Genesis 38:6-26 Tamar: Exposing Hypocrisy

Rev. David Holwick S Women of the Bible

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

May 22, 2016

Genesis 38:6-26

TAMAR: EXPOSING HYPOCRISY

I. Exposing hypocrisy.

A. He was at the pinnacle of power and righteousness.

In 2007 he promoted legislation to prevent human trafficking

and to suppress the demand for prostitution.

The punishment for patronizing prostitution was increased from

3 months in jail and a $500 fine, to one year and $1,000.

It was the country's toughest anti-prostitution law.

Less than a year later, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned

in disgrace after being caught with a prostitute who was

four years younger than his own daughter.

He got some lucrative TV jobs and earned over $4 million a year.

Then in 2013 Spitzer ran for comptroller of New York.

One of his opponents was a former owner of a prostitution

business.

She told the New York Post she spent four months in Rikers

Island prison and returned penniless, homeless and forced

to take offender classes with pedophiles and perverts.

What happened to the prostitute-using governor who had signed

the law that convicted her?

Nothing.

He did choose to resign from office, but he went home to his

wife and family in their Fifth Avenue apartment.

He was never fingerprinted, mug shot, or charged with a crime.

Jake Tapper of CNN confronted him about it, saying, "I think

a lot of people might think, look, you're somebody with

money, you're somebody with power, and this is a perfect

example of how people like you don't end up doing the

time the way the average person does."

Spitzer simply said it was the prosecutor's decision, and added

he was proud he had signed the anti-human trafficking law.

"Even though you violated it?" Tapper asked.

"That's correct," Spitzer replied. "There's no question the

law deserves to be there."

Spitzer lost the comptroller race.

After newspapers revealed he had a new young mistress, his wife,

who had stood by his side through it all, divorced him.

And right now he is being investigated by the police for

allegedly assaulting a woman in the Plaza Hotel.

Sometimes disgrace isn't enough...

#65212

B. Hypocrisy and scandal are nothing new.

1) Today's passage has some of the same content.

2) It is infamous for its "yuck" quality.

a) Weird marriage rules.

b) Bizarre sex scandal.

c) In the end, the scandalous woman gets commended.

3) One commentator calls it a "dirty, filthy story."

An issue of Newsweek had a review of books on how the

Bible portrays sex.

Genesis 38 was cited as an example of how Bible values

aren't very traditional.

It's more like, anything goes.

C. There is more to this story than sex and hypocrisy.

1) Of course, whether we admit it or not, it presents a

mirror to our modern society.

2) But the story is also a powerful testimony to God's grace

and his ability to change people.

3) Ultimately, it gives important background on Jesus himself.

4) It is a complicated story so you have to pay attention.

II. A story with a twist.

A. The setup.

1) Judah was a man with some issues.

a) He is Jacob's fourth son, so he is not the top dog.

b) He was the one who came up with the idea of selling

their brother Joseph as a slave.

c) He moved into Canaanite territory and took a pagan wife.

1> Literally it says he "saw" her and "took" her,

implying he was motivated by lust. 38:2

2> Abraham went to great lengths to make sure his

son got a proper wife. Judah did not.

d) Judah seems callous - he doesn't appear to grieve over

his two sons' deaths.

e) He treats his daughter-in-law shabbily.

2) You also have a young woman in an impossible situation.

a) Tamar was probably a Jew, not a pagan like Judah's wife.

b) Her first husband, Judah's son Er, dies.

1> We don't know what he did, but God killed him so

it must have been pretty bad.

2> The Hebrew presents it as a pun.

One American commentator came up with "Er erred."

c) Following the rules of that period, she married her

late husband's brother.

1> The goal is to produce an heir who can inherit the

deceased husband's property.

2> (The widow didn't qualify for inheritance back then.)

d) This man, Onan, makes sure she doesn't get pregnant.

1> He probably was selfish and didn't want to dilute

his own inheritance.

2> God kills him, too.

e) One more son of Judah is left.

1> Judah says Shelah is too young to get married.

2> In reality, Judah probably feels this woman is

bad luck and hopes she will disappear.

3> He is obligated to give his son to her, but he

doesn't. After all, what can she do about it?

B. The plot thickens.

1) Tamar waits until the harvest time.

a) It is a prosperous time, a happy time, a party time.

b) Judah is probably drunk like most other people.

2) Tamar positions herself on the road, wearing a veil.

a) This appears to be the equivalent of a "red light."

1> There is some disagreement whether she is presented

as a regular prostitute, or a cult prostitute.

2> Many women back then made vows to pagan temples and

fulfilled the vow by acting as a prostitute.

b) Judah falls for the bait.

1> They arrange terms of future payment.

2> He leaves a deposit (equivalent to drivers license).

3> They have sex.

A> Irony - he makes her wait forever to have

legitimate sex, but he himself doesn't wait

at all. It is told nonchalantly.

B> She gets pregnant.

3) Tamar's scarlet "A".

a) Her pregnancy soon becomes obvious.

b) Technically she is an engaged woman.

1> The law of Moses does not mention the death penalty

for prostitution.

2> It does for adultery.

c) Judah is righteously indignant.

1> He even goes overboard, and calls for her burning.

A> Most adulterers were stoned back then.

B> In later laws, only an adulterous daughter of a

priest would be burned. Lev 21:9

2> Judah is both judge and jury and there is no appeal.

A> He holds all the power.

B> He is enforcing a strict moral code that he

himself does not follow.

C. The gotcha.

1) At her execution, Tamar produces the evidence.

a) Judah is caught in hypocrisy and he admits it.

b) He acknowledges he was wrong to withhold his third son.

2) Technically, Tamar was not a prostitute.

a) Levirate marriage says that when a woman runs out of

brothers to marry, the father-in-law should fulfill

the duty.

b) Tamar is actually doing something Judah had neglected

-- keeping a pure Hebrew line for the descendants of

Abraham.

3) Was Judah still being unfair?

a) Some say if he was consistent, Judah should have

sentenced himself to death.

1> Sleeping with your daughter-in-law was definitely

a capital crime.

b) But the rule of Levirate marriage gets them both off

the hook.

III. What is the point of a passage like this?

A. Some would rather evade the clear meaning.

1) One pastor claims it shows the effects of being compromised.

a) He then warned his church about using bad language and

watching questionable movies.

2) I think it is much more obviously about hypocrisy.

B. "Pillars" are not always solid.

1) Judah had power and authority and strong self-righteousness.

a) He could really "dish it out." But he had a blind side.

b) The Bible never portrays its heroes as perfect, except

for Jesus.

1> All the others are as human as we are.

2> But we should not use this to excuse our own sin.

A> At least Judah could admit his sin to Tamar.

2) Moralistic people can often be harsh with others - but

very lenient toward themselves.

This week I watched a documentary about cyclist

Lance Armstrong.

He won the Tour de France 7 times, and founded a huge

charity to fight cancer.

He rubbed shoulders with presidents and celebrities.

When a few people began hinting he was cheating, he

demonized them. It worked for a while.

Only at the end did he admit he had cheated all along.

Christians can be like that, too. [1]

3) Are you cutting any moral corners, harboring secret sins?

a) We don't like to admit how common it is.

b) A few years ago there was a huge scandal at the First

Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana.

1> It is one of the largest fundamentalist churches

in America.

2> Its college sends out hundreds of pastors across

the country.

c) The head pastor was convicted of molesting a 16-year-old

girl.

1> What made it a big controversy was that at least

8 other pastors associated with the church or

college have also been arrested. [2]

2> We preach hard, but live squishy - and the world

notices.

d) Jesus said of people like this, Practice what they

preach, but not what they do.

C. Beware of double standards.

1) Judah was much harsher on Tamar than he was on himself.

a) This is especially true for men vs. women.

b) A movie about an innocent woman who was stoned for

adultery in Iran pointed out that under Islam,

the guilt of men must be proven, but women

must prove their innocence.

They are PRESUMED to be guilty.

Many women feel Islam doesn't have a monopoly on this.

2) Whenever you judge someone else, are you willing to apply

the same standards to yourself?

IV. Should we honor someone who breaks the rules?

A. Is it acceptable to do something wrong to bring about good?

1) Although Tamar was not really a prostitute, she was

guilty of deceit and subterfuge.

2) She knew she was risking her very life.

B. She got Judah to admit, "Tamar is more righteous than I am."

1) All sin is sin, but we should recognize some sins carry

greater consequences.

2) Tamar chooses the path of shame and guilt for the sake

of a greater good, the continuance of Abraham's line.

3) In the parable of the Dishonest Manager, Jesus commends

a crook.

a) Not for being a crook - he is commended for taking

risks and being bold.

b) Tamar is like this. We should be, too.

V. It is all part of a bigger story.

A. Tamar's illustrious heritage.

1) When the Jews entered Egypt for refuge, Judah takes Tamar's

twin sons with him.

2) Tamar becomes a seventh-great-grandmother to King David.

3) She even becomes an ancestor of Jesus himself. Matt 1:3

a) Tamar was one of four women mentioned by Matthew in the

genealogy of Jesus who all had a shameful past.

b) Yet God's grace triumphed over their disgrace.

B. Judah's redemption.

1) The Tamar episode is a turning point in his life.

a) Judah appears again in chapter 44, pleading for

Benjamin on behalf of his father.

b) He is willing to become a slave in Benjamin's place.

c) Judah becomes a changed man.

2) Change is what it is all about.

a) This is a great theme of the book of Genesis, indeed,

of the entire Bible.

b) Judah goes from callousness to love and tenderness.

c) He even becomes the leader of the band of brothers,

replacing the oldest, Reuben.

d) And he becomes the ancestor of Israel's greatest king,

David, and the final Messiah, Jesus.

3) Have you experienced this change?

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

This story is a reworking of my sermon “More Than a Dirty Story,” given

on February 13, 2011.

[1] The documentary is “The Armstrong Lie” directed by Alex Gibney (2013).

[2] “Let Us Prey: Big Trouble At First Baptist Church,” Bryan Smith,

December 11, 2012; <link>.

#65212 “Power and Hypocrisy,” Rev. David Holwick, adapted from the

following articles:

“Tough questions for Eliot Spitzer on hypocrisy of never being

charged with breaking the law he signed,” by Jack Tapper, CNN,

with CNN’s Edward Meagher, 18 July 2013; <link>.

“Weiner made a dumb mistake, but Spitzer’s a hypocrite who

doesn’t deserve 2nd chance,” by Denis Hamill, New York Daily

News, 8 July 2013, <link>.

“Spitzer’s Hypocrisy: Worse Than You Think - The disgraced New

York governor’s anti-prostitution moralizing extended beyond U.S.

borders,” Paul Karl Lukacs, 11 March 2008; <link>.

“Eliot Spitzer accused of being ‘a hypocrite’,” by Philip Sherwell

in New York, 16 March 2008, The Telegraph; <link>.

“Jake Tapper Lays Into Spitzer Over Hypocrisy Of Never Being

Charged With Breaking Law He Signed,” by Noah Rothman,

18 July 2013; <link>.

“Prostitution Laws of New York,” <link>.

These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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