One of Us

When the time of [Tamar's] delivery came, there were twins in her womb. While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying "This one came out first." But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore he was named Perez. -Genesis 3827-29

Here is another R-rated, soap-opera-y kind of story. Woman of that time were possessions that had to be tended to. Families were everything. A woman without a family was dead. So when Tamar's husband (first son of Judah) died, the way to tend to this "family possession" was to give her to the next son so she could have an heir for her dead husband. When that didn't work, she was to wait around for the youngest son to grow up... (ewww... think of your 10-year-old nephew!) When Judah skipped out on that promise, Tamar tricked Judah himself into impregnating her.

One thing we need to understand is that in that time and place, being the first born was the be-all and end-all. Murders and trickeries abounded in order to steal a birthright which was very evident with Jacob and Esau. If you weren't the first born, you were just another kid in the family, nearly as insignificant as the women. 

So here we are in Jesus line of ancestory: Abram (Abraham) was the first-born of Tehra; however, Isaac was NOT the first-born of Abraham and Jacob was NOT the first-born of Isaac and Judah was NOT the first-born of IsaacO and though Er was the first-born of Judah, he died without an heir and Judah himself fathered Er's heirs in which Perez was NOT, technically, the first-born. Jesus did not come from a line of "the first and best." This is one of the things I love most about the whole story from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus is wholly divine, but he is also wholly one of us.  

God of ALL People,

We praise you for all the ways you have made sure we can all feel included. Help us to root exclusivity out of our churches and out of our hearts. Amen.