We find the story of Tamar in Genesis 38. As the chapter opens, Jacob’s son Judah has married a Canaanite woman named Bath-shua, with whom he had three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. Er, the oldest son, married a Canaanite woman named Tamar, but he died before they had any children. Genesis 38:7 explains, “But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.” The exact nature of his wickedness is not given.
Grasping the literary structure of Genesis 2 and seeing how it builds upon the structure of Genesis 1 is key to understanding Moses’ account of creation. With this, I am much indebted to a journal article by Mark Futato that first brought this to my attention.
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James’ epistle has always been considered a very practical approach to our faith. He still affirms that we are saved by faith alone, but if works are not coming in response to our faith, it is a dead faith. It is important to understand that James and Paul are not in conflict with each other.
One of the ways God has chosen to reveal Himself to us is through the idea of fatherhood. Of course, every analogy—even this one—breaks down at some point, so it’s important not to press them too far.