The day was not unlike most days in the kingdom. As the princess went about her routine she received word from her father that there was an illness in the family. The king's eldest son, her half-brother, was in need of help. At her father's request she headed down to her brother's house to make dinner for him. As she prepared the food in his presence, he ordered everyone out of the room. Shocked and troubled, the princess realized that indeed her brother was not ill at all, but deceitful and full of lust. She begged and reasoned with him to no avail.
On a day not unlike most days in the kingdom this princess was robbed of the very thing which her elegant gown represented; her virginity. Humiliated and irreparably stigmatized according to all social norms this beautiful princess covered her head with ashes, tore her lovely gown, put both hands on her head and went about crying aloud. When her father, King David heard the news he became very angry but did nothing. Tamar's rapist, Amnon, was David's oldest son and the king declined to serve justice or defend his daughter's honor. Two years after her life was shattered and her character assassinated, Tamar's brother Absalom arranged the murder of their wicked half-brother.
"After Amnon raped his sister, he sent her out of his house and said, "Get this out of here!" Again, Tamar pled for justice on her behalf and begged, "No! Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me" (2 Samuel 13:16). Modern women recoil at this passage wondering why Tamar would want to keep the company of her rapist. However, in the Jewish culture at that time, a woman who had been raped was deemed unmarriable. Young girls and teenagers who were victims of rape were not only robbed of their innocence but their hope of marriage as well. The Jewish law made a provision for these women. If a man raped a virgin, he was required to take the girl as his wife (Deuteronomy 22:28-29).
The "love" that Amnon felt for Tamar before the rape turned to rage after the rape, so Tamar was sent away disgraced and ashamed. The Bible says that she then put ashes on her head, tore the ornamental robe that the king's virgin daughters wore, and wailed loudly; all signs of extreme mourning. As soon as Tamar's full-brother, Absalom, came upon her, he surmised what had happened. He told her to keep quiet about the incident, which she did. She was then taken into Absalom's house and lived "a desolate woman" (2 Samuel 13:20). This is the last mention of Tamar in the Bible; that she lived the rest of her days as a desolate woman."
- Amy Sondova, The Desolate Woman - A Biblical Perspective on Rape
One Sabbath morning I sat in my bed with my Bible, a concordance and a notebook. Morning turned to afternoon and afternoon turned to evening. I forget exactly how it came about, but the Lord was certainly involved in helping me to see that there was much more to Tamar's story than what meets the eye. What I am about to share with you has forever changed my understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and I will never again see the good news without Tamar firmly embedded in my mind and in my heart.
Nearing the end of Tamar's nightmare she "put ashes on her head and tore her long-sleeved garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went". As I searched God's word, I came across Isaiah's prophecy concerning our Bridegroom:
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." (Isa 61:1-3 KJV)
The first thing to take note of here is the word "meek". It is the Hebrew word aw-nawv' (Strong's H6035) and means "depressed" and comes from the root verb aw-naw' (Strong's H6031) meaning "to depress". It is the same word used to describe what Amnon did to Tamar. "Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her." (2Sa 13:14 KJV) Our Lord came for those such as Tamar.
The second thing to notice are the three specific exchanges which the Lord makes with the "meek". Tamar put ashes on her head. The Lord replaces ashes with beauty. Tamar went about crying. The Lord exchanges mourning with the oil of joy. Tamar tore her long-sleeved garment signifying her virginity as the king's daughter. The Lord gives a garment of praise in its place.
The third thing to notice and it is a big one is that the meek, those who have been "depressed" will now be called "trees of righteousness... the planting of the Lord". The NASV translates the word "trees" as oaks when in reality the Hebrew word is rooted in the idea of strength. Therefore the idea is that the meek will now be called "strong trees of righteousness". For more insight the Lord took me to another passage.
"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." (Psa 92:12-15 KJV)
The significance here is quite simply this:
The Hebrew word for palm tree is tâmâr (Strong's H8558).
The Hebrew word for Tamar is tâmâr (Strong's H8559).
The Lord, I believe, just showed me something and it has to do with where king David fell short in this whole messed up ordeal with his daughter. Interestingly enough it was king David who penned these next words: "Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up." (Psa 27:9-10)
Her father had forsaken her. Here is the beauty of "The Gospel According To Tamar"; We had been ruined spiritually. Our purity was gone. We had no hope of a spiritual marriage to the Lord. We were damaged goods, but when we were in ashes, torn garments and tears, forsaken by "mother and father", He took us up. He cleaned us up. He gave us beauty for our ashes. He gave us the oil joy for our tears. He gave us a wedding dress for our torn, blood stained, semen tainted, ash covered rag.
If that doesn't bring tears of joy to your eyes...
"How beautiful and how delightful you are, My love, with all your charms! "Your stature is like a palm tree (Tamar), And your breasts are like its clusters. "I said, 'I will climb the palm tree (Tamar), I will take hold of its fruit stalks.' Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your breath like apples," (Son 7:6-8 NASV)
Here's to never looking at palm trees the same ever again.
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