A Way for the Remnant (Advent 22, 2022)

On the timeline of Jesus’ genealogy, with the Hebrews now in the Promised Land after a backstory of Moses, the Exodus, and the wilderness, we pick up with Luke 3:33 “the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah.”

What this simple line does not tell you is what Matthew’s gospel does: Perez was the son also of Tamar.  “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar” (Matthew 1:3).  It is unusual for a genealogy to include mention of the mother, but in this case, it is significant because (as we saw in Advent 16) it was Tamar’s faithfulness to the inheritance laws that continued the line of the Messiah. 

Judah’s oldest two sons were wicked.  His youngest son by a mother other than Tamar, named Shelah (but not the one in the ancestry of Christ from verse 35) became the Shelanites of whom we hear very little.  They fade into the pages of Scripture because Judah’s sons by the daughter of Shua are not the remnant.  And of the twins born to Tamar, Perez and Zerah, only Perez is mentioned with prominence. 

What are we to learn from this?  Among other things, it displays how God prepares the way for the emergence of a younger child (Perez) to carry forth the faithful remnant when all seems lost for the true family line.  God is in the details and working behind the scenes, even with a woman like Tamar, even outside the traditional community of faith.

16 This is what the LORD says– he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters… See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. (Isaiah 43:16, 19-21)

Questions for further thought:

Can you think of other instances in the Bible that display God working behind the scenes, preparing the way?  Think of Joseph with the cupbearer, baker, and Pharaoh, all having dreams.

How did this preserve the Israelites through the famine?

Or Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist?

Can you think of instances in your life where God was working behind the scenes, preparing the way for you or preparing to resolve an issue where all seems lost?

How might these times cultivate faith?

Prayer:

Father God, we praise You for the way You work behind the scenes! You are a God of all wisdom, You know all things and how they work together. You see the grand plan and bring it forth to fruition. We thank You for the way that You work in our lives even in situations we don’t understand, and in situations we did not cause that seemed to come against us. We praise You, Lord, that You are in the redemption business, and You redeem all things for our good and Your glory. We praise You, Lord, for the wisdom of Your plan and for the way You watch and protect over Your faithful ones. We thank You for this remnant by faith which You will protect and preserve all the way to the return of Your Son Jesus whose coming we greatly anticipate. We praise You, Lord, in Jesus’ mighty Name, Amen.