Genesis 38:1

The Bible says in Genesis 38:1-10, “And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.”

The sad narrative on the lives of Jacob’s sons continues. Ten of the sons of Jacob become a terrible band of young men. In reading Genesis chapter 37, we learn that because of their jealousy and hatred, ten of the sons had plotted the murder of their brother Joseph. They sold Joseph into slavery, and then they told the terrible lie to their father Jacob that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. What sorrow these sons had caused their father and what cruelty they did to their brother Joseph! Also, in Genesis chapter 38 we are told the shameful truth of Judah’s sexual immorality. Things had gotten so bad, and the illegitimate sons of Judah had become so evil that God had to end the life of two of Judah’s sons. Regarding all things, including life itself, we must always remember what it says in Job 1:21, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” We do not always know why the Lord “hath taken away” a life, but we do know that sometimes God does so because of the sinfulness of the person. That certainly was the reason that these two sons of Judah were removed from the earth through death. As it says in Genesis 38:7, “And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.” This principle that sin can bring death is stated in First John 5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”

Concerning Judah and his sins, the Bible says in Genesis 38:11-30, “Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first, And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.”

We see in this passage at least three great sins committed by Judah. First, Judah did not keep his word to Tamar that he would give his son Shelah to become her husband so that she could bear children. Second, Judah went to a prostitute and committed fornication. Third, when Judah was told that Tamar had engaged in prostitution, Judah said harshly and hypocritically, “Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.” How different was the attitude of Jesus concerning the woman who was taken in adultery in the New Testament. The Bible says in John 8:3-7, “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

Often women become prostitutes because they think that it is the only way that they can get the money that they need or want. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” However, it is interesting to notice that in Tamar’s case, she became a prostitute because she wanted a child. The desire to have a child can be a very powerful force. It appears that such a desire was even stronger thousands of years ago. Christian women should be saying, “If the Lord is willing may I have a child in marriage” instead of trying at all costs to accomplish the fulfillment of their own desires. One would think that people would have learned after all these centuries that having children can sometimes cause great sorrow to the parents. It would be wise to seek the Lord’s will, and to be properly prepared about parenting. Many have not learned. One reason for that is because many Bible teachers do not tell the truth about the difficulties in parenting and in maintaining a good parent-child relationship. The parent might do everything very well, but the child can still choose to go the wrong way in life. Such was the case with Cain, the first child born into the world. Many supposed Bible teachers do not forewarn the parents that a child will someday make his or her own choice to serve the Lord or not, and that choice is not in the parents’ control. Sadly, many Bible teachers also do not teach that children can bring sorrow, as well as joy. They do not tell the truth because they do not know the truth. But life must go forward. Each generation has the opportunity to learn the best way: from the mistakes of others as shown in the Bible, or to learn the hard way: from their own mistakes.

In Genesis chapter 38, with Tamar and Judah we have a woman who acted out the role of a prostitute, and we have a man who visited the prostitute. Judah was correct when he said in Genesis 38:26, “She hath been more righteous than I.” That is usually the case. In such situations the men are more at fault than the women. There would be no prostitutes, if there were no men who sought out the prostitutes. But both are at fault. Prostitution is an activity that is far removed from the way that God means for men and women to be related. We should always strive for the ideal. The ideal relationship is described for us in Genesis when God brought Eve to Adam, and they loved each other and were faithful to each other for the rest of their lives. God said in Galatians 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Whenever there is sexual immorality, whether by prostitution or adultery or fornication, there will always be negative results for the man and the woman involved. God gave us the way to live for a reason: He knows what is best for us, and He wants us to be happy. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Genesis chapter 39 begins the story of Joseph and his time in Egypt. The rest of the book of Genesis will be about Joseph. More time is spent on Joseph than anyone else in the book of Genesis, so this shows us the importance that the Holy Spirit has given to Joseph and to the things that happened in his life. There are many important lessons to learn about serving God from the life of Joseph. It says in Genesis 39:1-6, “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.”

We are told something important about Joseph. We are told the reason for his success: his relationship with the Lord. It says in Genesis 39:2, “And the LORD was with Joseph.” It says in Genesis 39:3, “the LORD was with him,” and “the LORD made all that he did to prosper.” In Genesis 39:5 the Bible says, “the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake.” And finally, the same verse says, “the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.” In all of these phrases there are basically two ideas. First: the Lord was with Joseph. Second: the Lord blessed Joseph. To say that the Lord was “with” Joseph is a description of the close relationship between Joseph and the Most High God. Any human being can have a relationship with God through the grace that is in Jesus Christ. God is holy and we are sinners. Therefore, it is amazing that He seeks fellowship with us, but He does. Notice that the Bible does not say, “Joseph was with the Lord.” It says, “the Lord was with Joseph.” Any human being on this earth who has a personal relationship with the Lord, has that relationship only because of what God has done through His grace. Of course, that does not mean that there is no responsibility on the part of man. It says in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” Concerning the name of Jesus, the Bible says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

We know that the Lord was with Joseph because Joseph called upon the name of the Lord. Jesus is with those who call upon Him. It is that simple. We call upon Him for forgiveness. We call upon Him for help, and we call upon Him to give us wisdom. And because Joseph had a relationship with the Lord, the blessing of the Lord was upon Joseph’s life. Notice that the blessing of the Lord was demonstrated by the good results that God gave to Joseph’s work. Joseph was responsible for Potiphar’s entire household. And Joseph was blessed in all that he did. The key to doing your best is to have a relationship with the Lord and to dedicate all of your efforts to His glory. It says in Galatians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” In other words, in your heart dedicate what you do to His glory. Most people do what they do for their own glory. Which ones get the best results: those who do their best with their own strength alone or those who do their best with their own strength and with God’s blessing? The answer is obvious. What a great salvation Jesus gives to us. By His grace and mercy we have a future in heaven, and we have His blessings upon our efforts in this life.

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