Genesis 38:1-39:2

The story of Judah and his family on the other hand, here in chapter 38, is given to show us about the main line which leads to the Messiah. Jesus will come through Judah. Because of this, the story of Judah relates directly to the ancestry of Jesus.

We can’t help but think that the sons of Jacob were certainly not very much of a comfort to him.

It looks as if all the sons were problem children, except for Joseph and Benjamin. And, Joseph was no comfort because his father was heartbroken about his disappearance.

All this reveals to us that Jacob spent too much time in Padan–Aram accumulating a fortune rather than teaching his children. We can see how different he was from Abraham. Remember what God said of Abraham in Genesis chapter 18 verse 19,

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 

Well, Jacob didn’t do that. He was so busy down there with Uncle Laban that he didn’t have much time for his boys and that was tragic because each one of them seemed to have been involved in something bad.

Probably there’s another reason for including this chapter in the Word of God here at this particular point.

Beginning with the next chapter, we go down to the land of Egypt with Joseph. God’s sending Joseph ahead so to speak, as He’s very clearly preparing the way for the coming down of the children of Israel into Egypt.

It would save their lives during the famine in Canaan, but more than that, it’d get them out of the land of Canaan from the abominable Canaanites into the seclusion of the land of Goshen in Egypt.

Had Jacob and his family continued on in Canaan, they would’ve dropped down to the level of the Canaanites. The old saying, “You become like the people you associate with most” would’ve come to pass.

Have you ever noticed what happens to a person who has a good, positive, well-balanced attitude when they stay a while among people who are whinging, whining complaining and self-centred? More often than not the well-balanced person is broken down to the level of the others, it seldom happens the other way around.

So then, this chapter is the story of Judah, whose line will be the kingly line among the tribes of Israel and, as we’ve said, it shows us the importance of getting the family of Jacob away from the degrading influence of the Canaanites.

We begin today with Genesis 38 and verses 1 and 2,

It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 

And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.

So, Judah went down to do some business with this Adullamite, which just means a person from the city of Adullam, and when he got down there he saw this Canaanite woman, and he had an affair with her.

Verse 3,

So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 

Judah called his name Er—and Judah certainly had erred; he had sinned.

To verses 4 to 6 now,

She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 

And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 

Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 

This is the first appearance of Tamar. She gets into the genealogy of Christ this way! Now, look at this family. It is just loaded with sin and bad choices.

Now Genesis 38:7-10,

But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. 

And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 

But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 

And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also. 

We’re never told what Er’s wickedness was, but obviously, it was evil enough that God brought immediate judgment upon him. Growing up with a father from such a troubled family and with a mother who was a Canaanite didn’t help this fellow Er to live a good, godly life.

In that day and in that culture if a man died before providing sons to his wife, it was the duty of his brothers to marry her and to give her sons. The child was considered the son of the brother who died because the living brother only acted in his place. This man Onan knew that the heir he was supposed to father wouldn’t be his.

This whole thing was done so the dead brother’s name would be carried on and also the widow would have children to support her. Without this support, she was destined to live the rest of her life as a destitute widow.

Remember the time here. There’s no social security or any other type of formal help for a widow. For a woman to find herself widowed without children to support her put that woman in a dire predicament.

See, Onan refused the responsibility to father descendants for his dead brother. He was more than happy to use Tamar for his sexual gratification, but he didn’t want to give Tamar a son that he would have to support but who would be considered to be the son of Er.

We can see here that this bloke Onan pursued sex as only a pleasurable experience. If he really didn’t want to father a child by Tamar, he could just not have had sex with her at all, but he wanted both the sexual pleasure and the freedom from the obligation to his dead brother and Tamar.

Although we, living in today’s world, might not see the magnitude of the wrong that was done here from the story itself we can certainly see it from God’s reaction. God killed him!

Now to verse 11,

Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. 

As we’ve seen, It was the custom of that day that when a man died, his brother was to marry his widow. Onan refused to do it, and he was smitten with death.

Now Judah has another son who’s growing up, and he tells his daughter–in–law to follow the custom of returning to her father’s house until the younger son is ready for marriage.

Now we come to verses 12 and 13,

Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 

And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 

Apparently, this deal that Judah had, which concerned seeing this Adullamite by the name of Hirah, was in connection with sheep. They were raising sheep and must have had a tremendous flock together. Judah goes up there to shear them while in the meantime, Tamar’s been waiting all this while at home. She’s waiting to be given this son Shelah as her husband.

Verse 14,

So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 

Shelah was, of course, the third son of Judah. Tamar sees that Judah doesn’t intend to give her to him as his wife. Tamar didn‘t want to face what would be a very difficult existence trying to survive with no husband or children.

Tamar didn’t have the option of just finding another man to marry. She was under the headship of her father-in-law Judah, and he had to give her a husband. He determined who and when she could marry.

So she takes her own action.

Knowing that Judah would be away from home at Timnah, Tamar takes off her widow’s clothes and dresses herself as a prostitute with her face covered as was the custom of prostitutes.

She then goes and sits by the wayside at the place where prostitutes meet their customers. However, she planned to meet only one customer – Judah.

Verses 15 and 16,

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she’d covered her face. Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 

Here we get a picture of Judah. He had propositioned the Canaanite woman, Shuah’s daughter. Now he does the same thing with Tamar. This is a pretty ugly story that we have here. Judah thought she was a harlot. She saw the opportunity of taking advantage of him, and she did it. She negotiates the price for Judah to have sex with her.

Verses 17 to 20,

And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” 

Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 

So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. 

And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 

In her disguise, Tamar successfully met Judah as she’d planned. After negotiating the price for sex, Tamar demanded a pledge of the future payment of the agreed-upon price (a young goat). So she wants some sort of collateral to ensure Judah keeps his word about the goat.

So he gave Tamar his staff and his signet and cord. This was like his signet ring or seal and the bracelet that held it along with his staff that would have had specialised, individual markings on it.

Then Judah has sex with her, and she conceived by him:

When Tamar conceived, it certainly wasn’t intended by Judah, but it was in Tamar’s plan; but, more importantly, it was in God’s plan.

Judah sent his friend, Hirah the Adullamite, into town with the goat to give to the woman who he thought was a prostitute and to redeem his belongings. Hirah asked the locals where the prostitute was that was there.

Genesis 38:21-24 says

Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.” 

So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.” 

Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.” 

And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 

That’s Judah.

Here’s the old double standard and God doesn’t approve of any of this, friends.

It’s here in His Word, but that doesn’t mean that He approves of it. His people, this Godly line who He’s given so much to are acting just like the Canaanites.

This was repulsive even to Judah, but we can see how he had adopted some of the customs of the Canaanites.

This is the reason He’s going to get them out of this land and take them down into the land of Egypt. There He’s going to separate them and isolate them in the land of Goshen to get them away from this terrible influence. This episode reveals the necessity for God to do this.

Judah’s acting in a way that’s bad to the core. The fact is, he’s quick to see the sin in somebody else, but he can’t see it in himself.

Oh how often we see this not only from those so-called perfect folk around us but in ourselves.

Hear what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 verses 3 to 5,

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 

Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

We’re also reminded of the time when the prophet Nathan went to King David and told him the story about the fellow who had one little ewe lamb. When Nathan said the rich man came and took it away, David was quick to condemn the rich man. David asked for the rich man to be brought to him where he’d be executed.

David reacted just like Judah does here. David said he wanted the rich man stoned to death. Then Nathan declared that David himself was that man.

It’s interesting how we can all see sin so clearly in other people, but we can’t see it within ourselves.

The charge against Judah is really a double one.

His sin is bad enough in itself, but it was with his own daughter–in–law! This is the way the Canaanites lived. We think that we’re in a time of great sexual freedom today and we’ve managed to cast off the moral bonds that checked us when we’re about to do wrong. My friend, for centuries the heathen have had sexual freedom. That’s part of heathenism, and it’s partly the reason they lived as low as they did.

It’s the reason they were judged and removed from the scene. The Canaanites are gone. They’ve disappeared. God ‘s judged them. That ought to be a message to all of us.

We wonder why this chapter’s in the Bible, well it’s in the Bible as a warning to us all. It’s in the Bible to let us know that God did not and does not approve of sin, and it explains why God took Israel out of the land of Palestine and down into the land of Egypt.

So now Tamar is brought before her father–in–law, Judah.

Judah didn’t care for Tamar, the widowed wife of two of his sons as he was obligated to and he found it easy to pass judgment on someone who sinned just as he sinned, without passing the same judgment on himself.

Verse 25,

When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.” 

Judah was going to have her burnt. But she said, “Well, I would like you to know who the father of the child is. He’s the one who owns these articles that I’m showing you.”

Can you possibly imagine the range of emotions that must have gone through Judah? Judah looked at them and could do nothing else but admit they were his own.

Tamar acted shrewdly and vindicated herself against the charge of harlotry. She made the logical appeal of noting that the man who hired her was just as guilty as she was.

To verse 26,

So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again. 

Even Judah could see through to the real issue. He was at fault for not providing for Tamar a son through his last son Shelah.

At this point, it would be good for us to remember again Romans 15 verses 4 and 5,

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 

They are examples unto us.

Today we hear that if we’re going to communicate the greatness of God to people, we’ve got to get down to their level. Well, God’s never used that method to witness. God’s always, and under all circumstances, asked His people to live on a higher plane.

God never asked us to “communicate” anyway. He asked us to give His message. It’s God’s Word and the testimony of our lives that make the Gospel of Salvation by faith alone effective.

Too many pastors today are so afraid of losing the crowd that they’ll do almost anything to attract people to their church. But God has never asked us to compromise. God does ask us to give out His Word regardless of the size of our congregation.

We often assume that there must be crowds or else God’s not in it. Maybe God has called us to share His Words with just a few. But the truth is that just giving out the Word of God, will have its effect. My friend, the Word of God is powerful.

Well, Judah had certainly lowered himself to the level of the Canaanites, and look at the results.

We’re now in Genesis  38:27-30,

Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 

And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 

Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 

Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah. 

So twins were born, and again it’s interesting the one who seemed to be coming out of the womb first suddenly retracted his hand and the other was born first because the other was to be the one through which the line of Christ was to come.

So the daughter of Shuah, Judah’s wife and her sons are out of the way, as far as the line and genealogy that lead to Jesus Christ.

Now the genealogy of Christ is going to come through Pharez, the son of Tamar.

It may have been a long, roundabout process but God has very interesting ways of working out His plans and His purposes in our lives.

Perhaps one of the purposes of this chapter is to show that Christ came from just common, ordinary human passionate people who are not in any way perfect. In doing so we’re able to identify with Jesus Christ ourselves because we are plain, ordinary, passionate people far from perfect.

Perhaps God is also wanting to show how His purposes can overrule man’s mistakes.

Judah went out in his own worldy way out and chose the daughter of Shuah as a wife from the Canaanites. He would’ve been well aware of the history of God forbidding this.

But God didn’t intend this Canaanite daughter of Shuah to have anything to do with the genealogy that will lead to the incarnation of His Son. Tamar was God’s choice.

So by this roundabout process, Tamar comes into the picture and her son will be the one that’ll be in the lineage of Christ. Now it’s interesting in Matthew’s gospel when Matthew traces the genealogy of Christ, there are four women that are mentioned, one of them being Tamar.

Of all of the women that were in the ancestry, and there was a woman for every man, four women were named; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba.

Tamar played the prostitute, Rahab was a professional prostitute, Ruth was a Moabitess and Bathsheba, who became David’s wife through very sinful circumstances.

And so the four women who are named by Matthew in the genealogy of Christ are four of what we would choose to be most unlikely candidates, yet they’re the ones that would bring the Savior into the world.

Also in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew, chapter 1 we read,

 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.

Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Or Aram.

Then as we follow through the genealogy, we come to verse 16,

And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. 

When Christ came into the human family, He came in a sinful line. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, so says  2 Corinthians 5:21.

Both Matthew chapter 1 verse 3 and Luke chapter 3 verse 33 each list Perez as an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. God took the son of this ungodly situation and put him in the family line of the Messiah, despite the fact that neither Judah nor Tamar was an example of godliness.

This is both a wonderful example of grace and for those of us who ponder on it, a miraculous feat beyond human imagination. God chose them, despite their works, to both be in the line of the Messiah and to have their role in God’s plan of redemption. That was all designed before the foundation of the world in eternity past. How many countless trillions of tiny interactions would have needed to be in place throughout all of history to make this happen exactly as planned?

So now we see that God had to get his people out of this land and down into the land of Egypt.

We return to the story of Joseph after this interlude of chapter 38, because at this time Joseph is already down in Egypt. God’s plan and purpose are on track.

Joseph didn’t go down there willingly as we saw at the end of chapter 37 in verse 36 that the Midianite slave traders sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Let’s read Genesis 39:1-2,

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 

The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Now, this is as far as we’ll go today into verse 39 but let’s look at something very important. Firstly, we have no record of God appearing personally to Joseph and yet we see more evidence of the directing and leading of God than in any person in Genesis. God appeared to the other 3 patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but not to Joseph. Why?

Well, it wasn’t necessary because right through his life we see the hand of God on him and yet we see some terrible things happening to him. And you know what? God was with him right in the midst of it all.

And we’ll pick up the story next time my friends and until then may God be with you through every challenge you face in this life just as He was with Joseph.