Frienship With The World Series

3. “Hey, it’s sheep shearing time down in Timnath!’ he says, plenty of booze, lots of women, why don’t we go down there, it’ll take your mid off things!”

4. Now to you and me who are city people a ‘Sheep shearing festival” doesn’t exactly sound like a barrel of laughs, but understand that this festival was a riot – it was Mardi Gras, it was Notting Hill, it was carnival time, and every kind of sin, vice and folly was there to be enjoyed!

5. So Judah decided to go.

C. All the while Shelah, his son has grown and there is no sign of him giving him to Tamar as a husband.

1. So that she may be saved from disgrace, and that Judah would do the right thing by her in enabling her to bear a child, Tamar had to contrive a plan in order to obtain justice, even putting at risk her own life.

2. Knowing only too well the kind of man Judah was becoming, and expecting him to make an appearance at Timnath, she disguised herself as a temple prostitute and lay in wait for her father-in-law.

3. Having surrendered now to the morals of the world, Judah passing by his disguised daughter-in-law duly propositioned her – how well she knew him – the price of her service a kid from his flock – a payment he clearly did not have with him.

4. So as a mark of his willingness to pay her deposited with her his signet ring, bracelets and staff.

5. The commentator John Phillips says of this transaction: “The signet was his ring, used for impressing his signature into clay tablets of the time; it represented his person. His ‘bracelets’ were probably a valued chain of gold; they represented his possessions. His staff marked him out as a shepherd. In ancient times many people carried a staff, often carved with some identifying symbol such as an animal, a flower or a bird. The staff represented his position. Judah could this lightly forfeit his person, possessions and position for the sake of a moment of lust.”

6. That is where his worldly friendship had brought him.

III. Hirah Encouraged Judah down the Wrong Kind of Path – vs. 20-23

A. You where Hirah now stands in Judah’s life.

1. In verse 1 he is a mere acquaintance.

2. In verse 12 he is an associate going along along to the carnival at Timnath.

3. But by verse 20 he is an accomplice in his immoral behaviour with Tamar.

a. You see that is the nature of friendship, the Bible says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” (Prov 27”17)

b. A friend rubs off on you, and he either encourages you to do what’s right or he encourages you to do that which is wrong.

c. Clearly Hirah was the wrong kind of friend, and clearly Judah had bought into an unequal yoke when he teamed up with this worldly associate.

d. Someone put it this way, “In our dealings with those caught in sexual lust, mercy is incomplete unless we do as Jesus did; call it sin. We have winked, giggled, made alibis, or ignored sin all too long. A friend in deed is one who says quietly, but firmly, "What you’re doing friend is sin. It is harmful to you and to others. It is destructive to God’s dream for you.”