[Correction from Pastor Rob: I made a mistake in my sermon. While referencing a passage from Deuteronomy 25, I said something that the passage does NOT say. I always want to correct any mistake I make especially when referring to scripture. I realized this and did not make the same mistake in the second service. So first I apologize for making this error. Second, here is the correction for those of you in the first service or watching online.
When we came to the section with Tamar and the three sons of Judah, the practice of Levirate marriage was brought up. This is when the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. So at this point I referenced Deuteronomy 25:5-9. In that passage when the brother refuses to marry his deceased brothers wife, the text tells us that she is to go to the elders of the city and attempt to get them to convince him otherwise. If they fail she is to take his sandal and then spit in his face. The custom of taking his sandal is a practice from the Ancient Near East that represented a transaction had been made (See Ruth 4:7). During the first service I took this further than what the text says. I mentioned that she would also slap him in the face with his sandal. Which is is comedic, but the text does NOT say that! For some reason I embellished this point and took it too far. So again, I apologize for that comment. It’s not that big of a deal in the overall meaning of the text, but I always want to be exact with God’s words so I needed to make this correction.]