The Fall and Rise of Judah
Notes
Transcript
Text: Genesis 38
1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her,
3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.
10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
14 she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—”
18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.
21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ”
23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”
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.
27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.
28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”
29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
PRAY
What is this chapter doing here? How does it fit in the Joseph story and in the rest of Scripture?
It seems out of place - interrupts the story of Joseph
Liberal scholars suggest that Genesis is just a collection of stories pieced together by many later editors, not a cohesive story written by Moses.
Even if we accept Mosaic authorship (which we should), this story still seems out of place
Because of our linear way of thinking in the West
Moses has structured his writing as a chiasm
So we need to understand the concept of chiasm in order to understand the importance of this story and to understand the whole last section of the book.
Chiasm of Genesis 37-50
While studying Genesis 38 for this week’s sermon, I had a breakthrough in understanding the final section of Genesis.
The chiasm was the key that resolved the tension I was feeling in the final section of Genesis, chapters 37-50. Until this point in Genesis, Moses’s focus has been on the one through whom God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 would be fulfilled — the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head. After Adam and Eve, Moses focuses in on Seth, then Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
But the last section of Genesis (chapters 37-50) focuses on Joseph, and at the end of Genesis we learn that it’s not through Joseph that the Messiah will come, but rather through Judah. What’s up with that?
When we get to Jacob’s blessings in Genesis 48-49, we see that both Joseph and Judah receive the greatest blessings. But why does Judah get the blessing of being the one through whom the Messiah will come, when Joseph has been the main focus of this section and has portrayed the character and actions of the Messiah in such amazing ways? When we get to the end of Genesis, we’re expecting that the Messiah will come through Joseph.
But the chiastic structure of Genesis 37-50 is the key to understanding the roles of Joseph and Judah and the blessings given to them at the end of Genesis.
Not only does the chiastic structure show us how Genesis 38 stands across from Genesis 49, but it also highlights the central importance of Genesis 44-45, where both Judah and Joseph portray the character and actions of the Messiah. (Chiasms usually emphasize what’s at the center).
In Genesis 44 we’ll see that Judah is a new man — he has repented and reformed, and unlike the Judah we meet in Genesis 37-38 who sells his brother into slavery and uses a prostitute to gratify his sinful desire, in Genesis 44, Judah offers himself as a slave in place of his brother Benjamin. His selfless love, his intercession for Benjamin, and his willingness to offer himself as a substitute for Benjamin demonstrate the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And then in Genesis 45, we see the person and work of Jesus Christ in Joseph’s response of extending forgiveness and love to those who had been his enemies.
When we see that Genesis 44-45 is the center of this final section of Genesis, we see how both Joseph and Judah typify the Messiah who is to come.
And although Joseph is the main focus of this last section of Genesis, we see the surprising reversal theme again here, that it’s not the son we expect through whom the Messiah will come. Just as God chose the unexpected younger son Isaac instead of Ishmael and the unexpected younger son Jacob instead of Esau, now God chooses the unexpected son Judah (son of Jacob’s least favorite wife Leah) instead of the favored son Joseph (son of Jacob’s beloved Rachel). God’s ways are not our ways.
We think it’s going to be Joseph, but in fact it is Judah through whom the Messiah will come.
And the story of Genesis 38 helps us understand how the evil, ungodly man Judah came to be the righteous Judah through whom God will bring the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head.
Names of people in Genesis 38
One difficult thing about understanding this story is the amount of names of people and places.
In these 30 verses we have 9 characters mentioned by name, plus two unnamed women, two groups of men, and other unspecified messengers.
Judah (1)
His brothers (1)
Hirah the Adullamite (1)
Shua the Canaanite and his unnamed daughter, elsewhere called Bath-Shua (2)
Judah’s sons by the unnamed Canaanite woman
Er (3)
Onan (4)
Shelah (5)
Tamar, the wife Judah took for his firstborn Er (6)
The men of Enaim, whom Hirah interrogates about the prostitute Judah slept with (21-22)
The (unnamed) midwife (28-29)
Judah’s sons by Tamar:
Perez (29)
Zerah (30)
Names of places
Starting place implied (1): Hebron — where Jacob had been living with his sons before they sold Joseph into slavery.
Adullam (1) - the city where Hirah was from; a little south of Chezib/Achzib
Chezib (5) - place name meaning “deceitful”; probably the same town later called Achzib in Joshua 15 and Micah 1;
Timnah (12-14) - a town to the northwest where Judah was going to shear his sheep (possibly also the same town where Samson saw a Philistine woman he liked and decided to marry her in Judges 14-15)
Enaim (14, 21) - a city on the way to Timnah, where Tamar waited for Judah, acting like a cult prostitute
The Story of Judah’s Sin
1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
Judah leaves his family
finds a friend
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her,
sees a woman and takes her
3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.
bears 3 sons
(time passes)
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
Judah gets a wife for his oldest son
Tamar named, nationality not stated, unlike Judah’s first wife
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
The LORD kills his oldest son because he was wicked
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.
10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
Judah commands his second son to raise up seed for his brother, but he refuses to obey, and God kills him too
Deut 25:5-10 explains the laws regarding levirate marriage
Onan wanted the pleasure of the sex without the possibility of a son.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
Judah fears for his 3rd son and doesn’t give him to Tamar
12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
14 she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.
Tamar concocts and carries out a plan to conceive children by Judah
Why did Tamar do this? specifically choosing Judah (not just any man) to have his children
Tamar was owed the protection of a husband from Judah’s sons and she was owed offspring from them
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—”
18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
Judah unwittingly goes along with Tamar’s plan
What does this say about Judah’s character?
Tamar knew that Judah was a man governed by his passions
Judah wasn’t only engaging in sexual sin, but also idolatry
His sinful passions made him utterly foolish, handing over his signet, cord, and staff (like giving a stranger your SSN, credit card information, and driver’s license)
19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
Tamar didn’t become a prostitute; she merely acted like one to get what she was owed
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.
21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ”
23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
Judah can’t find her to get his pledge back
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
Judah is heartless and hypocritical here
25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”
When she is condemned for her action, she identifies Judah as the one responsible
Like Nathan’s confrontation with David, where David admitted that the man in Nathan’s story deserved to die, and Nathan says, “You are that man.”
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.
Judah admits his guilt and repents
If she deserved to be burned and “she is more righteous than I”, what is Judah saying that he deserves?
Judah’s sin has been exposed, and instead of shifting the blame or hiding, he confesses and forsakes his sin. This is repentance.
Confession of sin: “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah” (I did what was wrong, I am guilty)
Forsaking sin: And he did not know her again. (He did not keep choosing to commit the same sin - he forsook his sin)
Proverbs 28:13 “13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Judah obtained mercy. He confessed and forsook his sin, received God’s forgiveness, and became a new man. Judah was converted.
27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.
28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”
29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
Twins Perez and Zerah are born, with similar circumstances to Jacob and Esau
Timeline of events (in the story of Joseph)
all these events apparently take place between selling Joseph into slavery and being reconciled to him (during a period of 22 years)
Main points of Gen 38:
Contrast of Judah with Joseph in ch. 37-38-39
notice “going down” language (Gen 37:35; 38:1; 39:1)
both brothers alienated from their other brothers
Give important connecting information between Gen 37 and Gen 44, thus explaining Judah’s repentance and character change
Reveal Judah’s descendants, foreshadowing his importance at the end of Genesis and beyond
Demonstrate God’s grace, working through people’s sinful actions, to accomplish His good purposes (Matthew 1:2-3; Gen 50:20); Jesus didn’t come for the righteous, but for sinners
Reveal God’s character: justice, mercy
Application:
Application:
How do you respond when your sin is exposed?
How do you respond when your sin is exposed?
When God the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin and exposes your sin to you (and sometimes also to others), that is His gracious and merciful work in your life. When your sin is exposed, how should you respond? Repent, like Judah at the end of Gen 38. Admit you sin and guilt, ask forgiveness, forsake your sin, and seek God’s grace and help to do what’s right.
Marvel at God’s grace and mercy to sinners
Marvel at God’s grace and mercy to sinners
Tamar may have been more righteous than Judah here, but she was not without sin. Judah also was obviously guilty here. Yet God was gracious to them and rescued them, and in His amazing grace, they became part of the family of the Messiah, mentioned in Matthew 1:2–3 “2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar …”
God redeems wicked acts
God redeems wicked people
