01(Gen 38) When a Life is Shattered

I.      A Life Adrift (Genesis 38:1-11)

A.     Judah marries a Canaanite. (38:1-5)

§  The son who runs with Hirah.

§  He is not interested in the promises to Abraham.

§  Life is not built on principle: becomes a sad legacy for his sons.

B.     Married to Evil. (38:6-7)

§  Tamar married to Judah’s eldest, Er.

§  An evil that destroys others destroyed her husband.

§  A little known but widely speculated fact about God: He has the right to remove evil.

§  1 Corinthians 11:30 “…some are ill and weak, and many sleep (have died)”.

§  1 John 5:16 “…there is sin leading to death”.

§  Tamar a widow in her youth.

C.     Married to Selfishness. (38:8-10)

§  Given to Er’s brother, Onan. In accordance with custom to continue the line of Er.

§  Again the Lord took his life.

§  Twice widowed.

D.     Single and sent home. (11)

§  Promised to the third son, Shelah.

§  Much younger, has to wait till he is grown.

§  Judah is afraid of God. Wants to have his son for a while before God kills him too.

II.    A Life Forgotten (Genesis 38:12-26).

A.     Judah’s wife dies.

§  Judah finds comfort in his old friend, Hirah.

§  His son has grown, Judah has forgotten his promise to Tamar.

§  She is still in widow’s clothing, trapped and unable to remarry.

§  Once again Judah is focused on himself.

B.     Tamar’s attempt a self-rescue. (13-19)

§  A willingness to lower herself is born of desperation, life without direction.

§  She knows what her father-in-law will fall for.

§  She is worldly-wise enough to secure identification to be used later.

§  She leaves perhaps vindicated, yet shattered. What kind of life has she set for herself?

III.   A Life Redeemed (38:27-30).

A.     How God uses a shattered life: Matthew 1:1-3.

§  The offspring of Judah and Tamar was in the hands of God.

§  What man meant for evil, God intended for good.

B.     There are no wasted lives.

§  Few had as twisted and sordid lives as Tamar, Judah.

§  Yet God was still able to use them, and their names are included in the genealogy of the Savior.

§  Never give up on a life; never.

§  God is judge; you are not.

§  Just as the Lord ended the lives of Er and Onan, He preserved the lives of Tamar and Judah.

C.     The blind man complex: a life that is useless for God.

§  Yet God can take those lives and show His mercy and power.

§  Your bad choices have terrible consequences. But God can still use you. Have hope in him.

§  Your child’s rebellion is heart-breaking. But you don’t know what God can yet do.