Genesis chapter 38. So two weeks
ago we started in chapter 37 with reference to Joseph. Joseph
of course was sold by his brothers into slavery. He ultimately ends
up in Egypt. There is a bit of a chapter here now not dealing
specifically with Joseph, but rather with Judah and Tamar.
So I'll begin reading in chapter 38 at verse 1. It came to pass
at that time that Judah departed from his brothers and visited
a certain Adulamite whose name was Hira. And Judas saw there
a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married
her and went into her. So she conceived and bore a son,
and he called his name Ur. 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 Ketzeb
when she bore him. Then Judah took a wife for Ur,
his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Ur, Judah's 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 Onan knew that the
heir would not be his, and it came to pass, when he went into
his brother's wife, that he omitted 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. 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. Now in the process of time, the
daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died. And Judah was comforted
and went up to his sheep shearers at Timnah, he and his friend
Hira the Adulamite. And it was told Tamar, saying,
Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.
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. When Judas saw her,
he thought she was a harlot because she had 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? 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 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 Judah sent the young goat
by the hand of his friend, the Adulamite, to receive his pledge
from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. Then he asked
the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot who is 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. 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. So Judah acknowledged
them and said, She has been more righteous than I, because I did
not give her to Sheolah my son, and he never knew her again.
Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, 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 had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was
called Zerah." Amen. Well, as I said, we've got the
Joseph narratives, but we have this bit of a diversion. here
in chapter 38, rehearsing Judah and Tamar. It has caused some
to say that this is misplaced, it was inserted later, it doesn't
really fit in the narrative. We're going to deal with that
in just a moment. But I want to look first at the family of
Judah in verses 1 to 11, and then secondly, his relations
with Tamar in verses 12 to 30. But in terms of the connection,
there are several pieces of connectivity that this passage bears to the
rest of the context. In the first place, there is
a literary connection. Now, of course, if you read from
chapter 37 to chapter 39, if you bypassed 38 altogether, the
narrative would make sense. Because you have Joseph go down
to Egypt at the end of chapter 37, and then that's repeated
in chapter 39 at verse 1. There is good reason to see the
connection between chapter 38 and the rest of the narrative.
In the first place, remember that according to chapter 37
at verse 2, this is the history of Jacob. It's not strictly the
history of Joseph, so we ought not to conclude that this is
out of place. Judah is a son of Jacob, and
certainly he is covered in this. As well, the amount of time covered
in chapter 38 indicates the time that Joseph is separated from
his brothers. Remember, Joseph is sold into
Egypt at the age of 17. He ultimately appears before
Pharaoh at the age of 30. So there's a 23-year period that
transpires, and that is enough time for the events that have
occurred in chapter 38 to take place. And then as well, in terms
of a literary connection, we see the continuing theme of deception
in Jacob's family. Wenham says, just as in the episode
of Joseph's tunic, an element of divine justice is apparent.
Jacob had deceived his father Isaac. He in turn was deceived
by his son Judah, and now Judah himself is deceived by his daughter-in-law. In all three episodes, goats
and items of dress are used in the deception." Again, these
are thematic connections within the text, literary connections,
so that it's not to be seen as haphazard or just sort of thrown
together. There's a lot of connection between
38 and what happens in the surrounding context. As well, there's practical
lessons involved. Notice what Judah says in verse
26. Judah acknowledges and says,
she has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her,
to Sheolah, my son. Well, this is a bit of foreshadowing
to what the brothers are going to say in chapter 42 at verse
21. Then they said to one another,
we are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish
of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear. Therefore,
this distress has come upon us. As well, chapter 38 helps explain
something concerning Judah's personal transformation. When
you move on in the Joseph narratives, it's Judah at the very end in
chapter 44 that appeals to Joseph. Remember, they don't know that
Joseph, this second in charge in Egypt, is Joseph. And so he
tries to barter for the life of his little brother Benjamin.
Judah offers himself to take the place of slave so that Benjamin
can go free. Well, that's a far cry different
than the Judah we meet in chapter 37. Remember, it's that Judah
who says, why kill him? Let's sell him into slavery.
He's a bit of a calloused individual. When his sons die in chapter
38, there's no reference whatsoever to any mourning on his part.
We see Jacob mourn over the thought that Joseph had died, but you
don't see that in Judah. Well, throughout this particular
chapter, Judah is ultimately humbled and brought to acknowledge
the fact that this Tamar acted more righteously than he himself
did. So if we didn't have chapter
38, the change of heart or the change of mindset in Judah in
chapter 44, it would be a bit surprising. And then ultimately,
the seed consideration is what is preeminent in this particular
chapter. Judah reneges on his promise
to give Tamar his son Shelah. So Tamar takes it into her own
hand to make sure that she gets seed, and ultimately that seed
is part of the line of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's the larger
sort of theological concern that Genesis 38 sets forth. Now, as
we look at the family of Judah, we notice first of all that he
marries a Canaanite. Notice in verse 2, Judah saw
there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua,
and he married her and went into her. Her name is not Shua. Her
father's name was Shua. Her name is never given to us,
but the fact is that she is a Canaanite. Now, this is contra Abraham's
desire for Isaac in chapter 24, verse 3. Remember, Abraham sent
his servant on that mission to find a wife that was not a Canaanite. And then as well, Isaac's desire
for Jacob was the same. He didn't want him to marry a
Canaanite. So we see Judah here, contrary
to Abraham and Isaac, go ahead and marry a Canaanite. Notice
that they have three sons together. Ur, according to verse 3, Onan,
according to verse 4, and then Shelah, according to verse 5.
Now in verses 6 to 11, we see this lady called Tamar. She is
chosen for Ur as a wife. Notice in verse 6, then Judah
took a wife for Ur, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Ur,
Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and
the Lord killed him. This is the first time in the
Bible, as I know, as far as I understand, that the Lord directly kills
someone. We know that ultimately anybody
who dies, it's at the hand of the Lord. But for the most part,
they die of disease, or they're eaten by lions, or they die of
old age. They aren't directly taken out
by God. And yet in this brief narrative,
two of the three sons of Judah are awakened. Now, it's not specified
what kind of sin he's guilty of, but remember, these young
men could probably be no more than 17 or 18 years old. I mean, that's a lot of wickedness
to amass in the space of 17 or 18 years. Whatever Ur was about,
it displeased the Lord. As we move through the context,
many have supposed that the crime of Ur was somewhat similar to
Onan's, and that there was, in fact, a sexual element involved,
and that is the reason why God took him out. But then notice,
at the death of Ur, now there is this fellow called Onan. Verse
8 tells us, And Judas said to Onan, Go into 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 into his brother's wife, that he omitted on the
ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. Now, this
is probably not the most popular passage in all of the scripture
that persons like to teach on or instruct on, but this is the
instruction given by Judah to Onan. And what is referred to
here, or what is being referred to here, is what will later be
identified as the Leveret Law. In Deuteronomy 25, verses 5 and
6, there is a prescription that this is the sort of thing that
is to obtain at the death of an individual in Israel. Alter
explains, Robert Alter says, the legal obligation of yibum
which was a widespread practice in the ancient Near East. So
it wasn't simply consolidated or confined, rather, to Israel,
but Assyrians and Hittites practiced this as well, so it was already
extant prior to the giving of Deuteronomy 25. He says, it was
incurred when a man died, leaving his wife childless. His closest
brother, in order of birth, was obliged to become his proxy,
raising up seed for him by impregnating his widow. The dead brother would
thus be provided a kind of biological continuity, and the widow would
be able to produce progeny, which was a woman's chief avenue of
fulfillment in this culture. We can turn to Deuteronomy 25,
5 and 6, just to see how this is set forth in the law of God. Deuteronomy 25, verse 5. If brothers dwell together and
one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall
not be married to a stranger outside the family. Her husband's
brother shall go into her, take her as his wife, and perform
the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be that
the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his
dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
So that's the prescription that is given here to Onan. Now, again,
this is not the most savory sort of a topic to deal with on a
Wednesday night. But you should know that onanism, that's a particular
word that refers to this passage, some have taken it that the sin
of Onan is that he masturbated. Again, I would really not like
to talk about these things, but you should know what's happening
in the text. That's not what's in view here. It's more likely
what's called coitus interruptus. It's a practice of contraception
so that she will not get pregnant. He is having relations with his
wife, so it's not masturbation. What he is engaged in is trying
to prohibit her from becoming pregnant. Now, the text makes
that very conspicuous. Notice in verse 8. Again, the
reason why we deal with this is because Onanism is not masturbation,
at least according to this passage. Now, I believe the Bible condemns
that particular practice, it condemns that sin, but that's
not Onan's problem at this particular point. So verse 8, Judas said
to Onan, go into your brother's wife and marry her, now notice,
and raise up an heir to your brother. Verse 9, but Onan knew
that the heir would not be his. That's the driving force behind
Onan at this particular point. The idea is that he is going
to emit on the ground, the NIV and the ESV explain this even
more fully, that he spills his semen onto the ground lest she
become pregnant and thus that particular child not be his heir. That's the driving force behind
Onan at this particular juncture. He emitted on the ground, lest
he should give an heir to his brother. So that's the specific
issue concerning Onan in this particular passage. So if you
happen to Google Onanism, you will see that it either refers
to masturbation or coitus interruptus. I believe that coitus interruptus
is what he is practicing in this particular place, lest he should
give an heir to his brother. Now according to verse 10, what
he did was displeasing to the Lord as well, and so God killed
him. Now if your Judah and two out
of three of your children have been struck down by God dead,
you might want to reflect upon your parenting skills. This might
have been a good time for him to reflect upon the way that
he had brought up these young men, because obviously they were
vile young men, obviously they were men that that incensed a
holy God, and so God took them out. Now at the death of Onan,
notice what Judah then does with reference to Tamar in 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. Now, is he implying there that
it was Tamar's fault that Ur and Onan got struck dead? It sort of seems like that. It
doesn't seem like he's accepted responsibility. He wants to shield
his precious Shayla at this particular point, lest he also die like
his brothers. Well, it wasn't Tamar, according
to the text, it was Ur and then it was Onan. It wasn't Tamar's
fault or it wasn't because of her that God struck them down,
it was because of them. Now, in terms of this particular
promise, it is an empty promise. Tamar discovers this according
to verse 14 and Judah will ultimately admit this according to verse
26. He is just blowing smoke. He is not going to give Shayla
to Tamar. He's not going to give Tamar
to Shayla. But nevertheless, she is his
daughter-in-law. He bids her to remain a widow
in your father's house till my son Shayla is grown. For he said,
lest he also die like his brothers. And Tamar went and dwelt in her
father's house. Now that brings us secondly to
the relations with Tamar. And here we see the plan of Tamar. Now, again, what she does here
is wrong. When he says in verse 26, she
has been more righteous than I. Yeah, she has. And that wasn't
a very, very difficult thing to try and surpass because his
unrighteousness is palpable. But what she did is wrong. Obviously,
she deceived and ultimately entrapped him. However, this was provoked
by this empty promise that this man made. And we see under the
providence of God that he takes crooked things and he makes straight
things out of them. Like we had back in Genesis chapter
19, that situation where Lot's daughters got him drunk so that
he would lay with them. Well, ultimately, that furthered
the messianic promise. because we see from that union
the Moabites were born. Well, there's a Moabitess in
the genealogy of the Messiah, and so it was actually crucial
that there be a Moabite people. Well, here the same thing obtains.
Perez is in the genealogy of King David of Israel, and he
is mentioned along with Tamar, his mother, in Matthew 1 at verse
3. And so while this is an unsavory
chapter, and while we may disagree with the way they went about
it, nevertheless, under the hand of God, He directed it for His
glory, and ultimately for the salvation of all of His people. Now notice according to verse
12, Judah's wife dies. Verse 12 says, 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 Herah the Adulamite. Now that sets the stage for what
follows. This explains why he has this
longing for sexual congress. This is why he ultimately goes
into this young woman, Tamar. So this sets the stage. Now notice
her particular plan. Well, back up for just a moment
with reference to this sheep shearing at Timna. This was a
time of celebration. There'd be great feasting. There'd
be lots of wine. There'd be a party. There'd be
all that sort of a thing. And so now she gets wind of this
according to verse 13. It was told Tamar saying, look,
your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. 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. Now note the reason
for she saw that Sheila was grown and she was not given to him
as a wife. So there is a particular plan
on her part to lie with Judah so that she can get seed from
Judah. This was the original plan when
she married Ur, and then when Onan was supposed to come into
her, and then ultimately she was promised or pledged Shalah
as the man that would give her seed. Now he, Judah, reneged
on this, so she takes matters into her own hand. Now, notice
that she disguises herself. She probably disguised her voice
as well so that when he gets close to her, it's not compromised. The text is very conspicuous
to ensure that we the reader knows that Judah did not know
that it was Taimon. Judah did not know. So while
it was an incestuous relationship, and punishable ultimately by
the death penalty, according to Leviticus 20, verse 12, he
didn't know. And then later on, after verse
26, when he finds out that it was her, he never had relations
with her again. So the narrator is very specific
to ensure that we the reader understand that at least from
Judah's vantage point, not that it was okay to go into a prostitute,
not that it was okay to pick up a harlot that was, you know,
sitting at the open road, but the thought that he would go
into his own daughter-in-law is reprehensible, and that is
protected here in the narration, and we have no reason to suspect
that Judah did know whatsoever that she was in fact Tamar. But
then notice the particular proposition according to verse 16. Well,
verse 15 tells us, when Judah saw her, he thought she was a
harlot because she had covered her face. Now, verse 16, then
he turned to her by the way and said, please let me come into
you. That is as abrupt in Hebrew and possibly more so as it is
here in English. Please let me come into you.
There's no hello, there's no discussion, there's no nothing
like that whatsoever. He simply lays it all on the
line. Please let me come into you.
And then again, specifically, for he did not know that she
was his daughter-in-law. Now, he had told Tamar to remain
in her father's house and thus deny her sexuality. Here she is, a woman of age that
wants to have children, and that is a great blessing in that culture
and in ours, and yet effectively he has denied her that. As well,
when we move into the next chapter, Joseph displays great integrity
when it comes to sexual fidelity. Remember, Potiphar's wife has
a desire for Joseph, and she longs for him day by day, and
yet Joseph continually rebuffs those overtures on her part. Not so with Judah. In fact, Robert
Alter said Judah's sexual importunacy becomes a background of contrast
for Joseph's sexual restraint in the next chapter. So he says,
verse 16, please let me come into you. Now notice what she
says. Her shrewdness is obvious as
we move through the passage. She said, what will you give
me that you may come into me? Again, this is a sexual proposition. Verse 17, 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. Now, this is very
important that we understand what she is doing here. Again,
Alter says, Tamar is not only bold and enterprising in getting
for herself the justice Judah has denied her, but also very
shrewd. She realized it is crucial for
her to retain evidence of the paternity of the child she may
conceive. Now, it all plays out precisely
how she had designed, and again, under the providence of God.
Now with reference to the pledge, the signet, the cord, and the
staff, again I'll quote Robert Alter. He has a good sort of
appreciation for the culture, very well read amongst the Jewish
authors of Jewish commentaries. He says the seal or the signet
was a cylinder seal attached to a cord and usually worn around
the neck. Rolled over documents incised
in clay, it would be the means of affixing a kind of self-notarized
signature. It is less clear that the staff
had a legal function, though of course in political context
it is a symbol of authority. Tamar's stipulated pledge, then,
is an extravagant one. Taking the instruments of Judah's
legal identity and social standing is something like taking a person's
driver's license and credit cards in modern society. So she is
covering herself, and she is covering herself very well when
she asks for this pledge concerning this proposition. Now, according
to verse 18, 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 now we see the response, or rather the payment by Judah
in verses 20 and 21. He sends the goat to her, but
he doesn't deliver it. It's his friend the Adulamite
who delivers the goat. Now, I'm going to say something
here that is possibly going to shock your sensitivities, but
as far as I can tell, and this has been confirmed in some research
I've done in terms of authors that speak concerning these things,
prostitution, while sinful, there was never a civil penalty attached
to it in Old Covenant Israel. In other words, the police didn't
arrest you for being a prostitute. Remember the classic case that
exemplifies Solomon's wisdom. It's two prostitutes that come
before Solomon. Notice that Solomon doesn't say,
how in the world are there prostitutes in my kingdom? I can't believe
that such is the case. That's not what he does. He renders
justice for the prostitute who had the legal claim on the particular
child. So while it was a sinful act,
it was not criminally punished or there wasn't a civil penalty
imposed in Old Covenant Israel. Now again, it wasn't looked,
you know, highly upon or favorable upon. In fact, we see that with
reference to Judah. He himself doesn't go in terms
of the payment of the goat. He sends his buddy the Adulamite
to deliver the goat at this particular juncture. So back to verse 21.
He goes to deliver the goat and to receive his pledge from the
woman's hand, but he did not find her. Now, also we ought
to appreciate the inconsistency of Judah. Judah reneged on his
promise to his daughter-in-law, but Judah fulfills his promise
to a harlot. This does not look good for Judah
whatsoever. This is pretty pathetic on his
part. He makes this promise of Sheolah
for Tamar that he reneges on, but when he makes the promise
to a harlot that he'll pay her with a goat, he is really quick
to perform this. Wenham says, whereas he had reneged
on his solemn promise to give his son Sheolah to Tamar in marriage,
he is very anxious to pay the goat he had promised to a common
prostitute. Why? He wants his pledge back. He wants his driver's license
and his credit cards back. It's not going to look well on
the evening news when this woman has his credit card and license.
He's not a fool. He wants to pay the goat so he
can get his signet, his cord, and his staff back. Wenham says
this, and his concern here seems to have had no higher motive
than the return of his pledge. So what we have in this particular
narrative is very consistent with what we have in chapter
37. He is a calloused young man who offers, instead of killing
his brother, let's sell our brother and make a few shekels off of
his hide. He doesn't shed one tear when
Ur and Onan are killed by the Lord. Now maybe he does, and
the text is silent respecting that, but it is conspicuous when
Jacob laments over the death of Joseph. Here's a calloused
fellow, but in the midst of all of this, God is humbling him
and ultimately brings him to that place of acknowledgement
in verse 26. And as I said earlier, it explains
the change of heart that we find in chapter 44 when he says, take
me as a slave instead of my brother Benjamin. And in one sense, isn't
that what the book of Genesis is about? Abram becomes Abraham. Jacob becomes Israel. We see
this transformation occur on the part of God's people. They
don't start off perfect and excellent. They never become perfect and
excellent. But there is some transformation
that is evident under the powerful hand of God Almighty. It is a
dysfunctional family. Deception is a thematic key that
runs through Jacob's family. But the fact is, at least according
to verse 26, Judah himself is starting to appreciate or see
that he's been wrong up to this particular point. And so while
it may not be these outlandish growths in grace and these great
movements forward in terms of personal holiness, you see that
these characters are being transformed as they come into contact with
the true and living God, as they, by grace, are being sanctified
and conform more unto the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. So
the response, or rather the friend, the Adulamite friend comes back
and tells Judah, that the men at the place said, there was
no harlot in this place. Now notice in verse 22, he returned
to Judah and said, I cannot find her. Also the men of the place
said, there was no harlot in this place. Verse 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. Alter says, let
her keep the pledge and we will keep our mouths shut lest it
become known that I have given such valuable objects for a fleeting
pleasure. Can't find her? Let her keep
it. We'll keep our mouths shut and
hopefully no one will ever be the wiser as a result. Remember,
he doesn't know what we know. He doesn't know she's pregnant.
He doesn't know she's conceived. He certainly doesn't know that
she's Tamar, the one he had reneged on in terms of the promise of
Shelah his son. Now notice the vindication of
Tamar in verses 24 to 26. We see the report of her pregnancy
in verse 24. 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." Now notice, he demands punishment. Verse 24b,
so Judah said, bring her out and let her be burned. I mean,
that's a Pretty powerful statement in terms of, you know, no due
process. He sounds like, you know, Senator,
House Democrats that don't want to do what the law calls us to
do. I don't think this means he had
the prerogative to wield the sword, but certainly as a man
of prestige, a man of means, he was able to shape those around
him. Now, there were certain instances
where burning would have been the legitimate penalty, but this
was not one of them. She should have been, according
to the terms set forth there, she should have been stoned to
death because technically she was betrothed. I do air quotes
because it was a betrothal to Sheila based on a sham promise
given by Judah. But nevertheless, in terms of
law, she was betrothed to Sheila, and if in fact she had gotten
impregnated by somebody other than Judah, because he's going
to rectify this situation, she would have been culpable in terms
of a stoning death, but not with reference to burning. Now, note
what she does. We see her shrewdness come to
its pinnacle at 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. Have you
ever wanted to be in a particular scene in the Bible just to see
the reaction of the person? Imagine Judah's face at this
particular point. I doubt that he was thrilled.
I doubt that he was, wow, this is great. But the bottom line
is what she is in essence saying, if I'm to die, then you're to
die. Because according to Leviticus
20 and verse 12, If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both
of them shall surely be put to death." So the thou art the man
has come to Judah, and thankfully Judah owns it according to verse
26. He acknowledges her righteousness.
Now again, Her righteousness is comparative. It's not an absolute or utter
righteousness. She shouldn't have, you know,
disguised herself, played a harlot, and trapped him ultimately. Again, she was provoked onto
this, she was instigated by Judah, and he sees this, and he owns
it. And I think what we have in verse 26 is a legitimately
honest confession. He really has no recourse at
this point. She's got the pledge. She's got
the baby in her womb. Everything, I mean, he's done. It's over. The best response
is what he engages in here in verse 26. She has been more righteous
than I because I did not give her to Sheila, my son. And he never knew her again.
Again, that's very important for the narrator. It's very important
that that we understand that. As far as Judah was concerned,
he didn't engage in incest, not that it wasn't, but he didn't
know. And when he did find out that
this was Tamar, he never knew her again in a sexual manner. And then we have the birth of
the twins recorded for us. And it's an interesting birth,
similar to what we find with Jacob and Esau. It's not your
sort of garden variety birth. You've got the The Zerah put
his hand out, and she puts the little scarlet thread on, and
then he withdraws his hand, and then out comes Perez. And it
shows, again, God's favor toward the second, toward the younger,
and toward those who are typically the least significant in a family
unit. That's kind of a recurring theme
that goes throughout the book of Genesis as well. But with
reference to this actual birth, notice in verse 29, 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
Paris. Afterward, his brother came out.
who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called
Zerah. Turn over to the book of Ruth
for just a moment, just to see this reference, to see Perez
in the scheme of redemptive history. in Ruth 4 at verse 18. Now this is the genealogy of
Perez. Perez begot Hetzron, Hetzron
begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab. Amminadab begot Nashon, and Nashon
begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot
Obed. Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot
David. And then you can turn to Matthew
chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1, where both Perez and Tamar are
given in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 1.1,
the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot
Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot
Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez begot Hetzron and Hetzron
begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab. Amminadab
begot Nashon and Nashon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by
Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed
begot Jesse and Jesse begot David the king. So you see how important
Genesis chapter 38 is, theologically, to the entirety of the Bible.
It's important, obviously, in the history of Jacob, because
Judah is a son of Jacob. But in terms of the entirety
of Scripture, this is a most significant chapter. And I think
it underscores a few things by way of practical lesson. In the
first place, the reality that injustice will be righted. That's
a theme that recurs throughout scripture as well. You see it
ultimately in the Joseph narrative. Joseph is distinguished. Joseph's
dreams come true. He is preeminent. He is prominent
over the brothers. He is prominent over Israel as
a whole, over all of Egypt, save Pharaoh himself. And nevertheless,
he had received great injustice. The brothers ultimately confess
and understand that. as well with reference to this
woman Tamar. There was injustice done against
her. Again, I'm not suggesting that
injustice received legitimizes everything we then do in response,
but we do see the vindication of Tamar in this particular passage,
and it is a conspicuous theme that comes out. Secondly, in
terms of a practical lesson, the reformation of Judah's character.
That something as we move through these patriarchs, and we've seen
it, we've gone through these patriarchs and they raise our
eyebrows. I mean, the various things that
we find in these chapters of Genesis are perplexing and surprising
and certainly underscore the grace and the mercy and the kindness
of God. Because if it was up to Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and the sons of Jacob, if it was up to their
virtue, issue, or up to their merit, or up to their righteousness,
we would be dead in our trespasses and sins. But these men are simply
the vehicle through which the Messiah will come, that hero,
that one who is holy, harmless, and undefiled. So in terms of
practicality, the reality that injustice will be righted and
the reformation of Judah's character are two preeminent themes in
chapter 38. In terms of the theology, the
first is obviously the providence of God. The story is unsavory,
but God works in the midst of the unsavory to bring about glorious
and wonderful things. I mean, would you and I have
ever included Tamar in our genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ? Probably
not. If you and I were tasked to write
the genealogy of our Lord, we'd probably leave out some of the
more, what we perceive to be the unsavory characters or the
unsavory details of our Lord's earthly lineage. It shows the
beauty of the Savior. It shows that He participated,
He took on our humanity with all the essential properties
and the common infirmities thereof, yet without sin. Not only in
terms of the assumption of our humanity, but the assumption
of a family that was as dysfunctional as the Israelites were. This
underscores the reality of God's saving power and His grace, and
the providence of God is on display in the midst of Genesis chapter
38. If she had not done, humanly
speaking, what she had done, we would have had a rupture in
the line of the Messiah. If there was no Genesis chapter
38, there's no Matthew 1. If there's no Matthew 1, there's
no Matthew 121. For he will save his people from
their sins. Now God is sovereign, God orchestrates
all of these things, but he certainly uses the means. And one of the
means that he uses in the history of the Messiah's lineage is the
work of Tamar to get with her father-in-law so that she can
produce parrots. It really is an amazing display
of God's providence, as well in terms of the promised seed.
That's the preeminent lesson. As Wenham says, Tamar, through
her determination to have children, secured for Judah the honor of
fathering both David and the Savior of the world. I mean at
this particular point, verse 26, I mean he acknowledges this,
he sees what's happening. Hopefully later on he had time
to reflect on just what a good thing this was ultimately. Again,
not condoning sin, not condoning the way that we got here, but
the fact that we got here and the means employed by even this
woman to bring about the redemption of the world. And then I would
suggest, finally, we ought to appreciate the amazing grace
of God with reference to Judah in particular. Consider that
Judah failed as a son of the covenant. Remember, Abraham didn't
want Isaac to marry a Canaanite. Isaac didn't want Jacob to marry
a Canaanite. Arguably, Jacob didn't want his
sons to marry Canaanites, and that is precisely what Judah
does. He marries a Canaanite. Secondly,
Judah failed as a father. Again, two out of three are struck
dead immediately by the hand of God. There's a problem in
his parenting, at least at some point. So he fails as a father. But as well, Judah failed as
a father-in-law. He didn't protect her. He didn't
show kindness to her. He made an empty or vain promise
to her that she would be given to Sheolah, and he reneged on
that, and he ultimately disenfranchised her and promoted in her a particular
course that was in fact unsavory, but left her really with no other
option. But in virtue or in light of
that, Judah's name is on one of the gates of the wall in the
New Jerusalem according to Revelation 21, 12. It ain't there because
of his virtue, it ain't there because of his righteousness,
and it ain't there because of his merit. It's there because
ultimately he went into his daughter-in-law Tamar, and Tamar gave birth to
Perez, and Perez gave birth to David, and David ultimately gave
birth to Jesus Christ. So Judah is in the presence of
God Almighty based on the skull-crushing seed of the woman, based on the
one promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, furthered along
in Genesis 38 by the unsavory act of both Judah and Tamar. So it's not by his race, just
because he was a Jew or a descendant from Abraham. It was not by his
virtue, because as Genesis 38 shows us, he really had none.
But it's by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And
Genesis 38 is another chapter in scripture which evidences
to us that if there's salvation for the likes of a man like Judah,
then there's salvation for the likes of sinners today. and all
should come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us close in
a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your
word. We thank you for your power and for your sovereignty and
for your providence. And God, we praise you that you
take crooked things and make straight things out of them.
And in the history of redemption, in the history of our Lord, there
is such unsavory details, so many things like these, Job and
his daughters, and Judah and Tamar. And yet, Father, we see
in the midst of all of this, You working out Your purpose
and plan for the salvation of the world. We give praise to
You that You've included us. We give praise to You that Christ
Jesus is the one who saves His people from their sins. And we
pray that this gospel would be preached and more and more people
from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation would come to You
through Him. And we ask this through His most
blessed name. Amen.
