This chapter should show us emphatically that God did not come to save perfect people. He came to save sinners. Always remember that Jesus came through the tribe of Judah. The genealogy that Jesus came from was from Judah thinking he was sleeping with a prostitute that was actually his daughter in law. This is crazy! God’s plan was for Jesus to come from the tribe of Judah and Judah’s sons were dropping the ball. His first son Er was married to Tamar but was seen as evil in God’s sight and it actually says “the Lord put him to death.” This left Tamar as a widow with no husband to bear children for. After this, Judah tells his second son Onan to have children with Tamar to keep his family line going but Onan purposely chose not too. This was evil in God’s sight also. When Judah heard about this he thought Onan would surely die just like his first son Er did, because they were both seen as evil in God’s sight. Knowing this Judah told Tamar to remain a widow at her father’s house until his third son Shelah was of age. Once she saw that this was not going to happen, she took matters into her own hands and dressed as a prostitute and slept with her father in law Judah. This is a hot mess of a story! We should see how God can take a broken situation and still enforce his will no matter what horrible choices Judah’s family made. Jesus was going to come from the tribe of Judah whether Judah’s sons wanted to cooperate or not. Judah’s first two sons had opportunities to submit to the Lords will but chose not too. This should show us that no matter if we choose to submit to God or not, his plan and purpose will always prevail. He can take the worst sinful situation and still his will is going to prevail. We can either choose to submit and be attached to his will or we can choose to go our own way. Either way God’s will is going to happen. There is an end game, and no human choices or sinful acts can stop his will from happening. In spite of all the evil and deception in this chapter God’s will still prevails. This is true still today. We still continue to lie to ourselves and think that “Jesus could never use someone as broken as I am” or “Jesus would never want a relationship with someone like me.” We should read this chapter and see that Jesus can take the worst situations and use them for his good. No matter what we do or choose, Jesus is right there waiting to use our faults and brokenness for his glory. The only thing that can separate us from him is ourselves. No matter what we do or have done, Jesus is there waiting for us to give our brokenness to him. Love y’all! Have a great day!
Genesis 38:1-30
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“At that time Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua; he took her as a wife and slept with her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him Er. She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and named him Onan. She gave birth to another son and named him Shelah. It was at Chezib that , she gave birth to him. Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he released his semen on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so he put him to death also. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He might die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house. After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers. Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” So she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me? ” “I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied. But she said, “Only if you leave something with me until you send it.” “What should I give you? ” he asked. She answered, “Your signet ring, your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. She got up and left, then removed her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on. When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get back the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her. He asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? ” “There has been no cult prostitute here,” they answered. So the Adullamite returned to Judah, saying, “I couldn’t find her, and besides, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’ ” Judah replied, “Let her keep the items for herself; otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.” About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, has been acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out,” Judah said, “and let her be burned to death! ” As she was being brought out, she sent her father-in-law this message: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Examine them. Whose signet ring, cord, and staff are these? ” Judah recognized them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her intimately again. When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand, and the midwife took it and tied a scarlet thread around it, announcing, “This one came out first.” But then he pulled his hand back, out came his brother, and she said, “What a breakout you have made for yourself! ” So he was named Perez. , Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread tied to his hand, came out, and was named Zerah.”
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