Mighty is the Power of God to Redeem
Genesis 38 is a unique interruption in the story of
Joseph. Before we get into the actual diversionary
story, let’s talk a little bit about the overarching historical point. This story shows a tremendous amount of humanity
and sinful behavior. This story reveals
a mankind who is truly at the mercy of its physical impulses.
Yet, we should not miss that this story is inherently
remembered in Matthew 1:3 where we see that the lineage of Jesus Christ is
drawn through Judah and Tamar through the son Perez. Regardless of whatever this story has to say,
it tells us that God is willing to work through our sinful humanity. Our sin absolutely troubles God. The way we treat each other absolutely
troubles God. But God doesn’t walk away
from us. God is willing to use what He
can within us to continue to work His plan in the world.
God is willing to redeem our sinfulness. He is willing to work His righteousness
through our dark sinfulness. That is the
hope that we can see in the midst of a tragic story of human history. With this attitude, let’s look at the story
in the historical context in which it rests.
Bondage to Sin
This story opens as a commentary on the bondage of sin. Remember that just a chapter ago Judah says
to his brothers that they should sell his brother rather than kill him. So as Joseph is sold into slavery we see that
Judah is himself a slave – although Judah is a slave to his own sin. Here we can see the fundamental differences
between Judah and Joseph. Judah
struggles primarily with his own failings; Joseph struggles primarily with the
failings of others.
Let’s talk a little bit about Judah’s decisions first. It all begins with the reoccurring problem of
marrying Canaanite women. This activity brought
trouble for Esau. It now brings trouble
for Judah. Without getting into the
concept of devaluing Canaanites, the idea that is really at stake is whether or
not we desire to follow God’s wishes. It
isn’t at all that Canaanites are unredeemable people. Rather, this is a matter of obedience. God said to not do it and the offspring of
Abraham find it impossible to obey that command.
The choice for Judah to take a Canaanite wife is no
different than any of our choices to value our own judgment instead of God’s
ways. We may not struggle with this
issue with respect to marriage and Gentiles, but we absolutely struggle with
this issue in a multitude of other aspects of our life! That is something with which we can all stop
and reflect upon. We may not all have
taken Canaanite wives, but we have all been the victim of our own poor choices
that go against what God would really like for us to do.
Onan’s Sin
Before we talk about Judah and Tamar, let’s take a quick
look at Onan’s action in this story. We
need to be careful that we get the correct point. Many unfortunate readers of this story poorly
locate the sin of Onan for which he stands condemned. Many say that Onan’s sin was “spilling his
seed upon the ground.” Unfortunately, I
have to intensely disagree with that teaching.
I find my disagreement in the New Testament teachings of
Jesus immediately following the Beatitudes.
There we see Jesus telling us that it is our motivations and our
thoughts which are truly the destructive parts of humanity. In Matthew 5:21 we hear Jesus say that murder
is wrong, but it is the anger in our hearts that is the greater danger. In the same light I read this passage.
In Genesis 38:9 we hear that Onan’s motivation for doing the
act was because he knew that the offspring would never be his. There was greed and self-centeredness in his
heart. He was not concerned about Tamar,
but rather about his own personal gain and status. It is this self-serving nature – way more the
act of spilling his seed on the ground – that truly blackened his heart and
brought judgment down upon him from God.
Again, it points us back to the question asked above: how much do we
trust God’s ways over our own selfish ambitions?
Judah and Tamar
So now let’s look at Judah and how this story concludes. First, consider what it says about Judah that
Tamar knows she can entrap him by pretending to be a prostitute. This is not condoning Tamar’s action in the
least. Yet it does illustrate that Judah
can be ensnared in this manner. No
wonder Judah proclaims judgment upon himself in Genesis 38:26!
Certainly Tamar’s actions are not innocent of guilt, but
Judah knows that his sin is greater. He
has allowed himself a reputation that others can use to ensnare him. He has engaged in extra-marital sexual
relations – of which Tamar is equally guilty, too. He has also ignored the needs of the widow in
the case of Tamar. In any case, he has
shown himself inhospitable, immoral, and a public display of sinful behavior.
At least he recognizes it!
Judah is now free to repent and change because he is willing to lay the
guilt at his own feet. He can move
forward and make amends because he is not too proud to admit his mistakes. While Judah’s sin leaves something to be
desired, his repentance is something to be admired and imitated. Who among us cannot find something in our
life for which we should repent?
A Return to a Hidden Theme of Genesis
Notice that in the final verses of this chapter we can see
yet another conflict between the “younger” and the “older.” Zerah tries to be born first, but conflict
arises between Zerah and Perez. Zerah
technically is the first-born. Yet as I
pointed out in the beginning of this post, Perez is the one through whom the
lineage of Christ is drawn in Matthew. I
find that interesting.
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