Genesis 38
The Seed of Judah

Children, this story is so ugly that you may not even understand it. This story is so nasty that your parents may not even have told you about the kinds of sins that these people commit. I want to be careful not to tell you more than you need to know. Your parents can teach you about these sins when you are old enough. But I also want you to be able to understand something about this story.

So let me explain at least a little bit now. And I'll also talk to you during the sermon.

Judah is supposed to have children. God promised that this would happen. And his children are supposed to have children. And those children are supposed to have children. At that is supposed to keep happening until Jesus is born. If Judah doesn't have children, Jesus will not be born. If Judah's children do not have children, Jesus will not be born.

But Judah doesn't believe this promise. He doesn't think Jesus will be born. So he takes a wife from the Canaanites. He takes a wife from people who don't believe Jesus will be born. So Judah and his wife have three sons, and their sons are like them. Their sons don't believe the promise. Their sons don't believe Jesus will be born.

So God kills the first one before he has any children. The second one says he doesn't want any children. He doesn't believe the promise of God either. So God kills him. Now Judah only has one son left. And Judah gets scared. He won't let his one son even TRY to have children because he is afraid God will kill his last son too.

Then Judah's wife dies. So nobody is having children, and how will Jesus be born now? This is the problem that this story is telling us about. Who will fix it?

Well, Tamar, who was married to one of Judah's sons, decides to fix it. She tricks Judah into having a child with her. She does something very wicked to make this happen. She sins.

But, children, do you know what? She had a child because of that sin. And that child is the great great (etc.) grandfather of Jesus. Everybody sins in this story. Yet God was working this whole time. Did God like the sin? No. Was God still in control? Yes. Did God use even these nasty sins to do what he wanted to do? Yes.

Well, parents, and other adults. I hope that helps orient you as well to understand these ugly events in the light of Christ. Just as throughout the Joseph story, here we see the sovereign providence of God working to produce a Savior for his people. Even the sins of his people cannot frustrate his plans. He uses these nasty events to produce the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah … to produce Christ who will redeem these sinners and us as well.

  1. Judah and Sons Reject the Promise of a Seed (1-11)
    1. Judah Intermingles with the Canaanites (1-6)
      1. Last week we saw how Judah and his brothers rejected the word of God as it came to them in Joseph's dream.
      2. Now we see Judah reject the promise of God which was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
      3. We remember again how Abraham stressed to his servant, "See to it that you don't take a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites."
        1. The Canaanites are wicked. The Canaanites are devoted to destruction.
        2. The descendants of Abraham will go to war against the descendants of the Canaanites and defeat them.
        3. To intermarry with them is to say, "I don't believe that promise."
      4. In the same way Isaac passed this faith down to Jacob, urging him to go to Haran to find a wife and not to take a Canaanite wife.
      5. But Jacob has been a poor father, a poor head of his household
        1. He was not able to lead his children in this faith
        2. He has already let his daughter Dinah mingle with the Canaanites at Shechem
        3. He has already shown that he can't keep his children in line when they behave wickedly
          1. Simeon and Levi at Shechem
          2. Reuben with Bilhah
      6. Does he not understand?
        1. Does he think that it is enough that they are his children according to the flesh?
        2. Doesn't he understand the story of Ishmael and Isaac - the son of the flesh and the son of the promise?
        3. Doesn't he understand the story of Esau and himself - again the son of flesh and the son of the promise?
      7. Does Judah not understand?
        1. Does Judah think he will inherit the benefits of the Abrahamic covenant just because his father is Jacob?
        2. Does HE not understand the above things?
      8. Well, let US understand
        1. Abraham had two sons according to the flesh, but only ONE inherited the promise of God
          1. The one whom God chose
          2. The one who by faith embraced that promise
        2. Isaac had two sons according to the flesh, but only ONE inherited the promise of God
          1. The one whom God chose
          2. The one who by faith embraced that promise. (For, yes, defective though his faith was, Jacob was a man of faith.)
        3. Let us then not think that God will save our children simply because they are our flesh and blood
          1. As we have been granted a greater revelation of God's grace than Jacob, let us have a more mature and assured faith than his. Let us continually turn our children to faith in Christ in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen.
          2. Let us daily remind them that their salvation is in him alone
          3. Let us point them to him in all troubles
          4. Let us remind them of him when they start to boast in their own strength
          5. Let us turn their eyes to him when they become comfortable in and content with this present life.
          6. Let us comfort them with him when they suffer the miseries of this present life
          7. Then our children shall be children of the promise with a faith like ours.
        4. Children, do YOU understand?
          1. Jacob didn't teach his son Judah about the promise of God
          2. So Judah is in danger of losing that promise
          3. Go to your parents and ask them to teach you about the promises of God.
          4. Children, ask your parents to teach you these things to help you believe them.
      9. When Esau married Canaanites (36:2) we said that was his rejection of the promise.
      10. But now JUDAH is rejecting the promise.
      11. How can we tell them apart anymore?
      12. So we see that the difference is not that Judah is better and Esau worse.
      13. They are both depraved and blind and unable to embrace the promises of God.
      14. But God in his mere good pleasure chooses one and not the other.
      15. Do you see that?
        1. God does not look down from heaven and say, "I will choose only those who have faith because they are superior."
        2. God looks a faithless, wicked humanity and chooses some for his own glory.
        3. You were no better than Judah, but God chose you.
      16. So Judah has sons by his Canaanite wife (3-5)
        1. It's hard to rejoice in this.
        2. Is God fulfilling his promise here that Judah will have a seed?
        3. How can he do that through a Canaanite.
        4. This story is getting all messed up because of Judah's sin.
      17. Then he takes a Canaanite wife for his son (6)
        1. Sin is compounded upon sin
        2. He passes his faithlessness on to the next generation
        3. How will the promised seed be produced now that the "righteous" and the wicked are commingling and, really, there is no one righteous anymore?
    2. Judah's Sons by the Canaanite Are Wicked (7-10)
      1. Are these sons going to turn things around?
      2. Though produced in this wicked manner, will they prove to be children of faith, embracing the promise.
      3. Tersely, the Lord tells us no.
      4. "Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord and the Lord killed him." (7)
        1. This is no more than this wicked line of Judah deserves.
        2. But if God pursues this policy, how will Christ, the seed of Abraham, ever be born?
      5. So Judah tells Onan to raise up heirs to his brother (8)
        1. This was an ancient custom.
        2. If your older brother left a childless widow, you were supposed to marry her and have children who would be considered your brothers heirs.
        3. And this ancient custom, God was pleased to preserve in the Mosaic Law.
      6. Onan doesn't think this is a great idea (9)
        1. He marries Tamar
        2. But he refuses to have any children by her.
        3. Children, Onan is saying, I don't want any children. I don't believe in the promise of God that Jesus will be born from this family. I don't care.
        4. So, adults, he takes the privilege of marital relations with Tamar, but deliberately prevents this act from producing children.
      7. Obviously this is evil in God's eyes (10)
        1. Onan is despising the promise of God.
        2. He's not even seeking a seed.
        3. So God kills him too.
    3. Judah Ceases Seeking a Seed (11-12a)
      1. At this point, Judah only has one son left, and he isn't old enough to marry.
      2. So Judah puts Tamar off, saying, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah is grown."
      3. But he has no intention of giving Shelah to her "Lest he also die like his brothers."
      4. He looks at Tamar as bad luck, a sort of lightning rod for the wrath of God.
      5. His sons are wicked and are born of a wicked union between Judah and a Canaanite.
      6. Rather than seeing that his sons are the problem, he blames Tamar.
      7. Rather than repenting, he simply gives up any attempt to have offspring.
      8. He has utterly abandoned the Abrahamic promise at this point. He has not interest in God fulfilling his plan for this son of Jacob.
      9. And then his wife dies, so he can't produce another seed himself. (12a)
      10. Is this it?
      11. Is God's plan of redemption to be thwarted by the sinfulness of those he would redeem?
      12. If that is possible, then all is lost! We are sinners and cannot do the least thing to save ourselves.
      13. If God will not intervene and carry out his plan in spite of this wickedness, Christ will never be born and all men shall die in there sins!
  2. Tamar Seeks a Seed (12b-23)
    1. Tamar Deceives Judah (12b-16a)
      1. In the midst of this Tamar, of all people, begins to seek a seed
        1. Tamar, the Canaanite.
        2. Tamar, the one outside the covenants of promise.
        3. She seeks what Judah ought to seek and the Lord will grant it to her. Though she sins, she is not as bad as Judah.
        4. As Judah will conclude in v. 26 "She has been more righteous than I."
      2. She finds out that Judah is going up to Timnah (13)
      3. And she sees that Judah is not giving her his son Shelah and she realizes he never will (14)
      4. So she dresses up as a prostitute and waits for Judah (15)
      5. Judah, being wicked, is tempted and asks for her services (16)
        1. He is not willing to give his son Shelah to her to raise up the promised seed.
        2. He is not willing to marry again himself and seek such a seed.
        3. But he is willing, like Onan, to spill his seed on the ground of this prostitute who, as far as he know, cannot bear the promised children of Abraham.
        4. What wickedness! What depravity! How low he has sunk in hating the promises of God and embracing the empty pleasures of this fleeting life!
    2. Tamar Bargains with Judah (16b-19)
      1. What will you give me? She asks (16b)
      2. A goat, he replies (17a)
      3. Will you give me a pledge? (17a)
        1. How can I trust you?
        2. Put down a deposit (17b)
      4. What do you want? (18a)
      5. Your signet and cord, and your staff (18b)
        1. Signet and cord - his identification
        2. Staff - the sign of his authority over his family, servants, etc.
        3. It's like a policeman handing over his I.D. card and his badge.
        4. Judah is handing over his identification and his authority.
      6. How appropriate, no?
        1. Judah has given up his identity as a son of Israel who will bear the promised seed. He's voluntarily forfeiting that for this pleasure.
        2. And Judah has given up his authority over his family as well. He won't give his son Shelah to Tamar. He won't lead his family to faith in the promised seed. Through his own lack of faith he condemns them.
        3. He gives them up to have this meaningless encounter that cannot, as far as he knows, produce the promised seed.
    3. Judah Discovers Part of the Deception (20-23)
      1. So Judah sends the goat in payment to get his signet and cord, and his staff back.
      2. Then he finds out that he has been deceived out of his identity and his authority.
      3. Once again, a son of Abraham is involved in a deception involving a goat
        1. Jacob before blind Isaac
        2. The sons of Jacob killing a goat and bloodying Joseph's coat and showing it to him
        3. Now this.
      4. The sins of the father are visited upon the son.
      5. The sins of the son come back to haunt him.
      6. What a predicament!
        1. If the sins of the fathers are to be visited on the sons, how will any be saved?
        2. If the sins of the sons come back to haunt and torment them, how will they escape the consequences of sin?
        3. Children of God, this is the situation of the children of Israel
        4. But it is not just theirs.
        5. They are a picture to us of our situation in Adam.
        6. We need a better head so that his sins are not passed down to us
        7. And we need him to bear the consequences of our own sins
  3. Tamar Is Vindicated and the Seed Is Born (24-30)
    1. The Seed Is Conceived in Spite of All the Wickedness (24a)
      1. In spite of all this…
        1. In spite of Judah's wicked faithlessness
        2. In spite of the wickedness of his sons
        3. In spite of the wickedness of his daughter-in-law
      2. God is gracious
      3. God does not deal with Judah or Tamar as their sins deserve
      4. Rather, a child is conceived, the godly line is preserved!
        1. And now we see that "the godly line" is not the line of those who are godly…
        2. But it is the line that ends in godliness, in Christ Jesus.
    2. The Seed Is Placed in Jeopardy (24b)
      1. Judah is told that Tamar is pregnant.
      2. He declares that she must be burned to death.
      3. Oh, the hypocrisy!
        1. Has he not "played the harlot" as well?
        2. Not only has he committed the same sin of marital relations without marriage…
        3. He has played the harlot against all the promises of God.
        4. He's been playing the harlot since the day he turned his back on God and took a Canaanite wife.
        5. And now HE will stand in judgment against HER?
      4. But there it is.
      5. The seed is in danger. The plan of redemption is in danger.
    3. The Seed Is Preserved (25-26)
      1. Tamar sets the signet and cord and staff before Judah and says, "Whose are they?"
        1. This also reminds us of the last chapter.
        2. Jacob's sons setting Joseph's bloody coat before him and saying, "Is this your son's" and he identifies it.
        3. He set the coat before his father to deceive him and bring him to grief.
        4. Now Tamar sets the signet and cord and staff before Judah to show the TRUTH and bring Judah to grief.
        5. His sins are coming back to haunt him.
        6. Oh WHEN will one be born who will TAKE AWAY the consequences of our sins
        7. WHEN will Christ come to show us not the evidence of our sin but the evidence that our sins are washed away?
      2. Judah recognizes them and acknowledges "She has been more righteous than I."
      3. He has no right to judge her, for he has been a greater sinner by not giving her his son Shelah to raise up a seed.
      4. And he never had marital relations with her again (26) but from that one incident, the ancestor of Christ is conceived.
    4. The Seed Is Born (27-30)
      1. So Tamar comes to give birth, and she begins to have twins (27)
        1. And one of them sticks out a hand first (28)
        2. And that's important to the midwife
          1. She ties a scarlet thread around the hand
          2. She says, "This one came out first."
          3. She is securing for this child the right of the firstborn
      2. But an amazing thing happens
        1. The OTHER child comes out first (29)
        2. Once again God surprises us by choosing the one we didn't expect.
        3. Once again, God proves that HE is the one who determines who is esteemed in his sight.
      3. According to the midwife, Zerah is the firstborn
      4. But according to God he can choose whichever he wants.
      5. It is from Perez that Christ will be descended.
      6. And so, as a result of great wickedness, the line of Christ is preserved.
      7. Oh, marvel at the gracious providence of God!
        1. Is there a more sordid story in all of Scripture?
        2. Yet out of this sordid story, God brought righteousness in Christ.
        3. Out of this mess of sin, God brings the Holy One of Israel
        4. God's plan is not thwarted. His purposes are sure.
        5. Even the sins of those he means to save cannot stop him from saving them!
      8. This is a picture of total depravity
        1. You and me, apart from Christ.
        2. God does not depend on us at all to produce our salvation
        3. He produces it IN SPITE OF our best efforts to thwart him.
        4. Let us then continually give him the praise and the honor

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