Genesis 38

In the promise of God, grace will break out from even the most flawed of family lines.

Many of you have seen, at least a glimpse of Ewen’s family sphere, or tree. So you know we are interested in family history, our roots, where we are from, the stock we are made of. Studying this week had me reflecting on my family line, way back to one Reverend John Maverick.

My 12th great-grandfather. Born in 1578 in Devonshire, England. Both his father and uncle were clergymen, and like his uncle, Radford, he began his studies at Exeter College, Oxford University, at the age of 18, eventually receiving both a B.A. and an M.A. While at Exeter, he was ordained in the Church of England and would spend his life as a minister.

In 1629, however, he would resign his church to emigrate to New England, where his eldest son was a prominent leader in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1630 he was one of two “Puritan” pastors sailing from Plymouth aboard the Mary & John (the other being the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards).

He was a founder of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and the church there. And he died there five years later at only 57. He was eulogized by Rev. Cotton Mather and Governor Winthrop, who said of Rev. Maverick: "He was a man of very humble spirit, and faithful in furthering the work of the Lord."

Young but left a legacy. The church he founded still exists (praying for gospel renewal there). There are probably a hundred thousand or more descendants in the Maverick line. One great-grandchild’s actions would be responsible for the nickname of “maverick” being given to individual, rogue, unbranded, wild characters! My college mascot.

Many more clergy as well.

According to FamousKin.com, descendants include, among others, the 8th Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Fuller, Alan Shepard (Astronaut), Pete Seeger (folk singer), George W. Bush (president), Paul Giamatti (Actor), and Michael Strahan (NFL player).

Pretty cool lineage, family legacy. A sort of hero who gave his life to preaching the gospel, and here I stand 12 generations later, doing the same. Crazy though that I descended from John Maverick through a man who likely died of Syphilis.

No one is beyond the redeeming grace of Jesus! Your family history or your wrapsheet are no match for His blood and righteousness.

Genesis 38 is a side story inserted into the narrative of Joseph to clarify what God considered just and provide insight into the type of soil from which the promise of God bursts to life.

We could approach it with a lens to determine good morals, but I am afraid we would be at a loss.

“Here is the moral of all Bible stories. The moral of all Bible stories is morals will never save you. You’ll never be related to God if it’s through morals and moral performance.” Timothy J. Keller

In the promise of God, grace will break out from even the most flawed of family lines.

Walking away this morning, hopefully, we will be awed by God’s long game, his master strategy to enact his redemptive plan for humanity. But also awed by his grace, as this story points out.

There are three breakouts in the text, and they will be our flow. Ways God works among his people, including you. Reparation, Repentance, Roots of Redemption.

Reparation

Very intentional choice of that word, and if the word itself makes you uncomfortable, I want you to put a pin in it and remember that feeling.

This is a jacked-up story. Our reading started in the middle of the chapter. But the brothers sold off Joseph then Judah, fourth oldest but because of the sin of top three he is elevating in the family, he leaves his bros to meet up with a local buddy.

While there, a Canaanite girl caught his eye, and “He took her.” She bore him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. When Er was old enough, Judah took a wife for him named Tamar.

First pause: We have already seen that for descendants of Abraham, Canaanite women as wives was discouraged. Esau had trouble for it. But Judah doesn’t care.

His sons are wicked in the sight of the Lord. Er was put to death. Then Judah tells Onan to sleep with Tamar, take her as a wife, to “perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Introducing the concept of leverite marriage. Culturally, so much significance was placed on the firstborn that if they were married and died without children, a brother would take their place to perpetuate the line/name.

Onan wickedly refused to accomplish the task, and the Lord put him to death also.

Judah, scared she is the black widow, sends Tamar back to her father’s house, saying it will only be until Shelah grows up. But there is no intention on Judah’s part to give his youngest son to her.

Now, a little perspective. Tamar is likely 15 at this point. Marriage was right after puberty. So Shelah is probably 9 or 10. Judah’s responsibility was to protect Tamar in his household, and he rejected her.

“In the course of time…” His wife dies, and he goes up to see his old friend at the sheep shearing, which was a festival known for its “merry making.”

Tamar hears of it and knows that Shelah has come of age and is not her husband, so she pursues justice.

Covers her face with a veil, and she knows Judah well enough; she knows how he is motivated. She sat at the entrance to the city. Judah, thinking she is a prostitute, hires her for a goat. Pledging to leave his signet, cord, and staff, essentially his wallet, as collateral.

She conceived.

Scandal.

This is not a blueprint for how to get back at someone.

He tries to pay, but when she is not there, they let it go so no one will laugh at him. Then three months later, she is noticeably pregnant, and a servant tells him.

She is still part of the family, so there is some level of control or influence, and he goes off. “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” We don’t have a context for this kind of punishment, but this is harsh. Any form of death is bad. But immorality usually would be stoning. Burning was for the most grievous of offenders.

Judah rages. Is he mad about the death of his sons? Which was their fault. Does he see this as an opportunity to be rid of the burden and responsibility?

Judah, from a place of privilege, was supposed to protect and care for this girl; he is doing the opposite. He is oppressing her, sending her away, refusing what is rightfully hers. This is an injustice, so in the story, Tamar receives justice.

It’s Judah’s signet. She has twins, not of Er’s line but sons now of Judah. What has been taken from her is restored, improved upon.

Justice is a continual call for God’s people, and while there is no divine voice declaring “you must be just” in this episode, it is written in the death of the sons, and the guilt of Judah.

Reparation, restoring what was taken. The word can make us uncomfortable if we think justice might be abused. It's helpful to feel the discomfort and see how what God calls His people to do often comes up against what we prefer.

Those of a particular bent might champion the justice focus here. Without a doubt, this story is here to show Israel how not to act, that what Judah did was wrong.

Gives a picture of how, in the continual realizing of God’s promise, justice comes with it. Restoring what has been taken, healing what has been harmed, and protecting what has been vulnerable.

Breakthrough for Tamar, vindication, relief. Saves her life. Gives her legacy.

But there is more.

Repentance

Like reparation, perhaps this is a word that gives you pause —the recognition, sincere regret, or remorse for wrongdoing. Sin. Turning away from it.

There are no heroes in this chapter. No saintly characters. Perhaps there is one we are pulling for more, given the situation, but circumstances don’t act as permission for unrighteousness. But it is an external declaration of “righteous” that saves a life.

Repentance here represents awareness and awakening.

In his rage, wanting to burn Tamar at the stake, Judah sees his signet card, cord, and staff. Gotcha moment. As if he has been caught on the Coldplay kiss cam.

Genesis 38:26 “Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.” (ESV)

This is not unlike a descendant of Judah, King David, being confronted by the prophet Nathan for his rape and murder, as he told a parable arousing anger in David and exclaimed, “You are the man!”

This is Judah’s awakening. He realizes his injustice, his hatred, his sin.

“...even a very good person, a very moral person, a very privileged person has to have a spiritual awakening, has to have God come in and break in, or the natural self-justification, the natural self-centeredness of the human heart can lead you into absolute hardness.

You cannot possibly make it without a spiritual awakening of some kind. You cannot possibly make it without some grace intervening from the outside to wake you up to who you really are. Look at the need for spiritual awakening here. Look at the nature of it. Look at the need. First of all, think of who Judah is.

In the whole world at this time in history, this family … the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob … knows more about God and more about God’s ways. They have more privileges and more knowledge of God’s ways and will than any other family, any other place in the world, and yet look what he’s capable of. Look where he’s going. Look what he’s about to do. Trying harder won’t be enough. Just being a good person isn’t enough.” Timothy J. Keller

The same happens to us when the Spirit of God shows us our signet and our need for forgiveness.

Here is spiritual awakening. What is it? It’s when you start to see that you’re not better than the people you used to despise. When you realize that the people you once looked down on are no different from you... in fact, you might even be worse, then you’re on your way.

“Have mercy on me, a sinner!”

And Judah changes from this moment. He will be humble before Joseph in the story to come. He will offer to give himself in the care of his father and younger brother.

As if he has a Rocky IV moment, after fighting it out with Ivan Drago and swaying the crowd to his side, “If I can change and you can change, we all can change!”

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)

In repentance, recognition of sin and turning from it, where grace is so sweet.

In Judah’s repentance, he delivered salvation. Grace breaches the walls that sin built.

“Tamar got her life back when Judah looked at her and said, “In spite of your sin, you are righteous.” Right? “In spite of your sin … all this incest and this deception …” He covered it, didn’t he? He says, “In spite of all your sin, you are righteous,” and she got her life back. Her life was saved.

Judah is pointing to the ultimate Judah. He’s pointing to his descendant, because what you and I need, the thing that’ll make us able to work for justice and the thing that will make us able to admit the depth of our sin, is we need to hear the ultimate Judah, Jesus Christ, look at us and say, “Truly, in spite of all your sin, you are righteous.” How can Jesus do that? The answer is he’s the opposite of his ancestor Judah.”

Because do you know what Judah was doing to Tamar? He was punishing her for his sins, but the real Judah, the real Jesus, took the punishment for our sins. That’s the reason why he can look at us like Judah looked at Tamar with all the sin and say, “Righteous.” You have to know that kind of acceptance. You have to know that.” JK

To get there, there is one more breakout in the story.

Roots of Redemption

Justice and repentance are the roots of redemption. Jesus faces justice for us, taking on the verdict our sin deserves, and now, through us, bringing justice to bear through his kingdom. Receiving this grace as we believe and repent, turn from sin to him for life and identity, for purpose.

This family holds the roots of this redemption in the birth of these babies.

Tamar goes on to bear twin sons, one of whom makes a breakout! The firstborn of the illegitimate twins is Perez, from whom will come Boaz, who marries Ruth, a Moabite. Boaz and Ruth will be the ancestors of David, from whose line will come Jesus the Messiah! (Cf. Ruth 4:18–22; Matt. 1:5.) - God uses outcasts and marginalized individuals to fulfill His promises, pointing ultimately to Jesus as the Redeemer.

Roots of the promise, the seed planted growing.

The first hearers of this story were Israelites in the wilderness after the exodus, descendants of the tribe of Judah among them. Maybe the other tribes were having a chuckle at their expense… was this all that meaningful?

Successive generations would gain more perspective, with the establishment of the royal house, the anticipation of the Messiah. All of this making more sense. But it was not only for them, this is here for you.

1 Peter 1:10–12 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, [11] inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. [12] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.” (ESV)

The line goes on, made up of “mistakes,” illegitimate children. Scandals. Human stories. So that you might be saved, so that you might be His.

It is especially striking that the ugly actions of Genesis 38 are committed by Judah, the one through whom the Messiah would ultimately be born. This continues the whole-Bible theme of God using the most unlikely subjects for working out his redemptive purposes in the world (1 Cor. 1:26–29).

“The intrusion of this story into the Joseph narrative gives the incident particular prominence. While the reader is in suspense to know how Joseph fared in Egypt, he is forced to attend to this review of Judah’s private life, a review which was destined to become public property for centuries to come. Judah is, of course, to reappear in the Joseph narrative, where he has a sensitivity and self-forgetfulness, the very opposite of which dominate in this story. It may be that his public humiliation following the Tamar scandal genuinely humbled him and transformed him into the kindly man who was concerned for his aged father and young brother. ‘The principle of divine election makes few concessions to greatness or even merit (cf. Deut. 7:6ff.).… Nevertheless the motif of the readiness of God to forgive and continue with his people is thus introduced.’ This truth should give new heart to every defeated Christian.” Joyce G. Baldwin, The Bible Speaks Today

Here is God’s unwavering faithfulness to accomplish his promise through imperfect people, culminating in Christ, who redeems from sin and rejection and who will believe.

“In the providence of God the lineage of Judah fulfilled God’s purpose, which had of necessity to bear with human sinfulness in order to redeem it. That God saves by grace and not by merit needs to be writ large so that all may read and understand.” Joyce G. Baldwin

In the promise of God, grace will break out from even the most flawed of family lines.

The story of Judah and Tamar and Perez points to the great Judah, the Judah who Judah should have been.

I imagine the words spoken to Perez spoken to Jesus after the resurrection. “What a breach you have made for yourself!”

Pa ras ta - make an opening in something. Opened a way of salvation for us. For a relationship with our Creator. Even for those with tainted history, a sketchy present, or an uncertain future. Come to Jesus, find rest, find freedom, find family. Finally.

From this story and others would come this banner over God’s people:

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?” (ESV)

Repair - Do justice wherever you can because justice has been or is being done for you in Christ.

Repent - Keep on turning, stay awake to who you are, your humanity, weakness, and need for, and the gift of grace. Rejoice in it.

Roll on - Keep going. Keep trusting, planting gospel seeds, and watering where you can, so that a family tree will grow.

God can bring beauty from brokenness, and this story reminds us that our failures do not disqualify us from His grace.

The Savior of the world comes from a line of flawed, weak, wandering people, because that is who he came to save—you and me. No ladder to climb, just His righteousness declared over you. What glorious grace.