“If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her†(Deuteronomy 25:5).
And there was a law called “The Levirate Law.†As sordid as that might sound to us, we see from this verse that was the law back then. When Er died Judah was obligated to set up a “levirate marriage†for Tamar so she would have a chance to bear a son who would carry on her dead husband’s name. Judah’s second son, Onan failed her miserably and died. Judah blamed Tamar for the death of his two sons though their deeds brought about their own death. The youngest son of Judah was too young to be a father so Tamar was going to have to wait until he was of age. In the meantime Judah didn’t care if that would ever happen. He had lost two sons. He was in no hurry for his youngest to be with Tamar. In the next scene we see Judah adding to his growing list of failures.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for women in your church or community who face difficult family relationships.
