Today, we’re looking at a story in Genesis about Judah, the fourth son of Jacob (Israel) and great-grandson of Abraham. Last Sunday, we were studying Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son — so it may seem strange that Moses suddenly leaves the story of Joseph to tell us what’s happening in the life of Judah. But this story is not a detour; it’s by divine design. It shows that while God is working in and through the life of Joseph He is simultaneously working in the life of Judah, to redeem a life that was self-destructing. This is an incredible story of how God can bring life out of the dust.
Genesis 38:6-30
6 Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have relations with your brother’s wife and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a child for your brother.” 9 Now Onan knew that the child would not be his; so when he had relations with his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground so that he would not give a child to his brother. 10 But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD; so He took his life also. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, “I am afraid that he too may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 Now after a considerable time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he assumed she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, “Here now, let me have relations with you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may have relations with me?” 17 He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She then said, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had relations with her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she got up and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments.
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 He asked the people of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no temple prostitute here.” 22 So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the people of the place said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute here.’” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep them, otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”
24 Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and behold, she is also pregnant by prostitution.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned!” 25 It was while she was being brought out that she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, “I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong.” She also said, “Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” 26 And Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.
27 It came about at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were twins in her womb. 28 Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, that one baby put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But it came about as he drew back his hand that behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.
God made a covenant with Abraham — to bless the nations through his descendants and ultimately bring forth a Savior. God told Abraham and his descendants to walk before Him blamelessly, to live with moral integrity and to live a life aligned to God’s will. But as we can see Abraham’s family repeatedly failed to live up to that. What can we see in this passage in Genesis 38?
? Judah’s Story
? Search for Justice
? Self-Realization
? Spiritual Awakening
Judah’s story is one more reminder that the line of promise is filled with broken people — and yet, through them, God fulfills His purpose. Let’s look more closely at:
1. Judah’s Story
After Judah and his brothers sold their brother Joseph as a slave, Judah separates himself from his family and like his dad runs away from the mess that he created. He moves about 27 kilometers north of Hebron, meets a beautiful Canaanite woman, takes her for himself, and then has three sons from her - Er, Onan, and Shelah.
When Er grows up, Judah arranges his marriage to Tamar. All we know about Er is that he was extremely wicked and God took his life. So according to the laws of levirate marriage, Judah tells his second son Onan to marry her to carry on his brother’s family line. This both ensures that the deceased has a continued lineage and also that the widow stays in the clan. But Onan only used her for sexual pleasure and made sure she would not have a child because it wouldn’t be his heir anyway. God judged him as well and he died.
Instead of facing the sin in his household or his failures as a father, Judah blames Tamar for his son’s deaths. She’s the problem. He tells her to return to her father’s house and wait until Shelah grows up but has no intention of following through. Out of sight, out of mind. Like he did with his brother Joseph - Judah had a way of desensitizing himself to his own evil.
It was Judah’s obligation to take care of Tamar and provide a husband for her, but out of his indifference and selfishness he alienates her instead, relegating her to a dead-end life as a social outcast.
2. Search for Justice
Years pass. Judah’s wife dies. Shelah grows up, and Tamar realizes Judah has no intention of keeping his word. Out of desperation and determination she searches for justice. She, like Jacob (Judah’s dad), who had deceived Isaac by disguising himself, disguises herself as a prostitute in order to obtain what should have rightfully been given to her - his son Shelah.
She waits along Judah’s path which she knew he would take. She knew Judah’s practice, his lifestyle and used it against him. Judah is lured in by his own lust and not knowing it was his daughter-in-law, has sex with her and leaves his seal and staff as a pledge, which is the equivalent of leaving his social security number and bank card (16-19a). Tamar takes these and goes home. Later, when he tries to send what he owes her (a goat), he can’t find her so just forgets about it. It’s interesting to note that Jacob used the goat skin to deceive his father Isaac, the sons use goat blood to deceive their father Jacob, and Tamar uses the price of a goat to deceive her father-in-law Judah. (that’s probably where we get the phrase, “got your goat”).
Three months later, Judah hears that Tamar is pregnant by prostitution. Furious, he orders, “Bring her out and burn her!” (Look up) The hypocrisy is staggering. The man who uses prostitutes now condemns her. He needed to justify his actions of keeping his son from her, for neglecting her, and depriving her of her place in the family. And now he is about to commit an incredibly evil and unjust act - burn Tamar alive. “I knew there was something about her that wasn’t right. Burn her.”
But as she’s being brought out, Tamar sends Judah the staff and signet, saying, “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong. Do you recognize them?” The Hebrew phrase, “hakker nah” — “do you recognize?” — is the same phrase Judah used when showing his father Joseph’s bloody coat. Hakker- nah - means to discern or recognize. Just like Judah deceived Jacob, Tamar now holds up a mirror to Judah’s own sin.
Tamar wasn’t just saying, "do you recognize your belongings” but “do you recognize who you are, what you have done and who you have become?” Tamar was saying that the man who owns these also deserves to die in the fire with me. This was a painful moment for Judah - a moment of:
3. Self-Realization
Tamar was, in a sense, putting a mirror up to Judah’s face allowing him to see who he had become. It was like a house of mirrors. Yes, Tamar committed an act of immorality and she was guilty of deception, but Judah bore the greater guilt. Because of his position, power, his family line, and his responsibility to Tamar, he came to recognize his own wickedness and what he truly deserved. “She has done wrong but I have done the greater wrong.” Judah’s response marks the turning point in his life. Judah saw himself- it was a moment of self-realization:
“She is more righteous than I.”
This story parallels King David’s, generations later. After David demanded that the man in Nathan’s story would “ be put to death for his great evil” realized that the story pointed to himself. David didn’t see his own adultery and murder as evil until he passed judgment on someone else for the same thing. Nathan told him, “You are the man.” It was a profound moment of self-realization for David.
How often is this the case? We can’t see the worst in ourselves or the truth about ourselves because our own continued sin desensitizes us. Paul wrote to the church in Rome:
Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things (Rom 2:1).
Without understanding the holiness, perfection, and goodness of God, we can’t objectively see ourselves, to see what it’s like to be on the other side of us, or even be able to face it. Do you find that it’s easier to point to someone else's shortcomings or sins than to point to your own? Do you sometimes use someone else’s shortcomings to justify your own? Paul continues writing,
Or do you think lightly of the riches of God’s kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Rom 2:4).
If we recognize God’s kindness and patience towards us, and experience His love for us, we have a capacity to look at ourselves in the mirror. Tim Keller wrote:
The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time.
Judah’s moment of self-realization was taking him from dust to life. His self-realization was the beginning of a:
4. Spiritual Awakening
When Judah recognized his own evil and owned it, something in him changed and would continue to change him over time. This man who sold his brother for silver would later offer himself as a slave to save his brother Benjamin’s life (Gen 44:33–34). Even though Judah was Israel’s fourth son, he would eventually receive the blessing of the first born and carry on the family line.
At the end of Genesis 38, Tamar gave birth to twins — Perez and Zerah. Like Jacob and Esau before them, they struggled in the womb, and the younger, Perez, took the lead. That name, Perez, means “breach” or “breaking out.” And it was through Perez’s line that King David — and eventually, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world came (Matt 1:3). From this scandalous, messy, painful story — life, redemption, and the promise and hope of salvation break out. It’s a beautiful picture of redemption.
Is there a “Genesis 38” in your life — a chapter you’d rather tear out, a story of sin or shame that you wish you could erase? Maybe you have said this at some time in your life, “There’s no way God can’t save me, there is no way God can forgive me, there is no way that God change me, there is no way that God use me!
Reflect on this: God didn’t hide Judah’s story. He redeemed it. And He can redeem yours too. In fact this might be where God is just getting started in your life. I would pose the following challenge to all of us:
1. Let God show you - what you’ve been blind to — a sin, attitude, action or hypocrisy you’ve excused.
2. Own your failures: Admit your sin, don’t try to justify it, and don’t blame others. Judah’s change began when he said, “She is more righteous than I.”
3. Let God lead you out. His kindness leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4). God’s grace can turn the ugliest chapter of your life into a testimony of His redemption.(But it may take time)
4. Let God change you. Like Judah, who was moved from selfishness to self-sacrifice. It’s one thing to experience self-realization, it’s another when it leads to repentance and transformation. A genuine turning to God, turning away from who you were and seeing yourself as who He’s created you to be.
Do you realize who you are? A son or daughter of the King. More and more let your life reflect the One who redeemed you — Jesus Christ, the lamb of God - the Lion of Judah.
