Genesis Part 060
The story of Judah and Tamar is of notable significance. It is placed here in the middle of Joseph's story, not because it is directly related, but because the events took place after Joseph was sold into slavery and before the sons of Jacob traveled to Egypt. The story has significant implications in the history of Israel and even today.
The biblical narrative is messy and includes details of lives and consequences of decisions that rival any dramatic movies or epics available for our entertainment today.
In chapter 38, we read of infidelity, prostitution, God’s capital punishment, blackmail, confession of righteousness, and then a surprising outcome. All in this interjection to the story of Joseph!
At the end of the account is the birth of twin sons, Perez and Zerah, to Tamar. These two boys become important fathers in the lineage of future kings. If Onan and Judah, their uncle and grandfather, had had their way, Tamar would not have given birth to the twin sons whose descendants include both King David and Jesus Christ.
Although the account does prominently show some of Judah's shortcomings, that is not its main purpose. This account is about proving lineage. Both Luke 3:33 and Matthew 1:3 show that Perez is the son of Judah through whom Jesus was descended. The Messiah would be a descendant of Judah (see Genesis 49:10). But why the detailed version of this lineage? Many of the other lineages in Genesis simply list who fathered who. Wouldn't that suffice? No, for without the story of how Tamar conceived and Judah's subsequent public acknowledgment of fatherhood, the Jewish heritage of the descendants of Perez, including Jesus, may have been unknown or disputed.
For further information on the descendants of Perez and Zerah, including the significance of the breach and the scarlet thread, please see The Throne of Britain: Its Biblical Origin and Future.
Another interesting item in the account is Judah's statement in verse 26,
"She has been more righteous than I."
This was certainly true. Notice that although Tamar did dress as a prostitute, it was Judah who solicited her. Yet later, Judah sentenced Tamar to be burned as punishment, even though he had been very willing to go into one whom he thought was a harlot and participate in such a sin himself. In contrast, Tamar was ensuring that an heir would be raised up to her husband (compare Deuteronomy 25:5–6), a responsibility that Judah had willfully abandoned (Genesis 38:14). Verse 7 states,
“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.”
Men do evil all the time, but God doesn’t always step in and immediately kill them. We are not told what Er did; however, the words used here are meant to express “exceedingly wicked.” It was some very great evil. God chose to eradicate him and his evil nature from the bloodline.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
