Genesis 39

Genesis 39:1

Joseph Rejected and Sold

Joseph is thrown into the pit. They do not care about the distress of their brother’s soul and his pleading for mercy (Genesis 42:21). The coldness of their hearts becomes clear when they sit down and eat after this act. The thought that they are free from his possible rule provides them with peace and joy (cf. Revelation 11:10).

The prophet Amos also refers in his prophecy to what the brothers are doing here. He uses their example to denounce the attitude of the people toward God. He does not use a soft language: “Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

Amos points out with these words that, while Israel sighs under the consequences of sin, its inhabitants surrender to carelessness, lust and indolence. All the gifts God has given them, they use for themselves. The pursuit of one’s own pleasure causes the situation among God’s people to be pushed into the background. Israel is in need, the greatest need being that the people do not see their need. It laughs and dances to its downfall.

Also today, Christians are indifferent to how the whole church is fragmented into countless pieces. It is even justified by terms such as “the multicolored nature of God”. The pursuit of our own convenience makes us insensitive to the decline in the church and the divisions that exist.

When Ishmaelites come, Judah proposes to sell Joseph. The Ishmaelites are descendants of Abraham via Hagar (Genesis 16:15). The Midianites are descendants of Abraham via Ketura (Genesis 25:1-2). The brothers sell Joseph to related merchants. They sell him for even less money than a slave is worth (Exodus 21:32). This is where the Judas spirit comes to the fore, which the Lord Jesus has handed down for money (Matthew 26:14-16).

Reuben has stipulated that Joseph is not killed, but thrown into a pit. With this he thinks he rescued Joseph’s life, because he wants to take him out of it later and bring him back to his father. He will have been absent for a moment when the other brothers sell Joseph. When he discovers that Joseph has been sold, he desperately tears his garments and blames his brothers for making his life unbearable. Here we see that inventors of evil follow their own plans and do not take any account of each other.

Genesis 39:2

Joseph Rejected and Sold

Joseph is thrown into the pit. They do not care about the distress of their brother’s soul and his pleading for mercy (Genesis 42:21). The coldness of their hearts becomes clear when they sit down and eat after this act. The thought that they are free from his possible rule provides them with peace and joy (cf. Revelation 11:10).

The prophet Amos also refers in his prophecy to what the brothers are doing here. He uses their example to denounce the attitude of the people toward God. He does not use a soft language: “Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

Amos points out with these words that, while Israel sighs under the consequences of sin, its inhabitants surrender to carelessness, lust and indolence. All the gifts God has given them, they use for themselves. The pursuit of one’s own pleasure causes the situation among God’s people to be pushed into the background. Israel is in need, the greatest need being that the people do not see their need. It laughs and dances to its downfall.

Also today, Christians are indifferent to how the whole church is fragmented into countless pieces. It is even justified by terms such as “the multicolored nature of God”. The pursuit of our own convenience makes us insensitive to the decline in the church and the divisions that exist.

When Ishmaelites come, Judah proposes to sell Joseph. The Ishmaelites are descendants of Abraham via Hagar (Genesis 16:15). The Midianites are descendants of Abraham via Ketura (Genesis 25:1-2). The brothers sell Joseph to related merchants. They sell him for even less money than a slave is worth (Exodus 21:32). This is where the Judas spirit comes to the fore, which the Lord Jesus has handed down for money (Matthew 26:14-16).

Reuben has stipulated that Joseph is not killed, but thrown into a pit. With this he thinks he rescued Joseph’s life, because he wants to take him out of it later and bring him back to his father. He will have been absent for a moment when the other brothers sell Joseph. When he discovers that Joseph has been sold, he desperately tears his garments and blames his brothers for making his life unbearable. Here we see that inventors of evil follow their own plans and do not take any account of each other.

Genesis 39:3

Joseph Rejected and Sold

Joseph is thrown into the pit. They do not care about the distress of their brother’s soul and his pleading for mercy (Genesis 42:21). The coldness of their hearts becomes clear when they sit down and eat after this act. The thought that they are free from his possible rule provides them with peace and joy (cf. Revelation 11:10).

The prophet Amos also refers in his prophecy to what the brothers are doing here. He uses their example to denounce the attitude of the people toward God. He does not use a soft language: “Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

Amos points out with these words that, while Israel sighs under the consequences of sin, its inhabitants surrender to carelessness, lust and indolence. All the gifts God has given them, they use for themselves. The pursuit of one’s own pleasure causes the situation among God’s people to be pushed into the background. Israel is in need, the greatest need being that the people do not see their need. It laughs and dances to its downfall.

Also today, Christians are indifferent to how the whole church is fragmented into countless pieces. It is even justified by terms such as “the multicolored nature of God”. The pursuit of our own convenience makes us insensitive to the decline in the church and the divisions that exist.

When Ishmaelites come, Judah proposes to sell Joseph. The Ishmaelites are descendants of Abraham via Hagar (Genesis 16:15). The Midianites are descendants of Abraham via Ketura (Genesis 25:1-2). The brothers sell Joseph to related merchants. They sell him for even less money than a slave is worth (Exodus 21:32). This is where the Judas spirit comes to the fore, which the Lord Jesus has handed down for money (Matthew 26:14-16).

Reuben has stipulated that Joseph is not killed, but thrown into a pit. With this he thinks he rescued Joseph’s life, because he wants to take him out of it later and bring him back to his father. He will have been absent for a moment when the other brothers sell Joseph. When he discovers that Joseph has been sold, he desperately tears his garments and blames his brothers for making his life unbearable. Here we see that inventors of evil follow their own plans and do not take any account of each other.

Genesis 39:4

Joseph Rejected and Sold

Joseph is thrown into the pit. They do not care about the distress of their brother’s soul and his pleading for mercy (Genesis 42:21). The coldness of their hearts becomes clear when they sit down and eat after this act. The thought that they are free from his possible rule provides them with peace and joy (cf. Revelation 11:10).

The prophet Amos also refers in his prophecy to what the brothers are doing here. He uses their example to denounce the attitude of the people toward God. He does not use a soft language: “Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6).

Amos points out with these words that, while Israel sighs under the consequences of sin, its inhabitants surrender to carelessness, lust and indolence. All the gifts God has given them, they use for themselves. The pursuit of one’s own pleasure causes the situation among God’s people to be pushed into the background. Israel is in need, the greatest need being that the people do not see their need. It laughs and dances to its downfall.

Also today, Christians are indifferent to how the whole church is fragmented into countless pieces. It is even justified by terms such as “the multicolored nature of God”. The pursuit of our own convenience makes us insensitive to the decline in the church and the divisions that exist.

When Ishmaelites come, Judah proposes to sell Joseph. The Ishmaelites are descendants of Abraham via Hagar (Genesis 16:15). The Midianites are descendants of Abraham via Ketura (Genesis 25:1-2). The brothers sell Joseph to related merchants. They sell him for even less money than a slave is worth (Exodus 21:32). This is where the Judas spirit comes to the fore, which the Lord Jesus has handed down for money (Matthew 26:14-16).

Reuben has stipulated that Joseph is not killed, but thrown into a pit. With this he thinks he rescued Joseph’s life, because he wants to take him out of it later and bring him back to his father. He will have been absent for a moment when the other brothers sell Joseph. When he discovers that Joseph has been sold, he desperately tears his garments and blames his brothers for making his life unbearable. Here we see that inventors of evil follow their own plans and do not take any account of each other.

Genesis 39:5

Jacob Deceived

The brothers add the sin of lie to their violent acts against Joseph. They lie to their father about the absence of Joseph. As for Jacob, once again he will have to deal with the consequences of his own cunning actions. He is deceived by his sons. He has been deceiving his father with the skins of young goats (Genesis 27:16). Now he himself is being deceived with the blood of a goat.

The heartlessness of the brothers is shocking. Thus is man, so am I, without God. Jealousy makes every human feeling disappear (Proverbs 27:4). This is made all the worse by their attempts to comfort their father, when they are the cause of his grief. This is hypocrisy at its summit.

Genesis 39:6

Jacob Deceived

The brothers add the sin of lie to their violent acts against Joseph. They lie to their father about the absence of Joseph. As for Jacob, once again he will have to deal with the consequences of his own cunning actions. He is deceived by his sons. He has been deceiving his father with the skins of young goats (Genesis 27:16). Now he himself is being deceived with the blood of a goat.

The heartlessness of the brothers is shocking. Thus is man, so am I, without God. Jealousy makes every human feeling disappear (Proverbs 27:4). This is made all the worse by their attempts to comfort their father, when they are the cause of his grief. This is hypocrisy at its summit.

Genesis 39:7

Jacob Deceived

The brothers add the sin of lie to their violent acts against Joseph. They lie to their father about the absence of Joseph. As for Jacob, once again he will have to deal with the consequences of his own cunning actions. He is deceived by his sons. He has been deceiving his father with the skins of young goats (Genesis 27:16). Now he himself is being deceived with the blood of a goat.

The heartlessness of the brothers is shocking. Thus is man, so am I, without God. Jealousy makes every human feeling disappear (Proverbs 27:4). This is made all the worse by their attempts to comfort their father, when they are the cause of his grief. This is hypocrisy at its summit.

Genesis 39:8

Jacob Deceived

The brothers add the sin of lie to their violent acts against Joseph. They lie to their father about the absence of Joseph. As for Jacob, once again he will have to deal with the consequences of his own cunning actions. He is deceived by his sons. He has been deceiving his father with the skins of young goats (Genesis 27:16). Now he himself is being deceived with the blood of a goat.

The heartlessness of the brothers is shocking. Thus is man, so am I, without God. Jealousy makes every human feeling disappear (Proverbs 27:4). This is made all the worse by their attempts to comfort their father, when they are the cause of his grief. This is hypocrisy at its summit.

Genesis 39:9

Jacob Deceived

The brothers add the sin of lie to their violent acts against Joseph. They lie to their father about the absence of Joseph. As for Jacob, once again he will have to deal with the consequences of his own cunning actions. He is deceived by his sons. He has been deceiving his father with the skins of young goats (Genesis 27:16). Now he himself is being deceived with the blood of a goat.

The heartlessness of the brothers is shocking. Thus is man, so am I, without God. Jealousy makes every human feeling disappear (Proverbs 27:4). This is made all the worse by their attempts to comfort their father, when they are the cause of his grief. This is hypocrisy at its summit.

Genesis 39:10

Joseph Sold to Potiphar

While Jacob thinks his son is dead, Joseph is on his way to Egypt to finally take his place on the throne. But first he must go a way of suffering. He had already suffered this suffering from his brothers. Now his suffering begins on the part of the nations. In all this the counsel of God is fulfilled. In Egypt he first is humiliated, to come to the greatest glory thereafter.

In practical terms, the way of suffering is the way God uses to form His servants. Prophetically, the way of suffering is God’s way to come to glory. Thus the Lord Jesus first suffered and then was glorified (Luke 24:26). This principle also applies to the believer (Romans 8:17).

Genesis 39:12

Judah Departs from His Brothers

Joseph’s history is interrupted by what happens to Judah. Besides many practical lessons, this history has especially a prophetic application. Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus. In the previous chapter he is rejected by his brothers and sold to Egypt. In the next chapter his history in Egypt continues.

This chapter prophetically represents the present time, the time since the Lord Jesus is rejected. The Lord Jesus was rejected by His brothers, the people of Israel, who were mainly Jews, Judeans, names derived from Judah. Judah is seen here separated from his brothers, the other tribes. Israel has rejected its Messiah and then committed fornication with the world. This we see in the connection of Judah with the daughter of the Canaanite Shua. In the history here we see in Judah a people who have strayed from God.

Judah’s history contrasts sharply with that of Joseph. Joseph refuses to sin and walks in purity (Psalms 119:9). Judah is a man who does not control his lusts, but is guided by them. The deep destruction of human nature is shown unabashedly by the Holy Spirit in this history. It is a chapter full of sins. It is as if here the background is made clear for the necessity of the death of the Lord Jesus, so that fortunately today, in the time of grace, any sin can be forgiven (Matthew 12:31a).

When someone leaves the company to which God connects His presence and blessing, he can only follow a way full of misery. There is no longer looking at the Lord, but at what is seen by the natural eyes. Judah is led by his eyes. He “saw” (Genesis 38:2) and takes a Canaanite wife. That is what Abraham has forbidden his servant in the case of his son (Genesis 24:3).

Genesis 39:13

Judah Departs from His Brothers

Joseph’s history is interrupted by what happens to Judah. Besides many practical lessons, this history has especially a prophetic application. Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus. In the previous chapter he is rejected by his brothers and sold to Egypt. In the next chapter his history in Egypt continues.

This chapter prophetically represents the present time, the time since the Lord Jesus is rejected. The Lord Jesus was rejected by His brothers, the people of Israel, who were mainly Jews, Judeans, names derived from Judah. Judah is seen here separated from his brothers, the other tribes. Israel has rejected its Messiah and then committed fornication with the world. This we see in the connection of Judah with the daughter of the Canaanite Shua. In the history here we see in Judah a people who have strayed from God.

Judah’s history contrasts sharply with that of Joseph. Joseph refuses to sin and walks in purity (Psalms 119:9). Judah is a man who does not control his lusts, but is guided by them. The deep destruction of human nature is shown unabashedly by the Holy Spirit in this history. It is a chapter full of sins. It is as if here the background is made clear for the necessity of the death of the Lord Jesus, so that fortunately today, in the time of grace, any sin can be forgiven (Matthew 12:31a).

When someone leaves the company to which God connects His presence and blessing, he can only follow a way full of misery. There is no longer looking at the Lord, but at what is seen by the natural eyes. Judah is led by his eyes. He “saw” (Genesis 38:2) and takes a Canaanite wife. That is what Abraham has forbidden his servant in the case of his son (Genesis 24:3).

Genesis 39:14

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:15

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:16

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:17

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:18

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:19

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:20

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:21

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:22

Judah, His Sons and Tamar

From the corrupt connection Judah has entered into, only corruption can arise. Er, his firstborn son, is killed by the LORD. The reason given is that he is evil in the sight of the LORD. The exact action of his wickedness is not mentioned. In any case it is that evil that the LORD kills him. God rules and punishes all evil.

Onan is also killed by the LORD. He does not do this because of the alleged self-gratification of Onan – self-gratification is wrongly also called ‘onanism’, after Onan. [Read more in Sexuality, a gift from God.] With Onan it is not about self-gratification, but about refusing to conceive offspring for his brother, because this would not be accounted to him. This custom, that the brother marries the widow to raise up offspring for his deceased brother, is later made law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

Judah promises Tamar that she will be allowed to marry his youngest son – when he has arrived at a marriageable age – to have offspring. He does not fulfill this promise for selfish reasons (Genesis 38:11).

Genesis 39:23

Judah Commits Fornication with Tamar

When Tamar sees that Judah is not keeping his promise, she resorts to a low trick: she will act as a harlot. She sees in the shearing of the sheep the opportunity to seduce Judah. Sheepshearing is always accompanied by celebration and frivolity.

Tamar’s sin cannot be justified. She demands her right and sees no other way to do so than by way of fornication. However reprehensible the way is that Tamar goes, Judah is the one who, as the Scriptures call it, is the stumbling block to her, bringing her to this fall into sin. Tamar knows Judah. She knows that he will not refuse a woman who offers herself. It marks the low moral status of Judah. We can ask ourselves a personal question: How am I known? Judah is deceived by his daughter-in-law, dressed as a harlot, just as he had deceived his father with a tunic, Joseph’s tunic (Genesis 37:31-32).

Judah’s sin begins with the eye, he sees her. He has a heart and eyes full of adultery (2 Peter 2:14). When Judah wants to go in to her, she asks what he wants to pay for her ‘service’. His answer is that he will send her a young goat. She then asks him for a pledge, so that she can be sure that he will keep his promise. When asked what she wants as a pledge, she says she wants his seal and his cord, and his staff.

These things represent symbolically what someone spiritually loses when he goes into sin. His seal is a picture of faithfulness and property (putting your seal on something): he throws it away. His cord (or: line) stands for an inheritance (Psalms 16:6): he loses the enjoyment of his inheritance. His staff is a picture of what supports him: he also surrenders it to an unknown woman. Judah relinquishes everything: his faithfulness, what is his own, his personality, his habitat, his world, and finally that which gives him strength to walk.

Tamar knows not only Judah’s unfaithfulness, but also his insincerity. He cannot be trusted on his word. That’s why she asks for a pledge. Unfaithfulness in marriage and unfaithfulness in other relationships (e.g. business) go hand in hand.