Have you ever looked at that horrible sin of Judah in Genesis 38? You know the one I’m talking about. It's the one that can make you blush while you read it in a room BY YOURSELF! It’s the one where he refuses to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar because she was previously married to his other sons (Er and Onan) and they both died. It’s the one where Judah, after his wife dies, goes to Timnath to his sheepshearers, and there he spends a night with a prostitute (or at least he thinks she’s a prostitute), paying for the services with his signet ring, his cord and his staff. It’s the one where the prostitute wasn’t really a prostitute, but his daughter-in-law, Tamar, disguised as a prostitute. It’s the one where she ends up pregnant and Judah, riding on his high horse of self-righteousness – and hopes of getting rid of this black widow before he has to give his youngest son to her in order to continue the line of his dead son – seeks to put Tamar to death for getting pregnant by “immorality”. It’s the one with a jaw-dropping climax: Judah calls for Tamar to come before the congregation to receive her punishment for her sin (burning). She refuses to come out of tent and sends someone with a message and some interesting objects. The objects the person was carrying was Judah’s signet, his cord, and his staff. The message was this; “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” (Genesis 38:25)
What a story!!
But like the list of Esau’s descendants in Genesis 36, the
story of Judah’s sin doesn’t seem to fit the narrative of Genesis at that
point. Let me explain. Genesis 37 begins with the story of Joseph –
Jacob’s favoring him above is brothers, his brothers’ envy and hatred of him,
and his brothers selling him as a slave.
I expect Genesis 38 to continue that storyline, but it doesn’t. The storyline is interrupted with the tawdry tale
of Judah’s embarrassing sin. Then,
without a hiccup, Genesis 39 picks back up the story of Joseph. I mean, if you remove Genesis 38 from the
storyline of Genesis, you wouldn’t even notice it.
Again, we are left asking ourselves this question: Why is
this here? What does it mean? How does this apply to me?
A CONTRAST
There is an enormous contrast that is being made in this
event. Judah is being set compared to
Joseph, and the comparison isn’t a good one for Judah. Joseph is the perfect son. He is beloved by his father. Joseph is honest, even with it causes
trouble. Joseph is faithful to the task
he’s been assigned. Joseph is the role
model for the others to follow, even if they are older than him. Other than Jesus, Joseph is the only person in the Bible (that I can find) who has such a
large portion of scripture devoted to their life (13 chapters) without having
ONE NEGATIVE thing to say about him.
Joseph was faithful in difficult circumstances, he was strong in the
hour of temptation, he forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery, and the
story goes on and on and on. Judah, on
the other hand, is the complete opposite.
Judah is deceitful and unfaithful; he refuses to give his youngest son
Shelah to Tamar so she could have a child in honor of her dead husband, Er
(this act was a custom of their time that secured the continuance of the dead
person’s name). Judah seeks to satisfy
his flesh by purchasing a night with a prostitute. Judah seeks to kill his daughter-in-law
because she was guilty of “immorality” (you want to say, “Hey, Judah, did you
forget about that woman in Timnath?”).
He is filled with self-righteousness, deceitful, wicked lusts, and
selfish desires. He’s the complete
opposite of Joseph!
Who Am I
More Like
This raises the important question: Am I like Joseph or am I
like Judah? While I would LOVE to be like
Joseph (after all, who doesn’t want to be like Joseph), I must be honest and
say that I am much more like Judah. My
heart is wicked. I battle selfish
desires. I’ve mounted the high-horse of
self-righteousness and quickly judged others for sins I’ve also committed. I look in my heart and I am so thankful that
my most notorious sin isn’t recorded in the Bible for all to see! Make no mistake: I am much more like Judah
than I am Joseph.
The Glory
Of The Gospel In Judah’s Sin!
It is the horrible sin of Judah that makes the storyline of
Genesis – and the entire Word of God – intriguing. In Genesis 49, Jacob, before his death,
blesses his sons. Joseph is blessed by
Jacob. We know it will be a good
one! He says to Joseph:
“Joseph
is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the
wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him
severely, yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands
of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father are
mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the
everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him
who was set apart from his brothers.” (Genesis
49:22-26)
Let’s be honest: We’re not surprised. We know Joseph is going to receive a great
blessing from Jacob. After all, he IS
the perfect child, brother, Prime Minister, father, etc.
But what does shock us is the blessing Jacob gives to Judah. Sure, we know he will bless him, but we don’t
expect Judah’s blessing to be the greatest of all. Yet, Scripture records the blessing:
“Judah,
your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the
prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a
lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the
ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him
shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his
donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his
vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth
whiter than milk.” (Genesis 49:8-12)
Wait a minute! Judah’s
brothers will praise him (not Joseph)?
His brothers will bow down before him (not Joseph)? A scepter (instrument of royalty and rule)
will not depart from Judah (not Joseph)?
A ruler will come from Judah (not Joseph)? Tribute will be offered to Judah (not
Joseph)? The obedience of all people
will be to Judah (not Joseph)?
As confusing as this is, it makes perfect sense in light of
the New Testament. Genesis 49:8-12 is a great Messianic passage, a foretelling of the coming
Messiah. Jacob promised Judah that the
Messiah would come from Judah’s line.
And we see this fulfilled in the New Testament. In fact, in Matthew 1, we see that Genesis 38
figures prominently in the human lineage of Jesus. One of the sons Judah fathered with Tamar
(they had twins) is mentioned as an ancestor of Jesus! And, Matthew even mentions Tamar BY NAME in
Jesus’ genealogy! The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus came
from the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14). And in Revelation
5, John is told to stop weeping when no one in heaven, on earth or under
the earth could open the scroll that was sealed with seven seals. The reason he was told to stop weeping was
because “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that
he can open the scroll and his seven seals.”
Who was this Lion of Judah? The
lion was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ!
Jacob said that Judah would be a “lions cub”, and from Judah sprang THE
Lion (this should make you want to read Narnia)!
What, then, does this mean to me? What does it mean to you? What’s so great about all of this?
I am so glad that Jesus didn’t come from the line of Joseph! If he did, I would think the Savior only identifies with perfect people! If he did, I would think the Savior only associates with perfect people! Sadly, if He came from Joseph, I would think I’d have to be perfect like Joseph in order for Him to associate with me.
But when I look at Jesus coming from Judah, when I look at Jesus descending from the relationship that’s recorded in Genesis 38, when I think that Judah’s name will forever be attached to Jesus, then I am greatly encouraged because I’m reminded that OUR SAVIOR IDENTIFIES WITH SINFUL PEOPLE! I’m reminded that our Savior identifies with people whose past is so checkered and stained with sin that they are embarrassed for others to know about it! I’m reminded that our Savior identifies with people who feel like they’ve been too bad! I’m reminded that our Savior identifies with people who all have a Timnath in their past! Yes, I am reminded of the glorious truth that our Savior didn’t come to identify with perfect people; He came to save sinful people!
