Genesis 38

Genesis 38

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Judah and Tamar

1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 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. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.

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.

12 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. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 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. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 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?”

17 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?”

18 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. 19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 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. 21 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.”

22 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.”

23 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.”

24 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!”

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.”

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.

27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 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.” 29 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. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ge 38

• Transcript

  I have a send out the text message. Great that's been sent out. And we're ready to go live. Perfect. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions. This is devotions, devotions. This is where every weekday morning you and I we get together we have some coffee, we get into God's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023 Lord will or it's always up the Lord here. And a little bit about my willingness to get up in the morning daily things. But no, it's the Lord's will will make it from Genesis to Leviticus. Let's go ahead and have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into the Lord's word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank You for Your Word, and we pray that as we read your Word this morning that you would please work in our hearts. Teach us what we need to know. We pray that You would give us wisdom and insight as we read and that we would understand, in Jesus's name, Amen. Okay, so we are at Genesis chapter 38. I'm going to be honest with you this morning. This is a hard it's a hard passage. Okay. Genesis chapter 38. Is is not a passage that's fun to read, but it's an important one. Okay, we're we're kind of taking a little rabbit trail. Joseph has been sold into slavery. down into Egypt in a pot of first house, and we'll pick that back up tomorrow. But this morning, we have a story about Judum. And this is a story of abuse. This is a story that has sexual elements in it and so you just need to be aware of that as we talk about this but we need to understand where biblical ethics come from. And this is just teaching us from story. This horrific event that happens it's important for us to read. Okay, here we go. Genesis chapter 38. It came to pass that at that time that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain a doula might whose name was Hera. And Judah saw their a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was sure, and he married her and went into her. So she conceived and bore a son and he called his name or she conceived again and bore a son and she called his name Onan. And she conceived yet again and Boris son, and called his name Silla. He was at Jabez chiasm when she bore him Alright, so let's just recap that right so Judah meets a lady and he has three boys with her with her. So the first is named or the second is named Onan. And the third is, is named Sheila says three boys with this Canaanite woman. All right, verse six, then Judah took a wife for her his firstborn, and her name was Taymor, but urged Judas firstborn was wicked in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord killed him. And Judah said to Onan go into your brother's wife and marry her and raise up an heir to your brother, but only knew that the air would not be his. And it came to pass, when he went into 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. Okay, so we need to understand here what's just happened, right God has or Judah has has his firstborn or, or is a wicked man. And so the Lord knew the Lord kills him, right so it says the Lord destroys him right? He's gone. So Judah knows that he's died childless. And so the culture the customer the day and we're gonna see this and when we get into the laws of the Old Testament to is what's called live right marriage that your brother would go and marry and bring his his brother's widow into his home, and he would sigh her children, for those for that widow. So she would be cared for in her old age that she would be protected for and that the line would continue on. It's almost like this honorary line. I know it sounds a little bit odd but this is the custom of the day. So Judah tells own and to go and do the loving and righteous thing. Go take your brother's widow as your wife have a son with her so she can have a name that will go on. But see, this is almost like this step child or a half child type thing. It's not really going to be His child because it's always going to be well, this is really Earth son, not his, but that doesn't stop Onan from using Tamar. He does the deed. He goes into her he knows her as a husband would know his wife, and yet he twists what's supposed to happen instead of giving her a child, he stops at that moment, withdraws himself from his suppose wife out of spite. So he has used her and he has done scornfully towards his brother. This pleases the Lord, how he treats this woman and what he has done. This pleases the Lord and so the Lord kills Odin also. So now Judah, er is dead own in his dead he's only got one more son. So let's go ahead and keep on reading. Then Judas Tamar, his daughter in law remain a widow in your father's house, to my son Shala is grown. For he said, let's eat die also, like his brothers. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. This poor girl, her first husband is dead. He he's gone, the Lord struck him dead. She has been used by Onan and the Lord kills him and he's dead. And instead of Judah saying, come into my home, Judas sends her to her father's house, instead of Judah, owning it and taking and so you know what? I got to take care of this girl. We brought her into the family. My sons, my son own and has done a wicked thing to her. And we got to care for her and protect her and said he pushes her on the fringes of society, everyone in the community would have looked at her and gone, damaged goods. She's horrible, like her father in law didn't even want to care for her anymore. And Judas just concerned about his last son Shelah is like man I don't want my last son to die. This girl must be a curse or something right? She Something must be wrong with her. Now in the process of time, verse 12. Now in the process of time, the daughter of shuaa Judas wife died, and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shears at Timnah. He and his friend Hira the doula might, and it was told to our saying, Look, your father in law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. So she took off her widows garment, 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 Sheila was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was harlot because she had covered her face. Then he turned to her by the way and said, Please let me come into 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 into me? And he said, I will send you a young goat from the flock. So she said, Will you give me a pledge till you send it? Then he said, What pledges I'll give you. So she said, Your Signet and your corn and your staff in your hand. Then he gave them to her and went into 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 Judas sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the A doula. might receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. Then he asked the men of that place, saying, where's the harlot, who is openly by the roadside? And they said, there is no harlot in this place. So he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her. Alas, the men of the place, said there is no harlot in this place. Then Judas said, let her take them for herself lest we be shamed for I sent this young goat and you have not found her. So what just happened here? Right, we need to talk about this what's going on here? Well, years have passed now. shitless old Tamar still marginalize put to the side not cared for. She's just at her father's house. She's this shameful for her. And she's a she's a younger woman, still of childbearing age and she has been put on the sidelines, used and abused, neglected. This is how she's being treated as horrible. And these are by covenant people. These are supposed to be the people of God. So she sees her father in law coming he's he's recently recently widowed. He goes out with his friend to almost like console him comfort him and he does. It's almost like, what what happened today if somebody had a wicked ideally, hey, you know what, let's come for you. Let's go. Let's go party the town let's go to Vegas, right you don't talk about what happened in Vegas. And so let's just go have a good time. You know, you'll be comforted. Judy goes along with this plan and Tamar de Marte sees and she knows she was old. She sought widow he hasn't upheld his word. She sees due to coming and she conceives a plot, right? She dresses like a harlot. She dresses like a prostitute dresses like somebody who sells her own body for money. If she if he's not going to give me one of his sons, to sire a child, than he's gonna give me one himself. That's what's going through her mind. She's tired of playing this game. She's tired of being marginalized. She's tired of being abused, and I'm not justifying her actions. You're either we need to be careful about that. Right blame is on both sides here. She does something that is you kind of shake your head out like what? And yet you can see and almost have sympathy for her in her place of marginalization. of victimhood. And she is a victim here. And then she takes it into her own hands, how she takes it into her own hands I'm not agreeing with and what Judah does cannot be excused either. What does he do? He goes and has sex with who he thinks is a prostitute. And she's a shrewd woman, you know, she said, All right. What are you gonna pay me? says I'll give you a goat. That's pretty good payment at that time. It says, Well, how do I know you're gonna send me goat? He says, Well, I'll give you surety What are you gonna give me well, I'll give you my staff. I'll give you my signet ring, right? He's gonna give her the marks of his authority and if his trade you can't Shepherd without and he's got sheep shears, but he can't yet Shepherd without a staff. And he's got a signet, right his authority to it's almost like a signature saying, whatever this is true, like this is a true mark of my identity. So he does the dastardly deed he enjoys his his own daughter in law, who thinks is a harlot? And later on, he was just going to pay up the bill. So he sends a servant He sends His servant with a goat and go to the town right pay the girl pays the hush money. Go get go pay the girl. Get my stuff back. Because this ain't no harlot here. What are you talking about? We don't we don't have prostitution in this place. Judas like, man, we gotta keep this under wraps. Because this is embarrassing. Well, that's where we pick up in verse 24. And it came to pass about three months after that Judah was told sank Tamar, your daughter in law has played the harlot. Furthermore, she is with child and by harlotry. So Judah said, bring her out. And let her be burned. Notice the hypocrisy in sexual ethics. Judah was wrong for paying for harlot. Taymor was wrong for playing the harlot. But Judah doesn't know it's Tamar, who he slept with, but it doesn't matter to him. He's willing to tell other people let her burn. Even though what we're going to find is in the Old Testament law, it's both Do you see the hypocrisy? Do you see the sin? But we know what's really going on here when she was brought out she sent to her father in law, verse 25, saying, by the man whom these belong I am with child and she said, please determine who these are the Signet and the chord and staff. So Judah acknowledged them and said, and notice your verse 26 She has been more righteous than I because I did not give her to Silla my son and he never knew her again. But Judah owns it here. This is, this is the only redeeming part of this passage. Judah recognizes he was the one who was wrong. He was the one who marginalized his daughter in law. He was the one who pushed her away. He was the one who slept with her. He was the one who did these things. He says she's more righteous than I am. I'm the one who did this wrong. It's my fault and he actually repents, too. He never knows her again. He understands what he's done is wrong. Culturally, ethically, everything wrong, and he owns it. Now it came to pass at the time for giving birth that behold twins were in her womb. Verse 28. So it was when she was giving birth that the one who 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 is upon be upon you. Therefore, his name was called Perez. Afterward, his brother came out and had a scarlet thread on his hand, and his name, his name was called Zerah. So she, they named Perez, breakthrough, right? breach, right? He's the one that's coming and coming out with his hand and he's in so she has twins as a whole point there, right. She's got babies in her and her belly. She's got two of them from Judah. And it's going to be from Perez that the line of David would find its way it's going through be through this horrible story right? Why would God let I know we're getting long hair, but why would God let this type of story be in the Bible? If we don't understand the role of the covenant? This is just a messed up story. Right there's but there's why why why have this but this is the point I'm trying to make again and again as we go through the book of Genesis. God has promised that He is going to send a seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent, and the serpent will bruise his heel. And that seed is that this is the first promise of the gospel theologians call that the Protoevangelium. It's in his going and developing all throughout the Old Testament. This is why you have the genealogies time and time again this white Matthew starts with the genealogy and Perez His name is there. Why? Because it's through this despicable story. See, even in this despicable story of this woman being abused and marginalized and have heard her craftiness and Judas hypocrisy, that God is still at work. God is still working to bring about the fulfillment of His promise he's going to bring about David, and he's going to bring about a promise to David that he would send his son to sit on his throne forever, and that King is Jesus Christ. And it is Jesus Christ. Who will crush the head of the serpent that's that's where the heart of this is. Or that's the point of what all of this is. Now I'm going to just go ahead and say what the best verse that I have underlined here is I think it's verse 26. She has been more righteous than I because I did not give to her to Shayla my son, but you can tell me what she would want to underline in your Bible. Well Lassie calling what are we called to do? Well, we can be on surface level here and talk about sexual ethics and talk about we must not be those who are out for our own sexual pleasure and gratification at the expense of others. Right that a man has to be a husband of one wife that were to Flee from sexual immorality, right? Those things are right on the on the surface. We're also right on the surface level here is also to look into go, you know, there's a reality that we ought to tell the truth. Right to Bear false are the bare true testimony to our neighbors to preserve the truth between man and man? There's all these these kinds of things right there right on the surface, but I also want to encourage you on the other side, some of you live in families that are messed up. Right I'm just gonna say that some of you live in families that are messed up. There's there's there's just junk in your family's life. There's just stuff going on and you just shake your head like why is why is this going on? And why does God allow this stuff? Right because the Lord works through sinful people. The person who taught me a ton about the Bible, Anna and I weave through a whole bunch of this sorting out what's right and what's wrong. In my life is a man who is in prison for sexual abuse. My own stepfather is the one who took me to church every single week, and that man did despicable horrible sin and I ought to be able to call it that. But he also put the Book of Truth in my hands. And I ought to be able to look at him and say, you said you believe this book, and you lied, and you didn't live according to it? And then I ought to be able to look at my own life and see God please help me. To live according to this book, I'll never do it perfectly wash me from my sin, but please, Holy Spirit. Sanctify and stop this pattern. I know for many of you, that's the story. In your life. And he might be using circumstances situations that might be messed up in your life, allowing them to happen to you and in your family, for his good the story of the Bible is not a story. Like like Disney or something like that, where everything is just a pie in the sky. It works out great, you know? No, it's a story about real people with real sin, and it deals with it head on. And this is one of those stories. And God is working even through the sinful people and he's going to work even through your life because He's sovereign, and he's still in control. Thank God there's a reason to all this messed up stuff that happens. Let's pray. God, it's hard to think about stories like this today and we pray that you would comfort us we pray that you would sanctify us. We pray that you would teach us to put the deaths in more and more in our lives, and that we will live obedient to you. Thank you. For true and hard stories in Jesus's name, Amen. Oh, my Lord bless you. You walk in the light of Jesus Christ, may the Great Shepherd of your soul lead you in the path of holiness. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai