Unveiled by Francine Rivers

Tamar did not want to get married at 14, especially to Judah's oldest son Er,  whom she had heard was a very cruel man.  But because of the traditions of the day, Tamar has no choice in the matter.  Her father has made what he considers a good match and her mother won't back her up but insists she not shame the family.  As she very quickly finds out the rumors of Er being cruel are all true and she starts to bear the brunt of his meanness.  And on top of it her in-laws give in to Er, not ever giving him consequences for his behavior.  Her father-in-law, Judah, is spineless around him, and her mother-in-law dotes on him and is bitter towards Tamar.  Tamar is for all intents and purposes alone.  Even as she hides her fear of Er, she does her best to be obedient and a good wife, hoping she produces the heir they want.  When Er unexpectedly dies, according to tradition his brother must take her for a wife and produce the heir that Er had not.  But Onan is also cruel, though in a different way, and Tamar is left with no hope of redeeming herself by giving Judah descendants.  When Onan also dies, she is banished back home much to the shame of her family and to her own disgrace.  But Tamar holds out hope of being redeemed and concocts a plan to get justice for herself.

I had forgotten to write a review of this first book in the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers.  The series are five novellas of five unlikely women that changed eternity.   The author dedicated this story of Tamar  to all those who have been abused and used and yearn for justice.  Tamar's character, in spite of the horrid times for women, managed to have dignity and hope in the midst of all the cruelty and injustice.  The one thing I did feel a lot reading this story was anger.  Anger at the way women were treated in that day, anger at Judah for being so spineless, anger at Tamar's family, and anger that history was just so demeaning to women in general.  It is just a story of the bible that is hard to put into perspective because of the content and the times.  But Tamar's character in the midst of it all is what stood out for me.  She was strong in her own way and managed to be faithful, dedicated and the author managed to give her dignity and convey her story as one of hope.  The novella starts with a section called "Setting the Scene" (as does all the books in this series) that gives the historical perspective of the times and what was going on and finishes with an epilogue that tells what happened to the characters later in the biblical story and how the main character came to be in the lineage of Jesus.  There is then a Seek and Find section that has questions to apply the story to one's life today.

I rated this one a 9/10.