• Imagining the Resurrected Life      Luke 20:27-38         (see below)
  by Rev. Karen Goltz
   

• God of the Living ,  Luke 20:27-38, by Rev. Randy Quinn            
   

• In the Meantime, Pray, Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17, by Rev. Randy L. Quinn         
   

• More than Meets the Eye, Luke 20:27-40, Thomas Hall   
   

• Take Courage--I'm Right Beside You Haggai 1:15b-2:9, by Rev. Thomas Hall     
   

• Take courage, Haggai 1:15b-2:9, Kelly in Alberta, Canada  
   
• Choose Life, Luke 20:27-38, 2Thessalonians 2:1-5, Haggai 1:15b-2:9, Susan in SanPedro  
   
• I know that my Redeemer lives, Luke 20:27-38, anonymous  

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Imagining the Resurrected Life
based on Luke 20:27-38
by Rev. Karen Goltz

I am actually married to the eldest of seven siblings. Granted, two of them are sisters, not brothers, but I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to be passed down the line in the unfortunate event of my husband’s untimely death. But according to the law of Moses, if my husband died and left me childless, that’s exactly what would happen. Never mind that two of his brothers already have wives and children of their own; in that patriarchal society where women had no legal standing of their own and needed to be under the protection of their fathers, husbands, or sons, this was the solution to provide for a childless widow.

Sounds delightful for us women, doesn’t it?

Levirate marriage, as it is called, was established for two reasons: to maintain the line and inheritance of the deceased husband, and to protect the widow from destitution. Since women couldn’t own property or enter into contractual agreements, the intent was to make sure someone would be there to provide for them. If their husbands died without leaving them a son to care for them, it was the closest male kin’s responsibility to marry her, provide for her financially, and give her a son in her first husband’s name. The closest male kin was usually a brother, but sometimes it was a more distant cousin or uncle or something. In the book of Ruth, Naomi and her husband Elimelech went to Moab with their two sons. Elimelech died, but Naomi was cared for by her two sons, who both married Moabite women. After about ten years, both sons died as well, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law alone. Naomi tried to send both her daughters-in-law back to their parents’ homes, in the hopes that they would find new husbands, but Ruth insisted on remaining with her. Listen to what Naomi said to Ruth: “Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, go your way, for even if I were to have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown?” Can you even imagine what that would be like? But such was the importance and acceptance of this system. [Ruth 1:1-14]

Ruth did remain with Naomi, and returned to Naomi’s homeland, where she met Boaz, who was somehow related to Elimelech. When he decided he wanted to marry Ruth, he had to seek out another family member who was closer to Elimelech, and convince him to relinquish his ‘right of redemption.’ The other family member did relinquish his right, because marrying Ruth and maintaining the family inheritance of her late husband would have damaged his own inheritance. [Ruth 3:11-13; 4:1-6] You see, the surviving men didn’t get a lot out of this practice. They didn’t get to keep whatever property the first husband had, and whatever sons they produced with their brother’s wife was considered his brother’s, not his own. In Genesis we hear the story of Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah’s firstborn son Er. Er died, so Judah gave Tamar to his second son, Onan. But we’re told “Onan knew that the offspring would not be his,” so he, shall we say, practiced an ancient form of birth control. Read Genesis 38:9 if you want further details on that. Then Onan died, and Judah told Tamar to remain a widow in her father’s home until his youngest son Shelah grew up and could marry her, but Judah never intended to allow her to marry his last remaining son. He believed she was bad luck, and giving her in marriage to Shelah would be a death sentence to him. When Tamar realized what was happening she disguised herself as a prostitute and presented herself to Judah. When Judah heard that Tamar was pregnant he condemned her to death, until she was able to prove that he himself was the father of her child. When confronted with this truth Judah acknowledged that Tamar was in the right, because he had failed to provide for her by withholding his youngest son. [continue]