en route to Egypt.

There Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's executioners, bought the young slave and gradually entrusted him with responsibility for his entire household. Even in his exile, everything Joseph touched prospered, as Potiphar couldn't help but notice.