Judah was the fourth son of Jacob, and Judah: son married a woman whose name was "Tamar.
Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more righteous than I."
Genesis 38:26
Genesis 38
38:1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah,
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her,
3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 Again she conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar.
Judah was the fourth son of Jacob, and Judah: son married a woman whose name was “Tamar. According to Jewish tradition, if a son dies without leaving sons, his brother must act as a husband to the dead brother's wife so that the dead brother's lineage would be continued.
Tamar did not have children when her husband died, and when her next brother refused to fulfill his responsibility, he died.
However, the third brother was not given to Tamar when he became old enough, and Tamar saw that she had no hope of bearing children.
She knew that her mission was to continue the family of her husband and Judah, his father, and she finally decided to sacrifice even her honor and prestige to fulfill it.
Disguising herself as a prostitute, Tamar enticed her father-in-law to have a relationship with her. Without knowing, she was his daughter-in-law. Judah consented. At that time, adultery was punished by death. To save her life for the sake of her child, Tamar asked Judah for his signet, cord, and stall as a pledge for payment, and then confiscated them.
Three months later, when it became obvious that the widow Tamar was pregnant, she was brought before Judah to be judged. You can imagine Judah's honor: 'Bring her out, and let her be burned!' But she answered, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child,” and she brought out the things that Judah had given her in his pledge.
Man fell through fornication, and Tamar was one example of how God frequently used women of most unusual character in restoration.
Why would God use adulterous women in the dispensation?
They are in a satanic position, but if they completely deny their satanic nature when summoned by God, then they can be restored from one extreme to the opposite extreme.
God selected His champions from the most miserable situations. Tamar was a righteous woman, and though she was originally in a sinful position, she completely dedicated herself to God's mission, risking her life, honor, and prestige.
Paralleling the way Eve lied to God and her husband to bring about the Fall, Tamar deceived her father-in-law and her husband-to-be, the third brother of her original husband. She was in a position to reverse the position of Eve by reversing Eve's actions, but the significant thing is that she risked her life to do God's will.
True Parents Day: From the Historical Point of View
April 18, 1977
38:12 In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died: and when Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers. He and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,"
14 she put off her widow's garments, and put on a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot, for she had coveted her face.
16 He went over to her at the roadside, and said, "Come, let me come into you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
The first mother, she, fell because she did not believe in God's words, so Tamar, who was to restore Eve's position, had to demonstrate absolute faith in God. She had to forget her self-esteem and pride, and she had to determine to risk her life.
Eve's faithlessness made her abandon her father, God. Instead, she accepted Satan as her father and put him in God's position. Therefore, Tamar, on the contrary, had to talk directly with God. Eve was unable to be united with her father, so Tamar had to be united with her father…
To accomplish her mission, she risked her life. Isn't that so? She had nothing in her mind at all except the desire to accomplish God's will. Finally, Tamar set up a condition to restore Eve's fallen position by walking a course opposite to Eve. Nobody knew this fact except God.
The Tribal Messiah
Section 3, Chapter 1
38:24 About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot, and moreover she is with child by harlotry." And Judah said, "Bring her out. and let her be burned."
25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law "By the man to whore these belong, I am with child." And she said, "Mark, I pray you, whose these are," the signet and the cord and the staff.
26 Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more righteous that I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah…" And he did not lie with her again.
27 When the time of her time came, there were twins in her, womb.
Satan sowed the seed of false love within the womb of Eve, which gave birth to evil life. Therefore, God needed to purify a mother's womb from which the heavenly Son could be born.
That purification period of separation from Satan had to begin at the time of conception and continue to age 40, so even though Jacob was victorious, he did not meet that criterion. The great mother who assumed the responsibility to meet this condition was Tamar.
Tamar had married Er, the eldest son of Judah. But Er displeased God, and he died. According to the custom of that time, Judah gave Tamar his second son, Onan, so that they might bear a child for Erbutut Onan, knowing that Tamar's child would not be his own, Onan spilled his semen on the ground. This was a sin according to God, for which Onan died.
Then Tamar wanted Shelah, the third son of Judah, for a husband, but Judah did not give him to her. Judah thought that his two sons had died because of Tamar, so he was afraid that Shelah would die and end the family lineage.
But Tamar had the conviction that she was to carry on the lineage of the chosen people. To achieve that, she disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law, Judah, and became pregnant with twins.
At the time of birth, one of the twin sons, Zerah, stretched out his hand from the womb to be born first. But he was pulled back into the womb, and the second son, Perez, was born first, taking the position of the elder brother.
Thus, within the womb of Tamar, the first and second sons fought, and their reversal of position separated them from Satan.
That became the condition for restoration in the womb. Upon this condition, the Messiah could be conceived within the blood lineage of the chosen people, on the base of the nation of Israel that could stand up to the Roman Empire 2,000 years later.
The victorious foundation on the national level could then be formed in the womb of a mother free of satanic accusation, prepared for the seed of the Son of God. On this foundation, the Holy Mother Mary emerged in the mainstream of God's Providence.
38:28 And when she was in labor; one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, "This came out first."
29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother carne out; and she said. "What a breach you have made for yourself?" Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was tailed Zerah.
Tamar conceived twins. God had been waiting for that moment for 2,000 years. When the time came for her to give birth, the first son, Zerah, put out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread on his wrist.
A fight took place within the mother's womb, and the second son, Perez, came out first, pushing Zerah aside.
This restoration, this reversal of a situation, took place within the mother's womb. The principle that Jesus was to be born of Judah's blood lineage is set up here.
The Tribal Messiah
Section 3, Chapter 1
If you can understand Tamar, you can understand the whole Principle… The standard of victory gained in the womb of Tamar was handed down from generation to generation through the tradition of Israel, the descendants who believed in Judaism.
Why did they have to establish a foundation for the Messiah at the national level?
Because there were already many nations in the satanic world. God had to establish a national standard with which to deal with them. God's side had to stand in the position of Abel on the national level. For that purpose, God guided the Israelites and helped them develop their victorious foundation on the national level.
There was another young woman who regarded the historical significance of her actions to be more important than her dignity or her social environment. She regarded God's will as the highest priority.
That girl was Mary. Mary maintained the standard of victory, and Satan could not accuse her. So, on the foundation established by man, Jesus was conceived. It was that victorious foundation which qualified Jesus to be born of God.
The Change of Blood Lineage
October 13, 1970
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