Genesis 38:1-30
Judah and Tamar
1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So 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 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Then 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 killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.”
So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”
18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?”
So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”
And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”
So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”
26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.
27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) as we read in scripture, and that is played out here in of Judah and his descendants. He married a Canaanite woman who gave him a wicked son named Er who the LORD simply took off the earth and then another named Onan who was told to give his widowed sister-in-law a child to continue his family line. He pulled out at the last moment in defiance after having his pleas with her in defiance of the LORD and also face the divine sentence of death as his wages earned by his sinful works. The now bereft and fruitless Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, was promised a husband by Judah’s third son named Shelah when he was old enough to marry her, as he was younger than Er and Judah did not want him to die like his older brothers. Shelah had grown up and was still not given to her as promised, so when Judah’s wife died she took the opportunity to force the issue to get an heir by deception. She posed as a prostitute along the way that Judah would travel and disguised herself to get a child as promised, but in a sinful manner from her father-in-law since he refused to honor his promise of his son to be given in marriage since he was finally full grown. She took a pledge as down payment like an IOU for Judah to later redeem when he brought her the payment for her services. He was in the dark until he saw her pregnant out of wedlock and wanted to have her put to death for disgracing the family. That is, until she revealed the truth of his own sin by bringing out his signet, cord, and staff to identify who the father of her child was. He only then admitted his sin with her as well as the broken promise of his son to marry her and of course did not have her killed be he was just as guilty if not more so. Judah even said out loud that Tamar was more righteous than he was in this affair. She then gave birth to twins who vied and jockeyed for position of the firstborn and this Perez and Zerah were born. From Perez came the Hezronites from which came the royal line of King David and the Christ Jesus to us. Even from sinful people comes the plan of God to pass over time according to His sovereign will and power! Truly with us we see that the wages we earn and deserve from our sin is the death of body and soul due to us, but God’s grace and plans call us in this Christ to the redemption of forgiveness to grant us what we do not deserve, eternal life in His presence (Psalm 16:11) forevermore. He reveals our deception and makes our ways straight by calling us to turn from sin (repentance) to receive (John 1:12) and follow Him in this grace in which we stand. These things were written for our example (1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 15:4) as both warnings and encouragement in Christ. We are called, chosen, and saved (Romans 8:29-30) from the penalty of sin to live in the direction of the righteousness of Him as His spiritual heirs to multiply and fill the earth with this eternal inheritance. This then is a picture of The Wages of Sin which we all must face in the reflection of God’s grace.
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