Genesis 38

One of the arguments for the reliability and authenticity of the Biblical text is that the Bible does not try to hide its characters' mistakes or character flaws. I am sure some people will say 'what in the world is a chapter like this doing in the Bible'.

We read later in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1 that Judah and Tamar are mentioned as being part of His family tree. In doing so God is definitely not condoning either prostitution or having sex outside a marriage. Instead God's Word is trying to communicate something of God's grace and mercy: God can accomplish great things through us despite our mistakes.

The Bible does not tell us why Judah left his brothers but we know from previous Scripture that he does not do the right thing by getting a wife from the Canaanites. The Bible seems to emphasize it by giving us a snapshot of Judah's miserable family life. The Bible tells us that his oldest son Er is wicked, and Er is judged by God for his wickedness. Judah's second son Onan does not seem to be any better, and he is judged by God too.

I can hear some people saying 'how can a loving God be so cruel'. I think that would be a typical response from the postmodern mind: we want to live our lives free of consequences. I think it is more appropriate to lay blame where it belongs: at the feet of Judah. If he didn't rebel but instead chose to do God's will, things might have turned out better. A mature adult does not blame God or other human beings: instead we take responsibility for our life.

Judah's actions towards his daughter-in-law show that he is probably not walking closely with God at this point. This is a typical symptom of rebellion. It takes a rather shrewd plan from his daughter-in-law for him to realize just how evil and hypocritical he has been. He then publicly takes reponsibility for his actions by acknowledging that he has acted dishonorably towards his daughter-in-law. May we learn from Judah's example.