Sermon Tone Analysis

Tuesday November 14, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 38:6-10-The Lord Kills Judah’s Sons: Er and Onan

Lesson # 238

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 38:1.

This evening we will continue with our study of Genesis 38.

By way of review, we have noted the following:

In Genesis 38:1, we read where Judah left his brothers in Dothan and headed back home to Hebron to see his father Jacob but instead turned aside and came into contact with a man named Hirah who lived in the city of Adullam.

Then on Sunday, we studied Genesis 38:2-5, which records Judah marrying a Canaanite woman who bears him three sons named Er, Onan and Shelah.

This evening we will note Genesis 38:6-10, which gives us the account of the Lord killing two of Judah’s sons, Er and Onan.

Genesis 38:1, “And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.”

Genesis 38:2, “Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her and went in to her.”

Genesis 38:3, “So she conceived and bore a son and he named him Er.”

The name of Judah’s first son is “Er” (ru@) (ayr), which means, “one who watches.”

Genesis 38:4, “Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan.”

The name of Judah’s second son is “Onan” (/n*w)a) (o-nawn), which means, “vigorous.”

Genesis 38:5, “She bore still another son and named him Shelah; and it was at Chezib that she bore him.”

Genesis 38:6, “Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.”

Judah arranged the marriage of his firstborn Er with a Canaanite woman whose name was “Tamar,” which is the proper noun Tamar (rm*T*) (taw-mawr), which means, “palm-tree.”

The personal name “Tamar” appears in the Bible only in the Davidic family.

Remember, David, like the Lord Jesus Christ came from the tribe of Judah.

In the Biblical world, parents usually arranged marriages.

The Israelites were prohibited from intermarrying with Canaanite women since they were under the curse of Noah recorded in Genesis 9:24-27, however, we must remember that this curse was conditional meaning that any Canaanite who placed their faith in the God of Israel, Jesus Christ, could escape it.

An example is Rahab the harlot who was a Canaanite and as we will note, like Rahab, Tamar, a Canaanite woman embraced the faith of Judah, her father-in-law.

Usually Canaanite women did “not” embrace the faith of their husbands, but instead seduced their husbands to join their lifestyles (See Genesis 24:4; 26:34-35; 31:50), however, with Tamar, this is not the case.

Tamar will emerge as the heroine of Genesis 38.

In fact, Tamar was to be the mother of the Messianic line from Judah and so therefore, she is found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (See Matthew 1:3).

Therefore, Er’s marriage to Tamar was according to the will of God.

Genesis 38:7, “But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.”

In the original Hebrew text of Genesis 38:7, there is a pun in that Er’s name in the Hebrew is the Hebrew word for evil, which is ra.

This is the first time we see explicitly stated in Scripture that God put someone to death.

“Evil” is the adjective ra` (ur^), which refers to an attitude that seeks to live independently of God and expresses itself in disobedience to the laws of God.

Evil is a “viewpoint” and “attitude” that originated with Satan when he rebelled against God and sought to live independently of God (See Isaiah 14:12-14).

There are two viewpoints in all of God’s creation: (1) Divine viewpoint based upon the infallible Word of God.

(2) Satanic viewpoint based upon the genius of Satan, which is described in the Bible as evil.

Evil is “independence from God” and is the genius of Satan, which is why Satan is called in Scripture “the evil one.”

1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

John 17:15, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”

2 Thess 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”

Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to everything, I solemnly charge all of you to take up for yourselves your shield, which is your faith because that will enable all of you to extinguish all the flaming arrows originating from the evil one.”

All of sin is evil but not all evil is sin.

Evil involves both “immoral” and “moral” degeneracy, which is the product of the old sin nature.

“Immoral degeneracy” involves sexual sins, murder, lying, stealing, etec whereas “moral degeneracy” involves human good and self-righteousness.

“Human good” is evil because it is based upon improper motivation from the influence of the old sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan upon the human soul.

Human good is the attempt by man to solve his problems apart from the will of God, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.

God hates human good (Isa.

64:6).

Isaiah 64:6, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.”

Both believers and unbelievers produce human good.

Human good can include: (1) Humanitarianism (2) Socialism (3) Philanthropy (4) Public welfare (5) Social security (6) Religion (7) Legalism (8) Reversionism (9) Communism (10) Pacifism.

Therefore, evil encompasses not just sin which Christ paid for on the Cross with His substitutionary spiritual death, but it also encompasses human good.

Since evil originates with Satan and is his viewpoint, God permits evil to run its course as part of the angelic conflict until Satan is imprisoned for a thousand years in order that Christ’s millennial reign can take place (Zeph.

3:14-15) and it will be permanently eliminated when Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.

20:7-10).

Evil is located in the soul (Matt.

6:23; 15:19) and shortens life (Amos 5:14-15) and is distinguished from sin (1 Chron.

21:1, 17).

The believer is commanded to reject evil (Deut.

13:5; Isa.

1:16; Rom.

12:9, 21; 1 Pet.

3:9; 3 John 11) and only the believer who obeys the Word of God can avoid evil (Gen.

48:16; 1 Sam.

25:39; Job 28:28; Psa.

37:25-27; 84:10; Prov.

16:6, 17; Isa.

59:15; Jer.

9:3; 23:21-22; John 17:15; 1 Cor.

13:5).

Psalm 97:10, “Hate evil, you who love the LORD, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”

Romans 12:9, “{Let} love {be} without hypocrisy.

Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Hebrews 3:12, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

Genesis 38:7, “But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.”

In Genesis 38:7, the adjective ra, “evil” describes Judah’s firstborn son Er as conducting his life independently of God, which expressed itself in disobedience to and rebellion against God.

The Scriptures do “not” reveal what his disobedience entailed, however, the use of the covenant name of God, which is Yahweh, “Lord” instead of Elohim, “God” indicates that Er was a believer who sinned in relation to His covenant relationship with God.

If Er was an unbeliever, the noun Elohim, “God” would be used but instead the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to use the covenant name of God Yahweh, “Lord,” which indicates that Er’s sin was in relation to his covenant relationship with God.

The fact that the covenant name of God is used, Yahweh, “Lord” indicates that Er was a believer and that he disobeyed God in relation to His covenant relationship with God to the extent that he died the sin unto death.

There are three categories of divine discipline (punishment) for the disobedient child of God: (1) Warning (Rev.

3:20; James 5:9) (2) Intense (Ps.

38:1; 2 Th.

2:11).

(3) Dying (Jer.

9:16; 44:12; Phlp.

3:18-19; Re. 3:16; Ps. 118:17-18; 1 Jo.

5:16).

1 John 5:16, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death.

There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.”

1 John 5:17, “All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.”

1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.”

1 Corinthians 11:24, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”

1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”

1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”

1 Corinthians 11:27, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 11:28, “But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

1 Corinthians 11:29, “For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”

1 Corinthians 11:30, “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.”

“Weak” refers to warning discipline (Rev.

3:20; James 5:9) and “sick” refers to intensive discipline (Psa.

38:1; 2 Thess.

2:11) and “sleep” refers to dying discipline (Jer.

9:16; 44:12; Phil.

3:18-19; Rev. 3:16; 1 Cor.

10:13-14; Psa.

118:17-18; 1 John 5:16).

1 Corinthians 11:31, “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

1 Corinthians 11:32, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”