I was reminded of the story this morning about the woman who committed adultery in Biblical times and she was about to be stoned. Then Jesus, as the story goes, comes up to the crowd of all men with stones in both hands, quietly said something like, Ye who are without sin, throw that first stone... The story ends as each of the men drops their stones and goes away... But what of the woman? I thought, Jesus asked if any of the accusers acted and she replied no...Jesus said, then neither do I, go and sin no more...
Tamar was also blamed as a prostitute when she was forced to act on her on behalf to ensure she was able to meet her basic needs...
Note: Tamar was the name of two unique women whose unusual stories can be found in the Old Testament. The first Tamar we read about in Scripture was the widow of Er and Onan, sons of Judah, Jacob’s fourth-born son. The second was the sister of Absalom and daughter of King David who was raped by her half-brother Amnon.
BY SOLOMON
[KING JAMES VERSION]
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.
My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land:
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
The question, is this beautiful poetry to be enjoyed...or should it be banned as potential affecting the fragility of those young teenagers who might possibly read it? You know, like the "don't say gay..." legislative in Florida...
If you do a search on books banned or similar sex-related topics, you are going to see discussions, say, on TikToc and more... Whether or not you are willing to have local schools discuss basic sexual questions as part of their health classes, you should realize that when something is "banned," there are going to be those who ask Why? And some of those asking may be the children of parents who are acting, supposedly, on behalf of their children, to prevent any mention of anything to do with sex...
Believe me, not dealing with appropriate discussions with children will lead them to explore for themselves. I did, didn't you?
You know Folks, I learn more about life, in general, and also from the Bible from those who write fiction based upon fact. In fact, I learned about a rape that had occurred a long time ago and I don't think I will ever forget it... You know the story, right? Well, if not, maybe it's been banned also, just like the Song of Solomon above... Or wait, maybe not, because it "possibly" could be read as a "good" thing for...men... Sorry, I don't mind being sexist at this time when the potential of going backward 50 years at least is very possible as of this week...
Her name is Tamar...if she was alive in today's world, her name would be Tamara, perhaps. In any event she was special, she was a daughter of royalty. Of course, when she was alive, multiple women to one man was routine, so she may have been just another daughter in a large family, we don't know... and...the story does not provide what actually may have happened to her...
Anyway, one of her brothers raped Tamar. He had pretended to feel ill and asked that food be brought to him by Tamar. When she came, he quickly moved to seduction and when Tamar vehemently protested... he raped her... Afterward, he disdainfully sent her away...
Her father was angry, but did nothing...
Then time passes and another brother, so upset, I guess, that nothing had ever been done, murdered the rapist...
You might want to check out the story and some literary analysis of the tale. Or you could read it in the Bible, in Psalms...
My memory of reading about this story in various books other than the Bible explores what happened to Tamar. Did she get pregnant? Of course, at that time, she could not be wed to anybody, since she was no longer a virgin, other than the rapist (a half brother) who had time to act right and wed his step-sister, instead, he was then murdered since no plans to give legitimacy to his action of rape... After all, she wasn't a virgin and he deserved a wife who was... Right?
So, thinking about it, I'm thinking Tamar knew she had no recourse, she had been raped and tried to fight off her attacker. And the story shares what happened to the men thereafter... but Tamar's story had quickly been set aside to prevent further gossip of the royal family, I assume...
You know, I picture her as pregnant, unwed, having to stay within the family environment for the rest of her life, perhaps having to even give up her child who would be placed into the care of those who took care of all the other children who were born to the royal family... She might not have even been able to care for the child, even though she had been raped...but was or could have been a loving mother...if she had a choice...
But then, she could perhaps never care for a child who had been born by a violent attack on her. She hated what had happened... and inwardly hated her father who did nothing and her brother... How else could she feel... She had been betrayed by those she thought would protect her until, even, perhaps an arranged marriage would be made...
Would she have considered an abortion, if she knew that was possible? You might be interested in a Time article that has researched myths about abortion...
You know, folks, I don't know what I would do in Tamar's situation. But I do know that I would expect my father to help me make a decision... I would expect that I be able to discuss what my options were, within both cultural and religious laws. I would want to be able to have a choice... Instead Tamara suffered, maybe not in silence?
Given that there is no further mention of Tamar, we must assume that she had no choice in what happened to her ruined life...
Hundreds of years later...thousands of years later... we are still dealing with a dilemma that only is faced by women...
Yet those who are NOT involved with the choice of that woman are treating all of us like Tamar, King David's daughter... She had NO choice. She was raped. Her father, the King, did nothing. Later, a brother so angry that nothing--that justice had never even been considered for his beloved sister, murdered the rapist, and then had to escape for acting in violence...
Having a leak of the potential Supreme Court to overthrow Roe vs. Wade, seemed to me to be a God Incident. If I'm wrong, then just consider me a women's libber... a woman who has had to deal with sexual abuse, assault, potential of rape, incest and being introduced to sex far earlier than I ever should have been. So, it's time that I can speak my truth, don't you think? I have spent most of my life helping to improve the working conditions of women. I have considered Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to myself and other women... I have worked in male-dominated professional fields and have found myself dealing with issues that had no relationship to whether my professional skills met the needs of my job description... discrimination based on sex, salary, competence... and just downright harassment and disrespect from subordinates...
The fact is that few women in America actually even have the chance to move upward into the top two levels--self-esteem and self-actualization... Many women are fighting just to meet the basic physiological and safety needs... They have either been raped or have given their love to somebody who then turned away from them just like Tamar's father and brother did. I've also learned that many poor women do not even have the money to buy and use birth control. Yet, if she becomes pregnant, and the support of the father is not provided, each woman has to make some basic choices--hard decisions. Decisions made in conjunction with her doctor, perhaps, or in light of her being left in turmoil and even shame for believing somebody loved her when he said he did...
And, you know folks, God has gifted me with great empathy for the plight of women of all races, religions, and more... I "know" that within my lifetime, conditions have greatly improved because of federal laws such as Affirmative Action to attempt to garner some type of balance...to white men in all areas of life...
And I have watched Donald Trump and other white men living today, do everything possible to set us back decades and destroy any sense of freedom that we fought to gain.
You Christians who claim that women have no choice in their own health decisions are not helping...Jesus did not condemn the woman who participated in adultery... but Jesus wasn't born at the time of Tamar... So why isn't the Love of Jesus for each of us used in allowing free will, given by God?
Tamar was raped and had no choice of any future life. She had no ability to have even justice by her father who was King... She had nothing to give to a potential future husband with whom she may have been wed and/or fallen in love with, and then married. She had no choice. Laws prevented any future for her without being a virgin, and no option to consider her ability to be a woman with a future outside of the probable harem of other daughters and wives, and their children... Tamar was worse off than even Bathsheba, wasn't she? At least the King lusted enough to marry her, after having her husband killed...
It's not yet daylight and I think about my president who is not allowed to take communion in his church because he supports The Right to Choose...
Did I ever tell you all that my life changed when I read the book, How to be a Christian Without Being Religions? It's not earth-shaking as a book and I can't even remember much of the content. But the title still springs to my mind in days like those following the release of a draft Supreme Court action that could set the rights of women to make medical decisions of her own, to include when and if pregnancy is an issue.
I know what I would want for Tamar if I had lived back then. I'd tell her, look at your father, who lusted after a woman, just like your brother lusted after you...and took that woman, by murdering her husband... and challenge her father for ignoring what happened to her... And I'd tell Tamar, you need to be able to make some basic decisions about the rest of your life... You do have the Right to Choose...what is best for you...dear Tamar...
You know folks, I'm about the same age as Joe Biden... We've seen a lot of life and tragedy...and things that were painful... We both found a need to try to help... We both saw women as equal in the sight of God... We both see women as, just like men, having a basic right to make her own health decisions...to choose how she will serve God and keep the Temple He gave each of us to use for Him... And it doesn't need anybody else creating laws for us to do it. God...as well as the Constitution under which we live, gives us all...equal status, equal rights, equal life choices, and a equal basic "human will" to live...for Him...or not... He gives us that choice...
So why can't we have that Right to act on our own behalf...to Choose...
Think long and hard about what might happen if this change, this loss of a right to choose, is taken away...
Be scared...be very scared... You might be Tamar and incest will again reign with absolutely no way to gain justice... At least that's what the Bible teaches us, right?
Now, just for the sake of your responses... I believe the Bible is the "Inspired Word of God..." In the true sense of the word--of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse. Taking that a step further, I believe God through His Holy Spirit speaks to us through the words shared as they are needed to inspire in us what God wants us to know on any given subject or issue. Personally, as a reader and one who has worked with writers on completing their personal words, be it for a book, an article or just homework that requires creative action. I know that any book, especially the Bible, which was first recorded in a different language from the one I would read it in, English, that it has been read and reread many times before the book was accepted as final.
Take for instance the Book of Thomas...Remember him? The one I think as being most closely of the disciples to myself? I need truth, words I can believe... Well, His book was not included in the Bible. But I bought a copy anyway and find it of great value, albeit duplicative. Specifically, it was Thomas who could be called the secretary or the recorder for Jesus. The book is merely a list of all that Jesus said!
What? A book that actually records all that Jesus said--and it was "banned" from the Bible? Well, as a good editor, I would quickly point out that, yes, it was not needed...Jesus' words are also spread through other books. Well, I can accept that...but, really, wouldn't you like to also have a book that presents all of Jesus' words, as spoken, one right after the other? I did and do... In other words, many books can be of value and used by God to speak through them or the "inspired" writer of the book(s).
Now, I'm going to close. I had gone to eat breakfast and turned on the television to watch the news. Instead, Joyce Meyer, an evangelistic speaker was talking... I have absolutely no understanding how a channel on which she would be speaking was the one that was there...instead of what I would assume was the last one I was watching when I turned it off last evening... A tiny God Incident?
Anyway, she was very clear that those who listen...must act... those who listen and know that many lies are being used, more than ever, that we must be alert and speak out what is being said as lies. You know what they might relate to these days, as America is divided worse than before the Civil War. Meyer thinks we are in the "end times..." I read my first book in the last century that it was about to happen...so I don't worry about the actual time period... What I do know is that lies and subsequent anger, hate, and violence is...right now...and that's why we need to act against...to speak truth...
I'm trying to do that in sharing my thoughts on women's rolls in God's plans for today... In doing so, I recognize that I am exercising my own will in doing so, as God allows each of us... And I believe that Tamar, Bathsheba, the woman caught in adultery, the Samaritan woman to whom Jesus spoke of the Living Water...and so many more women of the Bible, as a message to us today...God calls each of us to fulfill His plan... Even though my thoughts may not be the same of many of you, I believe this has been inspired when I awoke at 3AM and started formulating how Tamar would be treated by those who hate and tell lies and succeed in setting back the rights of women in today's world of God...and as accepted and written in the Constitution of the United States. We are All Equal, regardless of race, religion, sex... We have been given certain inalienable rights...which gives us the right to choose...
What would Jesus Do? If I was pregnant and could not, for personal reasons, have the child, then I would discuss the issue with my doctor and I would search out those words that are inspired to help me make a decision... That's all I want for all women... The right to choose...
Just like all of those who went crazy because they believed they had the right NOT to wear a mask! Consider the human value between these two issues...one a minor hardship to wear and help save lives...and the other a decision that could affect your entire future... So, think of Tamar, who, even with a king as a father, was raped and rejected...for the rest of her life...
Would you want that for your daughter, your sister, or even your wife or mother who were attacked by those men who use sex as power, to rape to gain control over women...who do not have the love within them to even care what they've done to women by taking away a God-given ability to claim the right to choose...in all matters of her life.
This is what I know, two of the recent appointees of Trump lied to a Senator who specifically questioned them about not changing a law that had become a precedent... our president supports women's choice... indeed God allows us:
I must assume that anybody who chooses to take that right of choice away from us is a liar, a thief, a coward, or totally lacking in love or empathy... And Jesus warns us against these false prophets, these liars who seek power rather than acting in love...
