Genesis 38
McGeeCHAPTER 38THEME: The sin and shame of JudahThis is another chapter that seems to be about as necessary as a fifth leg on a cow. After you have read the story, you may wish that it had been left out of the Bible. Many people have asked me why this chapter is in the Word of God. I agree that it is one of the worst chapters in the Bible, but it gives us some background on the tribe of Judah, out of which the Lord Jesus Christ came. This fact makes it important that it be included in the biblical record. In this chapter you will read names like Judah and Tamar and Pharez and Zerah.
If you think they sound familiar, it is because you have read them in the first chapter of Matthew. They are in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, that is an amazing thing! Our Lord came into a sinful line. He was made in all points like as we are, yet He Himself was without sin. He came into that human line where all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This chapter deals with the sin and the shame of Judah. This leads me to say that the sons of Jacob were certainly not very much of a comfort to him. It looks as if all the sons were problem children, with the exception of Joseph and Benjamin. And Joseph was no comfort because his father was heartbroken about his disappearance. All of this reveals to us that Jacob spent too much time in Padan-aram accumulating a fortune rather than teaching his children. How different he was from Abraham. You remember that God had said of Abraham: “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen_18:19). Well, Jacob didn’t do that. He was so busy down there contending with Uncle Laban that he didn’t have much time for his boys. That was tragic, because each one of them seemed to have gotten involved in something that was very sinful. There is, I believe, a further reason for including this chapter in the Word of God at this juncture. Beginning with the next chapter, we go down to the land of Egypt with Joseph. God is sending Joseph ahead, as he very clearly detected from the fortuitous concurrence of circumstances in his life, to prepare the way for the coming down of the children of Israel into Egypt. It would preserve their lives during the famine in Canaan, but more than that, it would get them out of the land of Canaan from the abominable Canaanites into the seclusion of the land of Goshen in Egypt. Had Jacob and his family continued on in Canaan, they would have dropped down to the level of the Canaanites. The chapter before us reveals the necessity of getting the family of Jacob away from the degrading influence of the Canaanites. This is the story of Judah, whose line will be the kingly line among the tribes of Israel.
Genesis 38:1
He went down to do business with a certain Adullamite, and when he got down there he saw this Canaanite woman, and he had an affair with her.
Genesis 38:3
Judah called his name Erand Judah certainly had erred; he had sinned.
Genesis 38:4
This is the first appearance of Tamar. She gets into the genealogy of Christ this way! Now, look at this family. It is just loaded with sin.
Genesis 38:7
This reminds us of the present hour when there is so much emphasis on sex.
Genesis 38:11
It was the custom of that day that when a man died, his brother was to marry his widow. Onan refused to do it, and he was smitten with death. Now Judah has another son who is growing up, and he tells his daughter-in-law to follow the custom of returning to her father’s house until the younger son is ready for marriage.
Genesis 38:12
Apparently this deal that Judah had, which concerned seeing this Adullamite by the name of Hirah, was in connection with sheep. They were raising sheep and must have had a tremendous flock together. Judah goes up there to shear them. In the meantime, Tamar has been waiting all this while at home. She comes to the conclusion that Judah is not going to give Shelah to her as her husband.
Genesis 38:14
Shelah was, of course, the third son of Judah. Tamar sees that Judah doesn’t intend to give her to him as his wife; so she takes action. She takes off her widow’s clothes and sits by the wayside with her face covered as was the custom of harlots.
Genesis 38:16
We get a picture of Judah. He had propositioned the Canaanite woman, Shuah’s daughter. Now he does the same thing with Tamar. This is a very black picture and an ugly story that we have here. Judah thought she was a harlot. She saw the opportunity of taking advantage of him, and she did it.
Genesis 38:17
Judah sent his friend into town who said, “I’m looking for the harlot that is here.”
Genesis 38:21
That’s Judah. Here is the old double standard. God doesn’t approve of these things, friend. It is here in His Word, but that doesn’t mean that He approves of it. His people are acting just like the Canaanites, which is the reason He is going to get them out of this land and take them down into the land of Egypt. There He is going to separate them and isolate them in the land of Goshen to get them away from this terrible influence. This episode reveals the necessity for God to do this. Judah is acting in a way that is unspeakable it is so bad. The fact of the matter is, he is quick to see the sin in somebody else, but he can’t see it in himself. It reminds us of the time Nathan went in to David and told him the story about the fellow who had one little ewe lamb. When Nathan said the rich man came and took it away, David was quick to condemn the rich man. David reacted just like Judah does here. David said he wanted the rich man stoned to death. Then Nathan declared that David himself was the man. It is interesting that we can all see sin so clearly in other people, but we can’t see it within our own being. The charge against Judah is really a double one. His sin is terrible in itself, but it was with his own daughter-in-law! This is the way the Canaanites lived. We think that we are in a sex revolution today and there is a new sexual freedom. My friend, for centuries the heathen have had sexual freedom. That’s part of heathendom, and it is the reason they lived as low as they did.
It is the reason they were judged and removed from the scene. The Canaanites are gone. They have disappeared. God has judged them. That ought to be a message to any person. Yet a great many people don’t seem to get the messageeven Christians!
You wonder why this chapter is in the Bible. It is in the Bible as a warning to us. It is in the Bible to let us know that God did not approve of sin, and it explains why God took Israel out of the land of Palestine and down into the land of Egypt. Tamar is then brought into the presence of her father-in-law.
Genesis 38:25
Judah was going to have her burnt. But she said, “Well, I would like you to know who the father of the child is; he is the one who owns these articles that I’m showing you.” Judah looked at them and had to admit they were his own.
Genesis 38:26
This was repulsive even to Judah, but we can see how he had adopted some of the customs of the Canaanites. May I pause for a moment to make an application? Remember, all these things are written for our learning. They are examples unto us. Today we hear that if we are going to witness to this generation and if we are going to communicate to them, we’ve got to get down to their level. I disagree with that. God has never used that method to witness. God has always, under all circumstances, asked His people to live on a high and lofty plane. I can well imagine one of our present-day theologians going up to Noah and saying, “Brother Noah, you’re spending all your time working on this boat, and it is silly for you to be doing that. We’re having a big party over in Babylon tonight. They just got a new shipment of marijuana and we are really going to blow our minds. We’re going to pass around the grass and we’re going to have a high time and take a little trip. You don’t need to build that boat for a trip; we’ll give you a trip. Come on over.” Noah, of course, would refuse.
So the theologian would ask Noah, “How do you expect to reach all the hippies of Babylon? How are you going to reach the Babylonian beboppers unless you are willing to come down and communicate with them?” The fact of the matter is, God never asked Noah to come down to “communicate.” God asked him to give His message. And this is what God asks us to do in our day. I am firmly convinced that if God’s people would give out His Word and live lives that would commend the gospel, He would make their witness effective. There are many pastors in our day who are so afraid they will lose the crowd that they do anything to attract people to their churchand some of them are having their problems. But God has never asked us to compromise. God does ask us to give out the Word of Godregardless of the size of our congregation. This reminds me of the story about Dr. Scofield who was invited to speak over in North Carolina. The first service was on a rainy night, and very few people came to hear him speak. The pastor felt that he must apologize to Dr. Scofield; so he reached over and told him that he was sorry so few people had come to hear a man of his caliber. Dr.
Scofield replied to the pastor, “My Lord had only twelve men to speak to, and since He had only twelve men and never complained, who is C. I. Scofield that he should complain about a small crowd?” Friend, this is a lesson for our generation to learn. We so often think that there must be crowds or else God is not in it. Maybe God has called us to witness to a few. But I have news for you: If you give out the Word of God, it will have its effect.
My friend, the Word of God is powerful, and God is looking for clean vessels through whom he can give it out. Well, Judah had certainly lowered himself to the level of the Canaanites, and look at the results.
Genesis 38:27
Now if we turn over to the New Testament, we will find the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew, chapter 1. There we read: “Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram” (Mat_1:2-3). Then as we follow through the genealogy, we come to this verse: “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Mat_1:16). It is an amazing thing that the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, should come through the line of Judah and Tamar! When He came into the human family, He came in a sinful line. He was made sin for us, He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (see 2Co_5:21).