Perception of Reality
by Pastor Don Elmore
Reality: It's Not What It Is; It's what we Think It Is
“Almost everyone believes that they see things as they are. Almost no one does. Our perception of reality rules our lives no matter what we think. Propagandists know the very high manipulative value of peoples’ expectations based on their perception of reality….So the difference in people is the way they think. Our individual perception of reality controls our thought processes. Our thought processes control our lives. Word manipulation and semantic trickery controls our thoughts and our total being.”—Copied from The Bob Livingston Letter, August 2010.
The jews are a small percentage of our population: less than 3%. During the Articles of Confederation they could not vote or hold any office in the states in which; they lived. With the ratification of the U. S. Constitution, jews could hold federal office. They rejoiced; for they knew that the state restrictions would soon be gone too. And they were right.
Now jews will soon hold 1/3 of the Supreme Court judges (33 1/3%). They also hold a much larger percentage than their population in the House of Representatives, Senate, State Governors, State Senators, State Representatives, Mayors, etc. Who are these people? The chosen of God and the covenant people in the Old Testament? Are they descended from Judah? Be careful how you answer these questions: It’s not what it is, it’s what you think it is.
What It Is
Genesis 38 gives us a paragraph view of Judah and his five children. It covers about 30 years of history—about the length of time of Joseph’s betrayal till the end of his time in jail. Under the age of twenty, Judah under the influence of alcohol and promises of gold, married someone who his father (Jacob/Israel) did not recommend. He married someone who Israel was commanded to NOT marry. He married a CANAANITE! (Genesis 38:1-5).
Wasn’t that the same family tree that Esau married into that proved to be a grief to his mother and father? (Genesis 26:34, 35). Wasn’t that the same family tree that our God commanded Israel not to MARRY? (Deuteronomy 7:1-4). Then how did Judah escape the same punishment of Esau? It was because of Tamar.
Tamar, who along with Ruth, Bathsheba and Rahab are among the women who are constantly lied about: That these are non-Israelite women. They are the ancestors of our Saviour. These women, when one studies what it is, knows that all of these women were Adamite/Israelites. And probably the most outstanding of all these great Israelites, was Tamar.
Judah and Bathshua
Judah married into the wrong family. He married Bathshua, a Canaanite. With her he had three boys:
- Er
- Onan
- Shelah
Judah named his first boy, Er, but his wife named the second and third. When the eldest son got old enough to marry, Judah picked a wife for him. Who and where did Judah get to pick a wife for his oldest born son?
“And in those days Judah went to the house of SHEM and took TAMAR the daughter of Elam, the son of Shem, for a wife for his first born Er." The Book of Jasher, Chapter XLV, verse 23.
Tamar’s grandfather was Shem, one of the three sons of Noah! Judah went to the house of Shem and asked his son for his daughter for marriage with his [mongrel] son! The Book of Jasher doesn’t tell, but I bet that Judah did not tell Shem that his son was a mongrel.
So, Tamar was of the right seed. But Er failed in his responsibility as a husband. He outwardly destroyed his seed; an evil work—so the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob slew him. With one son dead, Judah attempted to keep the commandment that the brother should provide the seed for his dead brother’s wife. So Judah gave Tamar to Onan for his wife. But Onan did the same deed as his brother—and received the same result—the LORD slew Onan.
Since Shelah, Judah’s third boy was too young for marriage, he told Tamar to go home and wait till he got old enough—and then he would give her to him. So she did and the years went on by. But in The Testament of Judah, Chapter 2, verse 19 it says that when Shelah was grown, Bathshua married off Shelah to a Canaanite woman:
“And while I (Judah) was away she (Bathshua) went and took for Shelah a wife from Canaan.”
This early feminist Bathshua soon died. Do you think that Tamar really breathed a sign of relief when Shelah, the last half-breed son of Judah, was married off by his mother to a person of her own kind? What if Judah married another woman from Canaan? How many Christians have asked themselves this question: How could our Redeemer have come from Judah if Judah had three half-breed sons? The answer: he couldn’t.
Was Tamar a whore, much worse a person than Judah’s Canaanite wife? Or was she a great heroine in Israel's history. Let’s look at what happened. Was Tamar a whore? No. Was she a great heroine? Yes!
She put on the uniform of the prostitutes, but she only went after one man—Judah.; Why? Since Judah had failed in his promise to provide children to his two sons by Tamar and since Shelah was given to a Canaanite to marry; then the only way for Judah to keep his promise would be to father Tamar’s children, thereby acting in accordance with the Law.
It is basically overlooked in the story that: Tamar was still in essence a virgin. Her marriage with both Er and Onan was never consummated.
- Through the death of Bathshua, Judah’s Canaanite wife, Judah was an eligible widower.
- The contract to furnish seed from one of the son’s of Judah for Tamar to have children was a total breach of contract on Judah’s part. — From Watchman’s Teaching Letter
- Tamar, in order to provide good offspring for Judah, risked her own death by disguising herself as a prostitute. Judah said: “She [Tamar] has been more righteous than I…” (Genesis 38:26a).
- After Tamar had her encounter with Judah, it is told Judah that his former daughter-in-law was guilty of prostitution. Judah said, “let her be burnt.” It had been three months, but Tamar told Judah that the man that she had the encounter with gave her the following items: The signet, bracelets, and staff. Judah acknowledge them. (Genesis 38:24-26).
- Tamar figured that if she had children with Judah, it would be in accordance with the Law insomuch as they were both pureblooded spouses for marriage, and the most important thing is that the children would be of pure blood—the Messiah could come from these children.
- Judah was prophesied to have the scepter. His two children from Tamar was twins: Pharez and Zerah. But even that was strange: Zerah started to come out first and a red thread was put on his hand; but he went back in and Pharez came out first.
- But what about Shelah? He married a Canaanite. He had children with a Canaanite wife.
- “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come.” (Matthew 3:7)
- “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell” (Matthew 23:33).
- These same people argued with Jesus, saying that they were Abraham’s seed and that Abraham was their father. Jesus answered them: “Ye are of your father the devil…”
- The branch of Selah joined the offspring of Esau and became the majority of scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees — generation of vipers — offspring of the devil — Jews!
So, if you say that all of Judah are Jews, you are incorrect. If you say that all of Judah are Israelites, you are incorrect. But do you now see that if it wasn’t for Tamar’s action that there would be no Messiah — that there would have been no tribe of Judah; no kingdom of Judah; no kings of Troy, Greece, Milesia, Britain, etc? They would all be just like the descendants of Cain, Canaan and Edom—cursed by our God forever! It’s all in your perception.
Judah / Bathshua (Canaanite)
- ER — The LORD GOD of Israel slew
- ONAN — The LORD GOD of Israel slew
- SHELAH — Married cursed Canaanite woman;
- (Bathshua died): Shelah's descendants were many of the "bad figs" scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees during the days of Jesus and cursed by Him
Judah / Tamar (Israelite)
- PHAREZ — David first king of a everlasting kingship; followed by all the kings of the Kingdom of Judah; Jesus Christ
- ZERAH — “scarlet thread on hand” — Descendants left before the Exodus and became:
- King of Troy
- King of Greece
- King of Britain
- King of Milesia
- King of Carthage, etc.
What a wonderful history would have been missed if Tamar hadn't risked her life to confront Judah--her descendants were the kings of many nations; including the King of Kings--Jesus Christ.
