“Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.” (Genesis 38:11 NIV)
Joseph and Tamar’s stories intertwined in my Bible reading today. In chapter 37, the Genesis narrative introduces us to Joseph the Dreamer and his great injustice by his brothers; Joe was thrown into a pit and then sold into slavery. But then chapter 38 feels to be a total aside; we learn of Tamar and her wicked husband. Er was so wicked that God put him to death. By the provision of Jewish law, Tamar was passed on to the next brother, Onan, to provide a son for Er’s estate. Long story short, Onan was equally wicked and God takes his life too. Tamar was twice widowed by the wickedness of Judah’s sons and then she was put out to pasture, sent to back to her childhood bedroom to wait on the maturation of the last son and the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Joseph and Tamar preoccupied my attention today; two people determined to live out God’s dreams for their lives. They spent so much of their story waiting in the wake of other people’s consequences. The sins of their family sent them to time out and only God could change their circumstance.
How did they handle these full years of silence? Tamar’s wait is undocumented, but we see Joseph somehow reinforced his righteousness because at each and every opportunity, he did the right thing. When Tamar’s opportunity finally came to fruition, her actions are morally questionable but certainly more righteous than Judah’s. He says as much.
“Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.” (Genesis 38:26 NIV)
Seasons of time out as a result of other people’s sin are opportunities to reinforce right thinking in our own narrative. Pits and prison and childhood home exile situations award us space to consider our contribution and trust God for full restitution.
Psalm 13 was also in my prescribed reading today. I’m reminded that God can be trusted with our honest feelings, He doesn’t condemn us for being honest. That being said, when we are done spewing it’s time to return to the instructions in His Word. Our purpose may be put on hold, our dream too distant to believe in, but God is on the throne and He remembers the righteous. So stay righteous. Even when you are falsely accused. Even when you are wrongly imprisoned. Even when it feels like your family, your world is against you. God is still for you as long as you are for Him. Keep doing the right thing even when you are all alone in it. God sees. He hears. And He still has a plan to include you in His redemption story.
“How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love’,my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for He has been good to me.” (Psalm 13 NIV)
Lastly, I wound up in Acts 13 and I was surprised by the tie-in. Paul and Barnabas were well into their first missionary journey. They’d preached in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, it’s included in the text. When they were finished, many stayed behind, engaged in the kind of foyer conversations that change lives.
“When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talks with them and urged them continue on in the grace of God.” (Acts 13:43 NIV)
Staying the course with God will require encouragement from time to time. There are seasons (perhaps pit or prison) where we will need to be like David at a devastated Ziklag and encourage ourselves in the Lord. There are also seasons (like the return to the childhood home) that we need to find a more mature believer and have a long conversation, allowing ourselves to be re-convinced to continue on in the grace of God.
My point today is to encourage you. You may be in a time out. Honestly, the pandemic has put many of us in time out. Most of the world’s plans are still on hold. But believe me, even seasons of reduction can be repurposed for His plan. Leverage this downtime to pull closer to Him. Strengthen your connection. Have conversation with more mature believers. But don’t give up. Don’t give in to the flesh that begs for fairness. Trust that God is still writing Your story.
Lord, we don’t like pits or prisons or time-outs at all. Forgive us for our uncooperative nature. We recognize You as sovereign King over all situations, even the untidy details of our own. We trust in Your good plan. Please help us remain righteous as we wait. May we pull close to the truth we find in You. May we be ready do the right thing when the next opportunity presents itself. We are sure of Your goodness. Strengthen us in patience as only You can. Amen.