Trailer park tragedy, and a messianic breakthrough

Dec 4

Little baby Perez (meaning “breakthrough”) was born to Tamar, and ended up in the genealogy of King Jesus. You’ll never guess who the father was…

If anyone needed a breakthrough it was Tamar. After the deaths of her first and second husband, her father-in-law Judah had pushed her out to live as a widow — a marginalized outcast in society. Mourning the deaths of two husbands, and with no family or lineage to support her, Tamar was about as low as you can go.

So she hatched a plan. She dressed up as a prostitute and slept with Judah, taking his ring, staff, and cord as payment. When it was found out that Tamar was pregnant outside marriage, Judah sentenced her to be burned alive for her infidelity. So she sent word to Judah that the owner of this staff, ring, and cord was the father. Instantly, Judah realized his hypocrisy and reversed the death sentence. “She is more righteous than I,” he said.

A few months later, she gave birth to the twins, Naming Perez “breakthrough” for his unlikely photo-finish as the firstborn son.

This isn’t how these trailer park tragedies usually end. In fact, I think this little aside is included in Matthew’s geneology to remind us that in Jesus, God intends to break through personal and systemic darkness, turning an impossible future into the happy-ending reality. Could this baby, born during Roman occupation after 400 years of prophetic silence — could he be God’s unlikely breakthrough?

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You can read the full story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. Join us at Hope this Advent season as we trace through The Mothers of Jesus: a survey of the women listed in Matthew 1. Next week: Rahab!