12 12 25 – Please Recognize

 Everyone loves a success story. Rags to riches! From the pit of despair to the mountain of glory! How do these people do it?

As many of you know, my favorite prophetic book in the Bible is Ruth. I think it's more profound and deeper than just a story. In this week's Torah portion, Vayeshev ("And he dwelt"), a profound truth is established in regard to the Boaz–Ruth story.

Boaz is a descendant of Judah and Tamar! Like Ruth, he has a questionable lineage, and like Ruth, he didn't let the past obstruct his destiny. The story of Judah and Tamar interrupts the narrative of Joseph (Gen. 37–50). If you've ever "lost face" among family or friends, Judah is the man for you. You see, Judah had engineered the sale of Joseph (Gen. 37:26–27) and brought great pain to his father. Judah caused his father's comment that he would go down (vayeired) to his grave mourning (Gen. 37:35). Consequently, when Judah went down (vayeired) from his brothers, it was not only physical but also positional—he lost face!

Yes, he lost face, but did he "save face" in the end? The key to saving face for Judah was his ability to recognize (haker nah) the elephant in the room! When Judah brought back the torn coat of Joseph, drenched in goat's blood (Gen. 37:31), he asked his father, haker nah—"Do you recognize this coat?" (Gen. 37:32). It is this phrase, haker nah, that will come back to haunt Judah when he hears those exact words from Tamar.

Now consider the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. After Tamar becomes pregnant—having dressed up as a harlot and seduced Judah—something both ironic and terrible happens. Instead of providing the youngest son for yibum so that Tamar could bear children on behalf of the deceased, Judah withholds his youngest son from her. Unbeknownst to him, in a one-night stand, Judah gets Tamar pregnant himself. When Judah finds out she is pregnant, he condemns her to death (Gen. 38:24).

It's time to face the music—haker nah! Being led to her death, Tamar becomes courageous and confronts Judah with haker nah: "Do you recognize these items?" Tamar has his coat, his signet ring, and his staff (Gen. 38:25)! One call to the Daily Planet and it would be all over for Judah. Judah could have denied the haker nah, but he doesn't take the easy way out. He could have simply allowed her to die and pretended he didn't recognize the items, but to Judah's credit, he recognizes them and testifies of her superior righteousness (Gen. 38:26). Tamar's life is saved, and so too are the twins in her belly—one of whom, Peretz, leads to Boaz and King David, and ultimately to Yeshua!

Judah is no longer a fallen man! As soon as he publicly recognized his sin, the three items—all dealing with kingly stature—were returned. Kingship restored!

The story of Judah and Tamar is the revelation of how a king was dethroned and restored. He passed the haker nah challenge!

The two stories of Ruth and Boaz's descendants both deal with yibum and seduction. The two stories unite biologically and thematically with Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor. How will it turn out for them?

There are many great lessons we can learn from Ruth and Boaz. Let me share three to take into your day:

  1. Your past brought you to where you are, but it does not determine your destiny.

  2. Kindness (chesed) and love need to be practiced with both public and private expressions, correctly.

  3. When confronted with the haker nah challenge, restore your calling as a king (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 17:14; 19:16).

Ahhh, you say, those are nice stories, but how do they connect to me? Besides the obvious, there is also the subliminal: since you are in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), the story of Judah and Tamar can live through you—haker nah!

Shalom,
Alan

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