The kings' daughters were given beautiful garments to wear signifying their purity and virginity- this practice is noted not only in the Psalms but in a searing tale of family misfortune and dysfunction: this is the tale of Tamar.
Unhappily named after the daughter-in-law of Judah, who had to stoop to unscrupulous means to become with child, Tamar, may have known from the beginning that her life would be full of challenges but she probably did not know the cautionary tale of her ancestor would point the finger at a family member- her own brother.
Amnon, the scriptures said, loved his sister. I am sure in his depraved and maddened state, and he believed he did: he became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
But after conspiring to rape
her, the scriptures say that he hated her more than he had loved her. After he had
raped her, Tamar, tore her garments, for she was no longer pure, and had been disgraced.
Though she begged her half-brother to ask for her hand in marriage, he refused
thus doubling her shame: “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing
should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where
could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of
the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from
being married to you.” But
he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her"
(2 Samuel 13: 12-14).Yet, the story does not end on the sad note that the Tamar ended her life a desolate woman in the home of her brother Absalom. No, because David did not deal with his family’s issues Absalom’s rage at his sister’s rape burned within he, and he conspired to kill his brother, which he eventually did. This act then led him to flee from David and eventually to try and usurp the kingdom from his father’s hands. Untold heartache fell on David: Tamar’s rape and desolation, Amnon’s murder, and eventually rebellion that led to Absalom’s death as well.
Too many times, we don’t take rape and incest seriously. We don’t see how they tear at the fabric of the nation, destroying families, society, and the nation as a whole, but David’s saga clearly indicates how one family's destruction leads to chaos and death for an entire nation. As in Tamar’s case, there were accomplices; those who aided and abetted Amnon’s frightful conduct. God forbid that I should be one of these- who by cooperation or by silence inflict pain on God’s precious daughters.
Tamar's tale has three parts: first the gift of the robe. Like Joseph who was given a robe of many colors, (Genesis 37:4; 21-23) Tamar received a robe which signified favor, status, and esteem. Similarly, Jesus received His special robe (John 9:23-25)- one that was a singularly woven piece- one over which the Roman guards would cast lots.
All three suffered disgrace as the robe was torn from their bodies. First, Joseph; then Tamar, and finally Jesus. Joseph lost his garment to the jealousy of his brothers; Jesus lost his beautiful garment to the ravenous soldiers, and Tamar lost her rich garment as it was ripped form her body. God also clothed Israel in a garment when He found her in the field and put shoes on her feet and made her beautiful.
Hear God's plaintive cry for Israel, whom God characterizes as a woman:
And as for your nativity, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to supple you; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None pitied you, to do any of these to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, to the loathing of your person, in the day that you were born. 6And when I passed by you, and saw you polluted in your own blood, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live; yes, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live. … (Ezekiel 16:4-7).
Ultimately, such stories can end positively with restoration, Joseph was restored. Jesus is coming back wearing a new robe: Revelations 19:12 and Rev 3:4-5. Let God restore you. I hear Him say that when He found Anene Booysen, the young colored South African girl, in that field, mutilated and abused, He picked her up and wrapped her in His robe, and took her straight to the judgment seat. She is at His side now; it’s is enough.
And as for your nativity, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to supple you; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None pitied you, to do any of these to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, to the loathing of your person, in the day that you were born. 6And when I passed by you, and saw you polluted in your own blood, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live; yes, I said to you when you were in your blood, Live. … (Ezekiel 16:4-7).
Ultimately, such stories can end positively with restoration, Joseph was restored. Jesus is coming back wearing a new robe: Revelations 19:12 and Rev 3:4-5. Let God restore you. I hear Him say that when He found Anene Booysen, the young colored South African girl, in that field, mutilated and abused, He picked her up and wrapped her in His robe, and took her straight to the judgment seat. She is at His side now; it’s is enough.
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