Tamar
30 Days in Ruth and Esther - day 12
Boaz’ act of redeeming Ruth was a public act. This was not done in secret. He was not embarrassed to take Ruth—a widowed Moabite woman—as his wife.
The elders and the people of the city who witnessed what Boaz had done pronounce a blessing on this union. Their words are carefully chosen and reflect a deep understanding of their history and the covenant purposes of God.
They first recall Rachel and Leah, the two wives of Jacob—women from a foreign land who became the mothers of Israel’s tribes.
Then, in a surprising turn, they bring up Tamar.
Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, who through deception bore his son, Perez.
At first glance, she seems like a strange person to mention at a wedding blessing.
But the people standing there that day weren’t focusing on Tamar’s sin. They were remembering God’s grace.
Both Tamar and Ruth were widows. Both faced uncertain futures. Both acted in bold and unconventional ways so that a family line would not disappear.
The parallels are not exact—and that’s not the point.
The point is this: God used Tamar, an unlikely and scandal-marked woman, to bring forth Perez—a key link in the line of promise.
And now, standing at the gate, they are saying, in effect: May God do it again.
And He does.
This connection is not lost when the Gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus. Both Tamar and Ruth are named.
That is not accidental.
God was not forced to use them. He chose to include them.
He placed them in the line of Christ to make something unmistakably clear: He delights to bring unlikely people into His purposes.
He calls those on the fringes.
He brings in the overlooked.
He gives grace to those who have no claim to it.
In other words—
He calls, saves, and brings into His family people like you and me.
Amen!