My name is Drusilla (Dru) McLeland and I serve as the Central Conference Liaison to the Board of the Advocates for Covenant Clergy Women. My husband, Paul, and I have been married 27 years and we have one daughter, Katie. In response to God’s call to pastoral ministry, I am pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Northern Theological Seminary. I am currently in Clinical Pastoral Education with the Adventist Midwest Health System. I want to be a gracious woman, who becomes more and more like my Heavenly Father who is Home to all prodigal daughters and sons.
Sometimes I overlook people who are marginalized. This disturbs me. It goes against my core belief in the value of every person. I want my actions reflect my core beliefs and it bothers me they are incongruous. There are some Old Testament characters I’ve overlooked. One of these is Tamar the wife of Er (Gen. 38).
Jacob’s son, Judah, moves and marries Shua, a Canaanite woman. They have three sons; Er, Onan and Shelah. Er marries Tamar. He is wicked, so God kills him. There is no male hair carry on Er’s legacy and Judah tells Onan to go to Tamar, perform his duty as a brother-in-law and produce an heir. Onan knows the child won’t be his so he spills his semen on the ground. The Lord is not pleased with this and puts Onan to death. Judah sends Tamar to go back to her father to wait until Shelah is old enough to marry. But really he has no intention of giving Shelah in marriage to her. He’s afraid Shelah will die if he is associated with Tamar. Continue Reading »
