Beware your Lies will catch up to you
Character of Judah
Caught in his own deceit
You know all of us here in Dillingham have heard the story our elders tell of going to school barefooted, both ways uphill.
Well maybe not that one. It could have been the six-foot rabbits or the one about the big fish that got away.
In any culture there are certain tall tales that go around and you may have heard one or two. Some of this is just people having fun but the problem comes when peoples characters are clouded by deceitful thoughts.
Have you ever been tempted to put in for something you knew you shouldn’t.
Maybe claim a deduction on your income tax that really doesn’t exist.
Try to make someone believe that you have done something that you have not done.
That you tithe the amount indicated by God, if you do not.
That you are totally given to the work of God, if you are not.
These are things that can and will mark you as an unreasonable or undesirable character. These actions also are something we as Christians want to strictly avoid.
Why, will it do me harm as a Christian?
The simple and direct answer is yes. We do receive consequences for sin in our lives. And even greater reason to not be associated with this kind of character is to avoid bringing reproach on the will and work of God. God has set you and I apart, we are holy because He is holy.
Let us learn as we walk with Jacob’s son Judah this week. Remember, Judah was a ringleader with the plan to sell his brother Joseph to the Ismaelites. Let us join with the account of Genesis Chapter 38.
Character of Judah
Genesis 38:1-
Genesis 38:1-14 (ESV)
It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. [2] There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, [3] and 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] Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.
[6] And 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 put him to death. [8] Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." [9] But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. [10] And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
Remember we were able to see the wise stewardship of Jacob in separating himself and his people from the Canaanites at Shechem. Here following delivering his brother to the Ismaelites, Judah went to be with a friend an Adullamite. An inhabitant of Adullam, a city of Canaan, afterwards given for a possession to the sons of Judah, Joshua 15:1, 35. It appears as if this Adullamite had kept a kind of lodging house, for Shuah the Canaanite and his family lodged with him; and there Judah lodged also. As the woman was a Canaanitess, Judah had the example of his fathers to prove at least the impropriety of such a connection. As this chapter attests—Judah’s character would fail.
And he was at Chezib when she bare him—This town is also known by the name of Achzib. “The name, has in Hebrew the signification of lying; and to it the prophet alludes, saying the houses of Achzib shall be (Achzab) a lie to the kings of Israel, Micah 1:14.”
Er—was wicked in the sight of the Lord—What this wickedness consisted in we are
not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great
evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er’s wickedness is his
own name, the letters reversed. Er øò wicked, òø ra. Strong’s gives us the following definitions of ra-- bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) :- adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), + exceedingly, × great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief (-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, + not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st). It is as if the inspired writer had said, “Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character.” We see the fruit of his evil character is death.
Onan knew that the seed should not be his—That is, that the child begotten of his
brother’s widow should be reckoned as the child of his deceased brother, and his name,
though the real father of it, should not appear in the genealogical tables. Although Onan means “strong” in Hebrew we can again see a major flaw in his character.
Another thing clearly seen in Onan’s actions is the “I” of pride showing itself. This will not be my child—I will not be able to claim the honor of this, I will have to work to feed the child. This is something we have a lot of difficulty dealing with in our lives this very day.
Again I would remind you of the bible truths which tell us that the sins of a present generation will be upon the third and fourth generation. The deceitfulness and bad practices of many generations before them are rearing their ugly heads.
How can we claim victory over the sins of our ancestors?
The only way that I am aware of that is able to have any effect is to come before God with all supplication, praying earnestly to be released from the transgressions of our ancestors back to the third and fourth generation. We have a mighty God and a Risen Savior, one who has conquered this world through his death and resurrection. Cling to Him and in Him alone.
What does God call us to be?
What is God’s will of His children here on earth?
Who are we to obey?
God clearly directs children to obey their parents. Numerous verses throughout the bible uphold this direct commandment of God. Therefore, it should not surprise us that God’s reaction to Onan’s direct disobedience ended in--Wherefore he slew him also—The sin of Onan has generally been supposed to be self-pollution; but this is certainly a mistake; his crime was his refusal to raise up seed to his brother, and rather than do it, by the act mentioned above, he rendered himself incapable of it. We find from this history that long before the Mosaic law it was an established custom, probably founded on a Divine precept, that if a man died childless his brother was to take his wife, and the children produced by this second marriage were considered as the children of the first husband, and in consequence inherited his possessions.
You and I today may wonder about this. In the Ancient Near East property was more community minded than in our present immediate gratification world. Things were shared at a community level and this is where this divine responsibility came in.
We are quite simply called to obey God’s will, and His will is for children to obey their parents. If you do this all will go good for you. If you choose to walk in a manner contrary to this than you are responsible for what comes into your life. I pray that you gladly choose to pursue the will of God alone.
Remember, we are a product of our environment. Er and Onan were not born into a vacuum and allowed to develop these ungodly traits alone. They were under the hand of their father and their Canaanite mother. You as a parent bear some great responsibility for the manner in which your children turn out. Remember prayer is one of our greatest assets again if they are passed the point where we are giving direction and guidance on a daily basis.
Do you see the chinks in Judah’s character? We often see better in hindsight than we are able to anticipate an outcome. Let’s turn to God today to see what needs mending in our lives in order to be better parents and leaders in our communities, organizations, and churches—to the glory of God.
Caught in his own deceit
11-30
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up"—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
[12] In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. [13] And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep," [14] she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. [16] He turned to her at the roadside and said, "Come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?" [17] He answered, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." And she said, "If you give me a pledge, until you send it—" [18] He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. [19] Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
[20] When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. [21] And he asked the men of the place, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?" And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here." [22] So he returned to Judah and said, "I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ’No cult prostitute has been here.’ " [23] And Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her."
[24] About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned." [25] As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." And she said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff." [26] Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.
[27] When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. [28] And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first." [29] But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore his name was called Perez. [30] Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
We see in the beginning a promise made which was not meant to be kept. For fear of losing his only remaining son, Judah may have asked that Tamar return to live with his father until his young son could grow up. The bible tells us to let our yes be yes. If we do not mean to do something we should simply say so.
In process of time—Judah’s wife dies and he does mourn for a little while. Again we see a character flaw shown in Judah, as he visits his shearer’s he sees a women and--.
Thought her to be a harlot—a women he thought who sold herself to the public for hire.
Boy now this is something we in the Church say we would never do.
Yet we know of people who have sold their prospect of Christianity for a new car…a new wife…a new house…or a new job. You see we can have many things we might sell our wholehearted devotion to Jesus Christ for.
It appears that in very ancient times there were public persons of this description; and
they generally veiled themselves, sat in public places by the highway side, and received
certain hire. Though adultery was reputed a very flagrant crime, yet this public
prostitution was not; for persons whose characters were on the whole morally good had
connections with them. But what could be expected from an age in which there was no
written Divine revelation, and consequently the bounds of right and wrong were not
sufficiently ascertained? This defect was supplied in a considerable measure by the law
and the prophets, and now completely by the Gospel of Christ.
After being with Judah, Tamar asks--Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it?—The word ïåáøò erabon signifies an earnest of something promised, a part of the price agreed for between a buyer and seller, by giving and receiving of which the bargain was ratified; or a deposit, which was to be restored when the thing promised should be given. The same word is used in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (ESV)
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, [22] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Also in Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
From the use of the term in this historical context we may clearly see what the apostle means by the Holy Spirit being the EARNEST, áñ¼áâùí, of the promised inheritance; viz., a security given in hand for the fulfillment of all God’s promises relative to grace and eternal life. We may learn from this that eternal life will be given in the great day to all who can produce this erabon or pledge. He who has the earnest of the Spirit then in his heart shall not only be saved from death, but have that eternal life of which it is the pledge and the evidence.
One thing seems certain, and again applies to Judah’s poor character, in this verse she is called a harlot in our version; but the original is äùã÷ kedeshah, a holy or consecrated person, from ùã÷ kadash, to make holy, or to consecrate to religious purposes. And the word in its context here means a person consecrated by prostitution to the worship of some impure goddess.
In many cities such as Corinth, the public prostitutes in the temple of Venus were called, holy or consecrated female servants. It would appear from the words zonah and
kedeshah above, that impure rites and public prostitution prevailed in the worship of
the Canaanites in the time of Judah.
And among these people we have reason to believe that Astarte and Asteroth occupied the same place in their theology as Venus did among the Greeks and Romans, and were worshipped with the same impure rites.
When the acts of Tamar are made know to Judah his cry--Bring her forth, and let her be burnt—Upon ordering Tamar to live as a widow in her own father’s house till his son Shelah should be marriageable, he considers her therefore as the wife of his son; and as Shelah was not yet given to her, and she is found with child, she is reputed by him as an adulteress, and burning, it seems, was the accepted punishment of this crime.
Judah, being a patriarch or head of a family, had, according to the custom of those times, the supreme magisterial authority over all the branches of his own family; therefore he only acts here in his juridical capacity.
How many of you feel that it is strange that in this place where adultery is punished by the most violent death, prostitution for money and for religious purposes should be considered as no crime!
Tamar sends someone to Judah with the news and proof of the father of the child and it is he. Judah plainly sees his sinfulness revealed as he states--She hath been more righteous than I—It is probable that Tamar was influenced by no other motive than that which was common to all the Israelitish women, the desire to have children who might be heirs of the promise made to Abraham.
Judah had obliged her to continue in her widowhood under the promise of giving her his son Shelah when he should be of age, consequently his refusing or delaying to accomplish this promise was a breach of truth, and an injury done to Tamar.
There are scholars within the church that have a difficult time with chapters of this nature. Why? It does not show the glory of sinless man, but a sinful and deceitful man and the things brought into his life as a result of the seed of discord sown around him. That is the blessed truth that God lays before you and I, and should be an ever present comfort as to the reliability of scripture and of our guarantors ability and desire to work with fallen mankind in bringing about His good and perfect will.
But one thing above all is needed to be able to seek or be a part of God’s good and perfect will. We must first become part of God’s family. We must come to a point in our life that we realize that we are indeed a sinner. As such we are deserving of death—the death that Jesus Christ took our place in. We must accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and ask him to come into our hearts. That is how we are able to tap into the limitless power of our God and guarantor who alone is able to bring His perfect will to completion. As stated earlier it is God who establishes you in this relationship with Jesus Christ. Are you willing to turn to our guarantor right now and ask that Jesus Christ become your Lord and Savior? If you would like to accept Jesus in this manner today, we ask you to come forward.
If you have any specific prayer requests or needs, please bring them forward. We would be pleased to pray for you. May you learn from our walk with Judah and his family today to avoid the pitfalls of deceit and pride, and to humble ourselves to the glorious work which God lays before you and I. Remember that in ourselves we are nothing, but in God—we can do all things, through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.
Closing prayer.
