(Genesis) Genesis 38:12-24

And now we read verse 12, And in process of time the daughter of Sheua, Judah's wife, died. And Judah was comforted, and went up into his sheep shearers to Timnath. He and his friend Hira did Eulamite.

Now it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. Apparently this deal that Judah had of going up to see this Eulamite by the name of Hira was in connection with sheep, raising sheep. Because now they have a tremendous flock together, and Judah goes up there to shear them.

And Tamar, who had been waiting all this time, she came to the conclusion that Judah was not going to give Shelah as her husband. And she put her widow's garments off from her, covered her with a veil, wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is, by the way, to Timnath. For she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

And this is, of course, the third son of Judah. Now, verse 15, When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot, because she'd covered her face. You see, she'd taken off her widow's garments, and now she's dressed there, sitting by the wayside, her face covered, which was the custom of the harlots in that day.

And he turned unto her, by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee. Now, you see, he's propositioned the woman. This is Judah.

And he'd done the same thing with her mother, a Canaanite. It's a very black picture, by the way. It's a very ugly story that we have here.

And Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot. So she saw an opportunity of taking advantage of him, and she did. And he said, I'll send thee a kid from the flock.

And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it? He said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, thy bracelets, thy staff that's in thine hand. He gave it her and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. She arose and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend, the Adulamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he found her not. He came into the town. He said, I'm looking for the harlot that's here.

He asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot that was openly by the wayside? They said, There was no harlot in this place, and we don't have one here. Verse 22, And he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her. And also the men of the place said that there was no harlot in this place.

And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be ashamed. Behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass, about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot.

And also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. That's Judah.

May I say to you, this is your double standard. God doesn't approve of these things, friend. It's here in his word, but that doesn't mean he approve of it.

The very fact that it's here shows that he disproves of it. This is not the way that he wanted his people to act. And they're acting just like the Canaanites, and he's going to have to get them down into the land of Egypt and segregate them there in the land of Goshen to get them away from this terrible influence that there was there.

This reveals the necessity for that.