Tamar ~ How Should We Respond to Injustice?

I grabbed the dog’s leash and stormed out the door, fuming over what my husband had told me. The injustice done to him would change our lives. Those making the demands also insisted we not tell anyone. I hoped to work out my fury by taking the dog for a walk. The clueless dog looked longingly toward home as we made repeated laps around the neighborhood. How should a believer respond to injustice? We can learn from how Tamar responded to the injustice she faced.

A Trail of Deceit

After Judah and his brothers sold Joseph into slavery, they deceived their father Jacob with the blood-stained robe. Judah then “went down” to stay with a friend, words that describe his geographic, moral, and spiritual descent. He left but carried with him the family trait of deception. Genesis 38 tells the story.

Tamar Faced Injustice and Deceit

Judah married a Canaanite woman and fathered three sons. Later he got Tamar as a wife for Er, his firstborn. Er died because of his wickedness. According to the law of levirate marriage in that culture, Er’s brother Onan should marry Tamar and produce an heir. Since Onan used Tamar but refused to get her pregnant, he also died. The responsibility then passed to the third son Shelah. Judah shamed and insulted Tamar by sending her back to her father until Shelah grew up. However, Judah feared he would lose another son and never intended them to marry. 

Consequences for Tamar

Tamar carried the twins of shame—widowhood and childlessness. Judah condemned her to hopelessness—betrothed to a man she’d never marry and forbidden to marry anyone else. 

After the death of his wife, Judah “went up” to Tamar’s hometown. Scripture emphasizes her higher geographic, moral, and spiritual position. She had acted with honor; he had not. When Tamar recognized Judah’s deception, she exchanged her widow’s clothes for a prostitute’s, covering her face with a veil to deceive him. After agreeing to sleep with him, she asked for his cord, seal, and staff (symbols of his identity and authority) as a guarantee of future payment. Afterward, she removed her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.

After three months, someone told Judah that Tamar was pregnant because of prostitution. Enraged, he demanded her death by fire, a punishment reserved for the most severe crimes. Tamar could have humiliated Judah. Instead, she took a risk, allowing him to admit his responsibility.

“I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.” 

Judah recognized them and said, “[literally: She is righteous, not I], since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.”

Genesis 38:25-26

Although we focus on the sexual sins, Judah focused on his unfaithfulness to his family obligations. Without Tamar’s initiative, his line would end, the line from which the Messiah would come. (Matthew 1:3) Again, Tamar had acted with honor; Judah had not.

Both Tamar and Judah experienced honor status reversals. The shamed one (Tamar) gained honor; the honored one (Judah) was shamed. Tamar rescued Judah from a spiritual decline. He later returned to live near his father and brothers. 

Our Response to Injustice

Injustice can be global or personal, public or private, but our response is always personal. What are our options?

• Revelation: We can bring what’s in the dark into the light. But first, we need to ask ourselves: Are we seeking redemption or revenge? Will revelation help or hurt? Can exposure lead to positive change?
• Retribution: We can try to force change by punishing the offender. Laws require enforcement, but, otherwise, force dishonors people and destroys relationships. Is our goal reconciliation? 
• Resignation: We can withdraw, resigning ourselves to the injustice. This response can dishonor both parties.
• Restoration: We can follow Tamar’s lead and act with aggressive grace—grace that prioritizes another’s good over mine, that is more willing to suffer wrong than do wrong. We can honor people without condoning their actions, seeking the restoration of relationships. As recipients of God’s mercy and grace, we can respond with mercy and grace.

If we would be righteous like Tamar, we must walk the way of God. He empowers his children to exhibit forgiveness in the face of injustice, seeking reconciliation and restoration, not revenge. How will you respond to the next injustice you face?