Francine Sandra Rivers (born 1947) is an American author of Christian Fiction.
She was into writing historical romance novels before she became a Christian in 1986.
Her first novel as a Christian writer was Redeeming Love, which was inspired from the book of Hosea and depicts the depths of Christ’s love for us.
A Lineage of Grace is a series that is comprised of 5 books that retell the Bible story of 5 women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ; Unveiled (Tamar), Unashamed (Rahab), Unshaken (Ruth), Unspoken (Bathsheba), and, Unafraid (Mary).
The first book in the series, Unveiled, tells a very in-depth story of the life of a young Canaanite woman called Tamar.
Her story can be found in the 28th chapter of the book of Genesis.
Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
Genesis 38:6 (KJV)
The story of Tamar is one of sorrow, shame, but eventually, hope. She got married twice and each of her husbands (who were Judah’s sons) were killed by God because of their wickedness. So, she was deceived by her father-in-law into returning to her father’s house childless and a widow with a promise of eventually marrying his last son (which Judah wasn’t intending to keep).
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Genesis 38:11 (KJV)
Tamar eventually found out that Judah wasn’t willing to keep this promise and was bold and desperate enough to do something about it. She veiled herself and played the harlot to have Judah himself perform the obligation that should have been his son’s.
So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.
Genesis 38:14 (KJV)
Her actions were risky and even seemed foolish (back then it was a sin punishable by death for a widow to take off her garment of widowhood) but she was wise and bold enough to take desperate steps to prove her innocence and raise an heir for Judah’s lineage.
She eventually gave birth to twin sons, Zerah and Perez who eventually were in the lineage of Jesus Christ. And she became the first woman whose name went down in history as part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.
Matthew 1:3 (KJV)
Are you tempted to give up because of your hopeless and shameful situation? You might have been abandoned and told nothing good will ever come out of you. You might even have been cheated and denied your rights severally.
Cheer up! There’s hope for you because there is Grace available in God. He raises people from the dunghill and sets them among princes.
Do you want to be inspired by the story of Tamar in Francine Rivers’ A Lineage of Grace? Click on the link below to do that.
In Plain Sight 