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Well, good morning, everyone. 
It's a blessing to be with you this Lord's Day. You can turn 
with me in your Bibles to Genesis 38. Genesis 38, we're gonna look 
at Judah and Tamar this morning. Genesis 38 we're going to look 
at the entire chapter, so we'll begin reading at verse 1 And 
it came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his 
brothers and visited a certain Adulamite, whose name was Hira. 
And Judah 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 Er. 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 Shela. 
He was at Kiseb 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 Shuah, Judah's wife, died. And Judah was comforted, 
and he went up to his sheep-shearers at Timnah, he and his friend 
Hira the Adulamite. And it was told to 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 Judah 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 
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 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 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 ashamed. 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. But 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 that at the time for giving birth, that behold, 
twins were in her womb. And so it was, when she was giving 
birth, that one put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet 
thread and bound it on his hand, saying, This one came out first. 
But 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
great God, we are thankful that we can come into your house this 
Lord's Day, and we're thankful that we come to sing your praises, 
and we're thankful, O God, we can come hear about you and your 
word, come hear about your amazing grace. And, O God, we are thankful 
that you are faithful. We're thankful, O God, that you 
are the covenant Lord who does what he says. We're thankful, 
O God, that even when there is wickedness, even when there's 
no concern for your covenant, we see your faithfulness to the 
promises of Abraham, the promises of Isaac, the promises of Jacob, 
We're thankful, O God, that we see this fulfilled in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who is 
the Root of Jesse, who is the One, according to this Lion, 
O God, that Messiah who has come. And we're thankful that He lived, 
died, and rose again on behalf of His people. And we're thankful, 
O God, that You came to save sinners like us. You came not 
to save the righteous, but sinners. And we're thankful, O God, many 
of us, we are all sinners and fallen short of the glory of 
God. Yet we're thankful for the gift of faith. We're thankful 
for the gift of repentance. We're thankful for the things 
that Christ has purchased for us. We're thankful for righteousness 
in your sight, justification. We're thankful, O God, for sanctification, 
how you cause us to die into sin day by day. But O God, in 
all that we do, we must be reminded of your grace, day in and day 
out, that you are a God who is slow to anger and abounding in 
steadfast love. So help us this day, O God, to 
be reminded of your kindness, be reminded of your goodness, 
be reminded of who you are, be reminded of your power. We're 
thankful, O God, that you do what you say you will do, For 
we are weak and feeble, and we do not do what we say we will 
do. So God, if there are any here today who need strengthening, 
we pray that you'd strengthen them. If there are any here today 
that need to be convicted, convict them. If there are any here today 
who do not know you, we pray that you would save them. Oh 
God, that they would confess their sins and come to life in 
Christ. And, O God, we know that this 
only happens by Your strength and by Your power. And we pray, 
O God, that You be with us now. Be pleased to bless the preaching 
as it goes forth. Give us illumination by Your 
Spirit. And we do pray in all things, O God, that You would 
be glorified. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen. 
Well, in this section of Genesis, the focus is on Jacob as the 
patriarch, yet it is primarily focused not on Jacob, it's primarily 
focused on his sons. And even in the section beginning 
at Genesis 37, we think it's primarily about Joseph. And yes, 
Joseph is a major player in the story, but it's not just about 
Joseph, it's about all 12 of the sons. Because you see throughout 
the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob, there are two 
key themes. The themes of seed, who will 
be the one to come, who will be the one to carry on the line, 
and the theme of land. And we've seen threats to both 
those things, or you would have seen, we've seen the Matsuri 
threats to those things in the book of Genesis. But that theme 
continues for us here in Genesis 37 and 38, specifically as we 
look at Judah. And the question is, who's next 
out of the 12 sons? Reuben the firstborn is shown 
he is not a leader. He tried to usurp Jacob by grabbing 
Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. That was a power play in that 
event, trying to assert himself as that firstborn. It did not 
go well. That means there's two options, 
Joseph and Judah. And as you know from Genesis 
37 at the end of the chapter, Joseph has been sold into slavery. That leaves Judah as the focus 
primarily. That's why we have 37 and 38 
together to discuss this issue of who the seed would come from. Now, in Genesis 37, it's important 
for us to see and be reminded of who Judah is and who Judah 
was. You see, Joseph had those dreams 
about his brothers bowing down before him. His brothers didn't 
like that very much. So what did the brothers do? 
They sold him into slavery. Well, first they wanted to kill 
him. Then they said, let's sell him into slavery. Guess who the 
ringleader was? Judah, he's our brother. We can't 
kill him. Let's send him into slavery instead. Judah was the one who connived 
those things. He was the one who made that 
plan, and he sent his brother into slavery. And thus, the page 
turns to focus on who would supposedly be the next leader in line, this 
one named Judah. Now we see a very clear problem 
in the text. Profaning the covenant promise. You see, one of the concerns 
of the patriarchs, at least primarily Abraham, was not intermingling 
Canaanites with Israelites. Judah doesn't have that concern. Instead, Judah puts the covenant 
promise in jeopardy with his marriage to a Canaanite, with 
his Canaanite boys, and with grabbing a Canaanite lady. He's 
unequally yoked. He should not have done that. 
And it's a big problem. The question will be, where will 
the seed come from? But thankfully, God intervenes, 
and thankfully, God supersedes. Because you see, in Genesis 38, 
the main idea is that God protects the seed against the wickedness 
of Judah. God's protection of His covenant, 
God's faithfulness to do what He said He would do to Abraham, 
supersedes Judah's wickedness and attempts to profane the covenant 
promise. So we'll look at this idea under 
three headings this morning. First of all, marriage with Canaanites, 
verses 1-11. Secondly, conduct like Canaanites, 
verses 12-23. And then thirdly, redemption 
through a Canaanite, in verses 24-30. So marriage with Canaanites, 
conduct like Canaanites, and redemption through a Canaanite. 
So let's first look at marriage with Canaanites in verses 1-11. 
Notice, we see the setting set for us, same time that Joseph 
was sold into slavery. And we see what Judah does. It 
came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers. 
He goes away from the promised land. He thought the Canaanite 
ladies were pretty. He goes to hang out with a certain 
friend who perhaps influenced him in a wrong way. He visited 
a certain Adulamite whose name was Hira. Now, we're not surprised, 
or we shouldn't be surprised, that Judah goes away from Canaan 
based on his actions in Genesis 38. But nonetheless, he still 
goes away from the land of Canaan, goes towards Canaanites more 
so, rather than his brothers, and hangs out with this one named 
Hira. And what does Judah do? He hangs 
out with Hira, hangs out with Hira's friends. He sees a lady, 
a Canaanite, a certain one in verse 2. And Judah saw there 
a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah, and he 
married her and went into her. And so she conceived and bore 
a son and called his name Ur. The language here is not that 
of a loving marriage. It's the idea of he saw, he took, 
and he went into. Language of lust, much like Esau. He saw the ladies of Canaan, 
he saw, he took, and he went into. Not very good leadership 
material, is he? Not one through whom the covenant 
should come from. One who is not concerned with 
the covenant line, the covenant seed. Rather, he wants to engage 
with adult or engage in relations with Canaanites, which is a major 
problem. Because again, as I said, what 
was the concern of the patriarch, specifically Abraham? When he 
wants to find a wife for Isaac, what does he say to his servant? 
He says, don't take a wife from Canaan. Go back to my land. Go back to my brother Haran. Specifically Laban is there as 
well. Go back to my land. Get a lady from there. What about 
Isaac and Rebecca? What's the plan to get away from 
Esau? Go to Laban. Get a wife there. 
Don't marry the Canaanites like Esau did. Because their daughters-in-law 
were big headaches. But Judah doesn't care about 
that. And you know what? Jacob didn't really care about 
that either. In Genesis 34, that incident with Dinah, you know 
what the biggest problem is? Yes, the rape was terrible. Yes, 
the brothers' vengeance is terrible. But you know what the most disgraceful 
thing is? Jacob's response. What does he 
say? He's not concerned with his daughter's 
rape. He's not concerned with his brother's 
anger. He's not concerned with the fact 
that the Shechemites wanted to intermingle together and to absorb 
them, which is what Abraham said they shouldn't do and which God 
does not want them to do. And it's a good application for 
the people of Israel because they did that all the time. What 
does he say? You have troubled me by making 
me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land. You made me look 
bad, sons. Among the Canaanites and the 
Perizzites, and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves 
together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my 
household and I. His concern was not so much with 
the covenant promise, but looking good so that he was not killed, 
and Judah learned a few things from his dad in Genesis 38. Like father, like son. He has three boys. Thurshua, 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 Kaseb when she bore him. So he's got three boys. Now at 
that time, it was the place of the father, it was the task of 
the father to find wives for their sons, much like Abraham 
does. And so what does Judah do? He goes and gets a Canaanite. 
Then Judah took a wife for her, 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. You 
see, he had wicked sons too. The Lord strikes down Ur, no 
indication as to what Ur did, but he's a Canaanite, it was 
probably something very grave, he did evil in the sight of the 
Lord, so the Lord strikes him down. Now what happens here? It leaves Tamar childless. There 
is no heir for her. And the theme of firstborn and 
heir comes up again for us in verses 6 through 10. And so what 
does Judas say? Judas says to the second son, 
Onan, in verse 8, go into your brother's wife and marry her 
and raise up an heir to your brother. You see, this is what's 
called the Leverite Law or the Leverite Marriage. A brother 
was obliged to marry the widow of his brother to raise up an 
heir for him. So his name would continue on. 
The law does forbade marriage between a brother and a brother's 
wife, except for this ground. You see this in Deuteronomy 25, 
and we'll look at this a little bit later. We'll see this in 
Ruth as well. So the second brother's task 
was to raise up a seed for her. Onan was supposed to do this. 
But Onan's a wretch too. You see, Onan's only concerned 
with himself. Onan is only concerned with his 
heir. And so, verse 9, very clear. Onan knew that the heir would 
not be his. And it came to pass that he went 
into his brother's wife, that he omitted on the ground, lest 
he should give an heir to his brother. He wants the inheritance 
all to himself. He doesn't want to give any to 
his brother who has died, and instead wants to keep it. We 
see his greed, we see his sin, same fate. The Lord, the thing 
displeased the Lord, therefore he killed him also. But notice 
Judah's response. Now, there's some contrast, I 
think, with Jacob in Genesis 37, when Joseph supposedly, or 
when Jacob thinks that Joseph has died, he mourns for his son. 
There isn't any indication of that with Judah here. But notice 
what he does. He says to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, 
Remain a widow in your father's house till my son, Shelah, is 
grown. Seems good, but... For he said, lest he also die 
like his brothers. He's blaming Tamar. He thinks 
Tamar is some sort of, you know, unlucky charm. He thinks Tamar 
is the reason that they're dying. And so what does he say? Get 
out of my house lest you kill Shayla. Get out of my house lest 
you kill my other son. Go back to your house. Go back 
to that place and go be with your father as a widow until 
Shayla grows up. But the key problem is lest he 
also die like his brothers. And Tamar, she obeys. She went 
and dwelt in her father's house. So that's marriage with Canaanites. Let's then look secondly at conduct 
like Canaanites, verses 12 through 23. Notice in verses 12 through 
14 we see Judah the Canaanite. Now what's interesting is verses 
1 through 11, that's 20 years have gone by. 20 years fly by 
just like that. It's really setting the stage 
for verse 12. And verses 12 to the end is only 
about a year that passes by. So the story slows down for us 
to see what's going on. And so what happens, verse 12. 
The process of time, the daughter of Sheua, Judah's wife, dies. 
Judah loses his wife. What does he do? So you go, he 
was comforted. He goes up to his sheepshears 
at Timnah. He and his friend, Hira, the 
Edulamite. Now, Hira has not been a good 
influence, and he's probably still not a good influence, and 
the language of sheep shears there was actually a festival. 
It's not like they just all went and, you know, they do all shear 
sheep at that time, but it was meant to be a big party. You 
actually see this in 2 Samuel 13, when Absalom tries to kill 
his brother Amnon. What does he do? It's the sheep 
shear festival to get Amnon a little merry so that he can take him 
out. Well, same here. There's going to be a lot of 
wine, a lot of partying going on, and he wants to go to that 
place with his higher of the Edulamite to be comforted. And so he goes. He goes to Timnah. He goes with his friend. He goes 
to this party and notice verse 13. Tamar knows. She sees it 
was told Tamar saying, look, Your father-in-law is going up 
to Timnah to shear his sheep. And then notice verse 14. She 
took off her widow's garments. Why is that important? You see, 
Tamar does what she's supposed to do. Tamar all this time has 
obeyed. She went to her father's house 
and remained a widow. She'd go find another husband. 
She'd go find another mate. She remained a widow during that 
time. And so what she does, it's important 
for us to see that she does what is right throughout this entire 
section. And you're probably going to be like, Mike, that's 
a little scary, but we'll deal with that as we get to the unsavory 
bits in just a moment. But she took off her widow's 
garments, she's done what she's supposed to remain there, but 
she covers herself with a veil, wraps herself, and sat in an 
open place that was on the way to Timnah. Why? For she saw that 
Sheila was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. Judah doesn't care once again 
about the covenant seed. Judah doesn't care again about 
passing the line along. Sheila is grown. She's supposed 
to give Tamar to him. He doesn't do that. Meanwhile, 
all this time, Tamar has done what she's supposed to be doing. He's evidenced this his lack 
of concern by not by even marrying a Canaanite We'll even see it 
here with his lack of concern for Tamar during her barrenness 
You see throughout the patriarchs. What's a key theme barrenness? 
Not by choice for some but for Tamar it is not by her choice 
but by the the negligence of Judah not to provide a seed for 
her and so This sets the stage for the unsavory part that we 
sometimes, our tummies get, you know, kind of grumbly. We kind 
of get a little nervous when we read it, but it's there. It's 
in the Bible. We must read it. And so Judah, 
verse 15, when Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot because 
she'd covered her face. There were other guard for prostitutes 
at that time. One key distinguisher was the 
veil, but she doesn't say that she, I mean, she's doing it on 
purpose as to look like a harlot. And he thinks she's a harlot. 
She covers her face. He comes to her. He speaks with 
her. This is where it slows down even 
more. Then he turned to her by the wayside and said, please 
let me come into you. For he did not know that she 
was his daughter-in-law." This is where, like, Judah, do you 
know what you're doing right now? Do you know what's about 
to happen? Do you know who that is? You 
see, this is incest, even though it's his daughter-in-law. Even 
our confession in, you know, London Baptist Confession 25 
on marriage speaks against what's called consanguinity. That just 
means by blood. You can't marry someone who you're 
related to by blood. But then it says affinity. Affinity 
means by law. That means you can't marry someone 
whom you're related to by law. And so he's engaging in incest 
here and he doesn't know it yet. I mean, she knows it, but he 
doesn't know it just yet. But there's something important 
the way she does it, yet it's still unsavory. We'll get there 
in just a minute, but he has no idea what's about to happen. So they give the verbal exchange. 
So she said, what will you give me that you may come into me? 
That is, what's the payment gonna be? What will you grant me? And he said, I will send you 
a young goat from the flock. Okay, seems like a good payment, 
but he doesn't have it with him, and so she says, will you give 
me a pledge till you send it? Will you give me a down payment 
to make sure I receive it? And he says, he asks, probably 
shouldn't have done that either. What pledge shall I give you? And she said, your signet and 
cord and your staff that is in your hand. That is the things 
that clearly identify who you are. Your signature signed in 
pen. So you can't, I guess you could 
white it out, but you can't erase it. It's there. His initials 
carved on his staff, his signatory, his special seal, the sign of 
authority, all those things that show that you are you. Give those 
things to me as that pledge. And Judah must have been struggling 
real bad. He does it. Then he gave them 
to her, went into her, and she conceived by him. Verse 19. She arose and went away and laid 
aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood, of 
her sadness, of her difficulty, and puts them back on. Now Judah probably has some shame 
because he tries to cover it up, verses 20 through 23. And so look, verse 20, Judah 
sent the young goat by Hira again. He's back, the Edulamite, to 
receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. You know what the irony is? Judah is willing to fulfill his 
obligation to a harlot? but he won't fulfill his obligation 
to his daughter-in-law. He wants to make sure the harlot 
is paid for, the harlot is provided for, but his daughter-in-law 
he forgets. You see, Judah throughout this 
narrative does not look like a leader, does not look like 
a godly man. Not even he doesn't look like 
a godly man, he's not a godly man. He's not someone you would 
think the line would come from. Abraham had his problems, but 
yeah, Abraham trusted. Isaac had his issues, but he 
had some good things there too. Jacob, yeah, there were difficulties 
with Jacob there too. He deceived his blind dad and 
did some terrible things against his brother. You don't do certain 
things like that, but there's some good things there. Judah, 
there's no redeeming quality with Judah at this point. There's 
nothing good about Judah at this point. There's nothing, you know, 
savory about Judah at this point. And so, she goes, or he goes, 
the Adulamite goes, his friend, to 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. 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. Man, that would make someone 
go white. Then verse 23, Judah said, let her take them for herself, 
lest we be shamed. For I sent this young goat and 
you have not found her. Stop looking. lest our shame 
be exposed. Stop looking, lest what I did 
be uncovered. Stop looking, lest I be found 
out. His signet ring, his cord, his 
staff is much like losing your credit card at a brothel. That's 
a key identifier of who he is, and he loses those things with 
this harlot or with this Tamar, and he says, let's cover it up. 
Let's not keep looking. Let's keep things quiet. Judah is very much acting like 
a Canaanite at this point. So that's the second point. Let's 
then look thirdly and finally at redemption through Canaanites, 
verses 24 through 30. Time passes. Three months. She can't hide the pregnancy 
anymore. Little bumps begin to show. And it's found out, verse 
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. That also 
brings a testament to the fact that she stayed in her father's 
house, stayed in her father's area, was engaged as that widow. But here we see she's found out 
as one of the pregnant. And the only way that could be 
is if she is with or be through harlotry. And so, it's found 
out. And what does Judas say? Notice 
his response here. Bring her out and let her be 
burned. Now he's concerned with righteousness. Now he's concerned with keeping 
the law. Now he's concerned with doing 
what is right. And so he does bring her out. 
Let's burn her even under the mosaic law Adultery was punishable 
by death and burning is one of the ways in which they did that 
and so he says let's bring her out and let's burn her And this 
is one of those places in scripture. I'd love to be a fly on the wall 
when it happens You see, it's almost like what happened, or 
it is like what happened with Nathan and David, after David 
did that wretched thing by killing Uriah the Hittite, and Nathan 
comes to find David, and he tells the parable about the rich man 
with a big herd, the poor man with only one little sheep, and 
the rich man takes the poor sheep, and then David gets fired up, 
and then Nathan says, you are the man. Well, that's a similar 
situation here. 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 
who these are, the signet and cord and staff. She rebukes him. She exposes 
him, not just for his harlotry, but also for his lack of concern 
with the covenant seed. And notice Judah's response in 
verse 26. So Judah acknowledged them and 
said, she has been more righteous than I because I did not give 
her to Sheila my son. This section is so difficult 
for us, isn't it? The incest that goes on. And 
what I'm about to say in no way condones incest. You shouldn't 
engage, you know, have relations with your brother, sister, someone 
you're related to by blood or by law. But What she does here 
is an act of faith, brethren. As we consider the theme of seed, 
as we consider the carrying on of the covenant promise, she 
has more concern for it than Judah does. And you see this 
in the fact that Judah doesn't do what he's supposed to do, 
and rather she takes matters into her own hands. As Wolke 
says, Normally, Canaanite women absorb Israelite men into their 
debased culture. You see this throughout the Old 
Testament. You see this perhaps even in 
life as well. You can't conversion date. That 
just never works. You can't say, I love that person, 
but they're not believers. No, that never happens. Usually you're dragged down. 
That's typically what happens. Not with Tamar. Tamar acts more 
like an Israelite than Judah ever does. Waltke continues on. In that light, her deception 
as a Canaanite prostitute to snare her widowed father-in-law 
into fathering covenant seed should be evaluated as a daring 
act of faith. Her faithful deception wins her 
a place in the Messianic lineage along with the faithful treachery 
of Rahab. She does what is right. Again, 
that's difficult for us, but throughout the series, throughout 
what happens here, she never marries. She remains loyal to 
Judah, and she's concerned with the covenant seed, takes matters 
into her own hands when Judah doesn't. You see, it's difficult 
for us, but Judah commends her. And later on in redemptive history, 
she is also commended as well. Yes, in Matthew, but in Ruth. 
In Ruth, we see another Leverite marriage happen. Another Leverite 
plan happen. That is, actually, Ruth raises 
up a seed for Naomi. But we see, with respect to Boaz 
redeeming Ruth, in verse 11 of Ruth 4, And all the people who 
were at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. The Lord 
make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and 
Leah, the two who built the house of Israel. And may you prosper 
in Ephrathath and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be 
like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because 
of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young 
woman. Her act is commended in Scripture. Her act of faith is commended 
in Scripture as a way to keep the covenant line going forward. Judah, she is more righteous 
than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son. He confesses his sin, he realizes 
his wrongdoing, and he makes amends. He never went into her 
again. And even though it's not in the 
text, I do think that there is forgiveness for Judah here. Walk 
ye again. As when the formerly self-righteous 
David is confronted with the sin of fathering an illegitimate 
child and owns up to it, So also Judah's true character emerges 
with his confession. We may assume that just as the 
Lord forgives the repentant David, he also forgives Judah. We'll see this throughout, but 
we'll see a transformation in Judah later. The one who connived, 
the one who sold his brother into slavery, the one who engaged 
in marriage with Canaanites, the one who engaged in prostitution, 
the one who had no concern for the covenant seed, the one who 
had so much concern for himself, changes, doesn't he? In Genesis 
43, he becomes the spokesman for his brothers. In Genesis 
44, he assumes leadership. In Genesis 46, he spearheads 
migration. And throughout that section, 
he says, take me instead to be the one instead of Benjamin. 
Take me instead. This is so different from Reuben. 
Reuben tries hard, but he fails miserably. In one of the sections 
with respect to Benjamin and Jacob not wanting to send Benjamin 
to Joseph, Reuben says, kill my two sons. What does that do? Kill my grandsons? How is that 
going to help anything? He doesn't offer himself, but 
Judah does. Judah emerges as the champion. Judah emerges as the faithful 
one. Judah emerges as the one through 
whom the promised line would come, especially with Joseph 
in Egypt. Now, what's interesting is Judah 
and Joseph both received blessing. 1 Chronicles 5, speaking about 
Reuben's line, it shows that the line, the seed, comes from 
Judah, the blessing is given to Joseph. So they both win in 
the end, but the primary Messianic lineage will come through Judah. And you see this in Genesis 49 
with the promise to Judah. Verse 8 of Genesis 49, Judah, 
you are he whom your brothers shall praise. Your hands shall 
be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's children shall 
bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp. From 
the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down. He lies down 
as a lion. And as a lion, who shall rouse 
him? The scepter shall not depart 
from Judah. nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience 
of the people, binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey's 
colt to the choice vine. And he washed his garments in 
wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are 
darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. But that royal 
scepter shall not depart. The royal offspring of kingship 
shall come to him. It was promised to Abraham in 
Genesis 17, The kingship was promised to Jacob in Genesis 
35, and Judah receives the promise of the king in the line as well. And so, we see in verses 27 through 
30, the promise fulfilled and God's grace magnified. Verse 
27, 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 wand 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 that 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. His name was called 
Zerah. This is where we see the grace 
of God towards Judah. Judah doesn't deserve anything, 
does he? Especially with his conduct. 
But he confesses his sin. And what does God do? Notice, 
Tamar is barren. She now has children. Perez and 
Zerah. God gives her the seed that she 
should have had a long time ago, that the brothers should have 
engaged in, but now he provides it for her. And then notice the 
grace given to Judah. Two sons killed, two sons born. God restores it. God brings back, 
or not brings them back from the dead, but restores the line 
through the one of Perez, through Zerah. And it is through Perez, 
the younger, and Zerah, the older, that God would bring forth the 
seed, bring forth the lineage, bring forth the covenant one, 
bring forth the Davidic son who would come from Him. You see, the whole point of Genesis 
38 is God's grace. Yeah, we could talk about how 
we shouldn't be unequally yoked. Yeah, we could talk about how 
we shouldn't act like Canaanites. Those are all good things. The main 
idea is the grace of God. God protecting and keeping his 
covenant. God doing what he said he would 
do. And God's plan, what man means 
for evil, God means for good. You know, Genesis is driving 
to that point. That's the main idea. What man 
means for evil, God means for good. And it's seen very clearly 
here with Judah. Judah meant evil. Judah meant 
wrong. Judah sinned. But God exposed 
that sin, God showed him his sin, and God demonstrated his 
grace to him and forgave his sin. And he forgave his sin based 
on the one who would come, the Lord Jesus Christ. But before 
we get there, at the end of Ruth, it ends with a genealogy. And 
that genealogy is the genealogy of Perez. Ruth 4. If I can turn there. Ruth 4, verse 18. Actually, verse 13, you see that 
Boaz takes Ruth. She became his wife. When enters, 
she conceives. She bears a son. Naomi has a 
son, Leverite. Naomi took the child and laid 
him on her bosom and became a nurse to him. Also, the neighbor woman 
gave him a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi. And they 
called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the 
father of David. Verse 18. Now this is the genealogy 
of Perez. Perez begot Hezron. Hezron begot 
Ram. Ram begot Aminadab. Aminadab 
begot Nashon. Nashon begot Salmon. Salmon begot 
Boaz. Boaz begot Obed. Obed begot Jesse. And Jesse begot David. It is through Judah that David 
would come, and it's through Judah that Christ would come. 
And we see this in Matthew 1.1. The Lord Jesus is David's greater 
son. The Lord Jesus is the Lion of 
the tribe of Judah. But we see in the genealogy where 
the Lord comes. And what's interesting, all four 
women, all four women mentioned in the genealogy are what? They're 
Canaanites, brethren. Redemption through Canaanites. 
Salvation through Canaanites. And what's interesting is all 
four of them have some unsavory kind of part to the story. Rahab's 
a harlot. Tay or sorry Tamar is technically 
first Tamar, you know, there's that incest going on yet. It's 
commended for protecting the line, but it's still unsavory 
and not quite great and then rehabs a harlot and then you 
know with with Ruth she's a mobile tests and you know this yeah, 
there's some you know, some interesting things there and then with Bath 
Sheba that's just terrible in and of itself and But through 
all those things, through all those difficulties, through all 
those sins, God brings forth the Christ. God brings forth 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's because of His covenant-keeping, 
His faithfulness, His righteousness, His goodness, that you and I, 
that Judah, that David, that Rahab, that all those ones in 
the line, that all those who believe might have life, might 
have peace. The whole point of Genesis 38 
is to marvel at the grace of God, that He saves wretched sinners 
like us. That He saves vile men like Judah. That He protects and keeps and 
saves a man. Yet David is a man after God's 
own heart, but he engages in a grave sin. Yet God saves sinners. He did not come to save the righteous, 
but sinners. He did not come to save the perfect, 
but the imperfect. And I think you see with David, 
Psalm 51, David, 2 Samuel 12, and with Judah in Genesis 38, 
we see the confession of faith, of the confession of forgiveness. 
She is more righteous than I. Brethren, we must walk through 
life marveling at the grace of God, that He is slow to anger 
and abounding in steadfast love, that He would save sinners like 
us. And as we realize who we are and who He is, that we would 
be before Him always marveling at His grace. Grace doesn't stop 
once we believe. Grace continues on throughout 
the Christian life. We must always lean on our Lord 
who is faithful to guide us and keep us until the end. Now, if 
you're an unbeliever here today, don't wash your hands and come 
to Christ. come to Christ and be cleansed. Maybe there's certain sins you 
think you can't shake. Maybe you think you're vile, 
and the reality is you are vile, but come and find forgiveness 
in the Lord Christ. Believe on Him. Believe that 
He has lived, died, and rose again. Believe that He is perfect. Believe that He is the perfect 
sacrifice. Confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. And God is a God who forgives. 
God is a God who gives grace. Turn to the Lord in faith and 
trust and find life and hope in the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Well, let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank 
you, O God, for your amazing grace. And we're thankful, O 
God, that you do save sinners in Christ. We know, God, that 
one wicked thought is enough to put us in hell forever and 
ever. And, O God, yet we are thankful 
that Christ did not engage in one sin, one wicked thought, 
one wicked deed, and He is righteous in every way. And, O God, we're 
thankful for Your promises, we're thankful for Your faithfulness, 
we're thankful for Your goodness, O God, and we're thankful for 
the promise that what man means for evil, You truly do mean for 
good, O God. And so we are thankful for your 
promises that David did come. We're thankful for your promises 
that David's greater son came. We're thankful, oh God, that 
he is the root of Jesse. He is the one promised of old, 
the seed of Abraham, the seed of the woman, and he is righteous 
in every way. We're thankful that he is our 
king. We're thankful that he is our prophet. We're thankful 
that he is our priest. We're thankful, O God, that he 
speaks to us through the word. We're thankful, O God, that he 
is our perfect sacrifice praying for us now. We're thankful that 
he is our king who went on conquest for us and will help us die to 
sin day by day. And so, God, help us to cling 
to your promises. Help us to cling to your grace 
day by day, even as we see salvation of wretched sinners, even in 
your Old Testament, and we're thankful, O God, you saved wretched 
sinners in the New Covenant era. And, O God, we do pray that you'd 
be pleased to save sinners this Lord's Day, whether it's here 
or in other parts of the world, that your Word would go forth 
and sinners would come to life, sinners would confess their sins 
and find hope in Christ, find forgiveness in Him, find grace 
in Him. We're thankful, O God, that you 
are a God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
And, O God, we do pray that you keep us and protect us as we 
go into the world, and we pray that you'd help us to always 
be before you, always marvel at your grace, always have it 
before our eyes, that you might cause us to die to sin day by 
day, and love the things that you love, O Lord. Help us to 
put on the mind of Christ day by day. And, O God, we do pray 
that all that we do, we pray that all that we say, you would 
be glorified. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen. 
Well, for our final hymn, we're going to sing