Sermon Snippets - Tamar, the Righteous Prostitute

A little over a year ago, I read and reviewed "Vindicating the Vixens" edited by Dr. Sandra Glahn. I really enjoyed this survey of prominent women in Scripture who have been misunderstood and misrepresented in our common evangelical interpretations.

I decided to use it as a guide for this summer's sermon schedule. I usually try to come up with a series that will work through the summer when people often miss more often. This way, they can still glean a lot out of a specific week's sermon, but not feel lost or behind in the overall series.

Yesterday was my first sermon based on the characters featured in this book. We took a look at Tamar in Genesis 38, who is both described as a prostitute and righteous.

It was one of my favorite sermons I've preached in awhile.

The audio will be up on our website later this week here, but one of the pieces of evidence that she's a righteous hero in this complex story is how the Bible refers to her in other places.

Not only is she described as "righteous" in 38:26 for her actions, but King David names a daughter after her (2 Samuel 13). Absalom names his daughter Tamar as well, though I'm more inclined to see that as a tribute to his sister (2 Sam. 14:27).

Tamar also comes up in the story of Ruth. Ruth's story is another unorthodox account of love and family and God's redemption. In the concluding chapter, the people of Boaz's community give him their blessing, saying,

Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

On the surface, one could accuse Tamar just being a scheming femme fatale, going to great lengths just to start a family.

In reality, we see Scripture honoring her for her bold steps to seek what was right. Labels like "righteous" aren't given out to everybody in the story of God. And naming children after an ancestor was a way to show admiration for their character.

Coming down off a high - Sermon Snippets

I've taken a break from blogging but now I hope to be "back and better than ever" (s/o to Mike & Mike). I'm putting "Music Monday" on hiatus for now and going to bring back "Sermon Snippets" moving forward. 

These posts will feature tidbits and/or last minute cuts from my sermons that I find interesting. One common problem pastors face is deciding what to cut from their messages - or rather, not realizing they need to cut material out to keep their audience focused. I'm writing a commentary on 1-2 Kings currently so there should be plenty of material. To keep up with my sermon series, you can listen here.

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Being a sports fan, I see it all the time. A team pulls off a big win only to fall flat on their face against a lesser opponent. This is a theme that threads throughout Scripture's story. 

• Israel is conquering the Promised Land and defeats the unconquerable city of Jericho. Then they turn around and are trounced when trying to attack the much less formidable Ai (Josh.6-7)
• David is anointed to be the next king and defeats Goliath in their famous battle (1 Sam.16-17). He then spends years dodging spears and hiding in caves until he gets the throne (2 Sam. 2-5).
• Elijah confronts and defeats the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18) only to be overwhelmed by discouragement soon after (1 Kings 19).
• In less that 24 hours, Peter goes from boldly vowing to never abandon Jesus to denying him three times (Matt.26:33-35, 69-75)

Everything about 1 Kings 8 points to this being another probable letdown. This chapter is an account of one of the most glorious worship services of all time. Solomon completes the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and the nation dedicates it with a special celebration. 

So when the music has faded and the offerings have all been offered, God visits Solomon to offer him instruction that will greatly help him and his people not fall into that trap. Both positively and negatively, he reminds the king of the importance of undivided loyalty to God and faithfully following his Law. 

Faithfulness to God needs to guide us, whether we're experiencing victory or struggling with defeat. God takes notice and truly cares - not just that we reach a spiritual mountaintop - but also that we use it to grow and be better followers of Jesus. Anything else is just sentimentality or emotionalism not true spirituality.