Man Schemes, God Reigns (Gen 38:1-30) (The "Hidden" God, Part II)

Genesis 38:1-30; Key Verse: Gen 38:26,27

"'She is more righteous than I...' When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb."

Where is God when evil prevails? Today's text graphically depicts the utter sinfulness of sinful man in Judah and his 2 sons (Gen 38:1-11). Yet God, who seems to be hidden, works things out behind the scenes according to his sovereign will and purpose (Gen 38:25-30). Thus, the title of my sermon is "Man Schemes, God Reigns" (The "Hidden" God, Part II). Last week, from Gen 37:2-36, we studied the "hidden" God in Joseph's suffereing. Today, from Gen 38:1-30, we study the "hidden" God in Judah's sin in 4 parts:

1. Man Schemes (Gen 38:1-11): The wages of sin.
2. God Reigns (Gen 38:12-24, 25-30): The faithfulness of God.
3. The Ultimate Tamar
4. (5 Practical Applications.)

Sexually explicit. This is the most sexually explicit narrative in Genesis, involving sexual intercourse, coitus interruptus, and prostitution. Thus, this chapter is rarely if ever preached in church on Sun. Perhaps, I may be the first to do so in 50 years of UBF history. One commentator even refers to this chapter as "a secular narrative through and through... The narrative is secular and says nothing of God's action or speech." (Westermann, Claus. Genesis 37-50: A Commentary 1986.). Also, another reason to skip Gen 38:1-30 is that Gen 37:36 flows seamlessly into Gen 39:1. So...why should we study Gen 38:1-30? It shows 3 things:

1st, The continuation of Judah's line. Derek Kidner says, "It contributes to the royal genealogy in Mt 1:3; Lk 3:33. As a rude interruption of the Joseph story it serves other purposes as well. It creates suspense for the reader, with Joseph's future in the balance; it puts the faith and chastity of Joseph, soon to be described, in a context which sets off their rarity; and it fills out the portrait of the effective leader among the ten brothers." The ESV Study Bible says, "It focuses on the continuation of Judah’s family line and concludes with a birth account in which a firstborn twin (Zerah) is pushed aside by his younger brother (Perez). ...these features highlight the potential importance of Judah’s line through Perez (Gen 38:29). Later (Gen 49:9-10), kingship will be associated with Judah’s descendants, and biblical history reveals that from Perez comes the Davidic dynasty (Ruth 4:18-22). Although this chapter shows Judah at his worst, it also accounts for a remarkable transformation in his life (Gen 38:26), which comes through in the remaining episodes of the Joseph story."

2nd, The sharp contrast with Joseph. Judah provides a stark contrast to Joseph in Gen 39:1-23.

Judah (Gen 38:1-30)	Joseph (Gen 39:1-23)
Association with Foreign Women (Gen 38:1-3)	Separation from Foreign Women (Gen 39:6-12)
Sexual Immorality (Gen 38:12-18)	Sexual Morality (Gen 39:6-12)
Victimizer (Gen 38:24)	Victimized (Gen 39:13-20)
Judgment of God (Gen 38:6-10)	Blessing of God (Gen 39:20-23)
True Accusation of Woman (Gen 38:25)	False Accusation of Woman (Gen 39:13-20)
Confession of Sin (Gen 38:26)	Rejection of Sin (Gen 39:10)

 (Pratt, Jr., Richard L. He Gave Us Stories: The Bible Student's Guide to Interpreting OT Narratives, 1990)

3rd, "The hidden God" fulfills his sovereign will and purpose both in Gen 37 with Joseph, and Gen 38 with Judah.

I. Man Schemes (Gen 38:1-11)

What do sinner's do? How do they live? What are they like?

1. They leave (Gen 38:1).
2. They lust (Gen 38:2,15-16).
3. They are wicked (Gen 38:7).
4. They are greedy (Gen 38:8-10).
5. They lie (Gen 38:11)
6. They blame (Gen 38:11).
7. They make false promises (Gen 38:11).
8. They have no thought of God or others.
9. They save face (Gen 38:23).
10. They are self-righteous (Gen 38:24).

1. They leave (Gen 38:1). Abram left in response to God's call (Gen 12:1-4). But Judah left to forget his regrettable past. Judah was greedy and callous. He sold his brother for 20 pieces of silver (Gen 37:26-28), and he hardened his heart to his own father being devastated by the loss of his son Joseph (Gen 37:33-35). What did his leadership among his brothers accomplish? 1. The loss of a brother. 2. The lifelong sorrow of his father. After causing such grief to his own family, he left (Gen 38:1). Joseph was forcibly removed from his father's house and his brothers. But Judah voluntarily leaves his father's house and his brothers and befriends the Canaanites. He leaves God's covenant family in order to fraternize with the enemy. He wants to forget and bury his past as though it never happened.
   
2. They lust (Gen 38:2,15-16). Gen 38:2 says, "There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her." The ESV says, "Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite... He took her and went in to her..." The emphasis is that "Judah saw ... took her." Though "take" is a perfectly proper term for marriage, the combination of "see" and "take" has in Genesis overtones of illicit taking (cf. Gen 3:6, 6:2, 12:15, 34:2; cf. Judg 14:1-2). This suggests that Judah's marriage may have been based on mere lust. (Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 16-50. Vol. 2 of Word. 1994.) Many years later, after his wife died, Judah gave in to his lust for a prostitute (Gen 38:15-16). Judah, like his uncle Esau (Gen 26:34-35), married a local woman based on how she looked and how much he desired her. In quick succession, Judah has 3 children with this nameless Canaanite woman: Er, Onan and Shelah (Gen 38:3-5). Then Judah got a wife for his firstborn, Er, named Tamar (Gen 38:6), whose name means "palm tree," which would be associated with a beautiful figure (Song 7:7) and fruitfulness. Unfortunately, Tamar was not to be fruitful in her marriage to Judah's sons.
3. They are wicked (Gen 38:7). "But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death" (Gen 38:7). "Not since the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah has God taken the life of one who displeased him, and there it was groups who were annihilated. Er is the first individual in Scripture whom Yahweh kills." (Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50. 1995.)
4. They are greedy (Gen 38:8-10). Er's wickedness was not described. But his brother, Onan's wickedness was described, and God also put him to death (Gen 38:8-10). What was Onan's wickedness? "Judah said to Onan, 'Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother'” (Gen 38:8). Judah is referring to the custom of levirate marriage (levir is Latin for "brother-in-law"). This common Near Eastern custom would later be codified as a law for Israel: "If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel" (Dt 25:5-6). Judah did not ask Onan to marry Tamar. Tamar remains Onan's sister-in-law; she does not become his wife. Judah is concerned only about getting offspring for his dead son Er. "But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother" (Gen 38:9). Onan is clearly greedy and wicked. He does not wish to produce a son for his dead brother because then that son would be considered the firstborn and would get a double portion of Judah's estate. As it is, Onan himself is now the firstborn who will inherit the double portion. To prevent a pregnancy, he practices coitus interruptus, a primitive form of contraception, whenever they come together. The Hebrew emphasizes that Onan did this on every occasion of intercourse, not just once or twice. (Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 16-50. 1994.) Without fulfilling his obligation, he takes advantage of Tamar for his own gratification. For this, God takes his life. Ultimately, his sin is that his greed causes him to defy the Lord's plan for Abraham's family. The 3-fold reference to "offspring" (ESV, NASB, Hollman) or "seed" (KJV) {offspring/child in NIV} in Gen 38:8-9 allude to these promises, and Onan's action demonstrates his opposition to the divine agenda.
5. They blame, lie and make false promises they do not intend to keep (Gen 38:11). With only 1 son left, Judah faces a terrible predicament. Custom dictated that he now give Tamar to his third son, but Judah becomes superstitious. He fails to see that the Lord put his 2 sons to death for their wickedness. Instead he thinks that Tamar is to blame for their deaths, and he does not wish to risk his last son on her. "Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, 'Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.' For he thought, 'He may die too, just like his brothers.' So Tamar went to live in her father’s household" (Gen 38:11). Instead of considering his own bad influence on his sons demise, he blames Tamar. Then he lies to her, makes a false promise to her about his remaining son, and sends her back to her father's house.
6. They have no thought of God or others. Judah gave no thought to Tamar. He left her in limbo. She is betrothed to Shelah and thus cannot marry someone else. Yet Judah had no intention of ever giving her to Shelah. Judah washes his hands of the whole thing by sending her back to her father's house. "Judah's response is also wicked. Judah, with his dignity and status, is expected to care for a defenseless widow. He violates his daughter-in-law by shirking his responsibilities, denying her right to well-being and status in the community, and shifting her problem onto others." (Waltke, Bruce K. Genesis: A Commentary. 2001.) Judah gave no thought of God. He did not care about God's promise to his great-grandfather Abram (Gen 12:2-3), which were promises later repeated to his father Jacob (Gen 28:14). He also disregarded Abraham and his grandfather Isaac, who had insisted that their sons not marry the Canaanites (Gen 24:3, 28:1). Judah does not seem to care about God's promises or his family.
7. They save face (Gen 38:23). Judah did not care about shamelessly sleeping with a prostitute. But he cared very much about saving face and looking good before people.
8. They are self-righteous (Gen 38:24). Though Judah ignored all personal responsibility for his actions, he was self-righteous toward condemning others.

Reviewing the lives of Judah and his 2 sons Er and Onan brings to mind Rom 3:23a: "The wages of sin is death." In brief, Judah wanted to live his life apart from God. Such a life is tragedy itself. It is woe upon woe. There is no reprieve and no relief. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is only darkness.

II. God Reigns (Gen 38:12-24, 25-30)

The next act in this drama begins in Gen 38:12. "After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him." Interestingly, the narrator speeds through about 20 years in the first 11 verses (Gen 38:1-11), which is 32% of the narrative, and uses 19 verses to cover less than a year (Gen 39:12-30), which is 68% of the narrative.

Will Judah's line die out? Shelah has now grown up. But Judah has failed to give Tamar to him. She still languishes in her father's house, a childless widow, betrothed to Shelah, and unable to marry someone else. She is boxed in. But Judah is also trapped in his deceit. Having promised Tamar to Shelah, Shelah can hardly marry someone else. If he marries Tamar, Judah fears, he too will die. Now Judah's wife dies (Gen 38:12), thus eliminating the possibility of Judah producing more children with his wife. It is a deadlock--with the prospect of Judah's line dying out.

Tamar takes action. When Judah's time of mourning is over, he goes up to his sheepshearers. The hard and dirty work of shearing sheep was accompanied by a festival that was noted for hilarity and much wine-drinking. "When Tamar was told, 'Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,' she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife" (Gen 38:13-14). When she is certain that Judah has lied to her in promising her Shelah, she springs into rapid, purposeful action to secure her right to a son in Judah's family: She quickly takes off, covers, wraps herself, and sits down at the strategic location along the way Judah will be traveling, posing as a prostitute. She will try to conceive a son by her father-in-law. Although this violated later laws in Israel (Lev 18:15, 20:12), it appears that levirate customs in Tamar's days allowed a father-in-law to raise up offspring for his deceased son. Nonetheless, her plan is risky, for it could cost her her life.

Lust blinds. "When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, 'Come now, let me sleep with you'” (Gen 38:15-16a). Judah and Tamar's encounter takes place at "Enaim" (Gen 38:14), which means literally "opening of (the) eyes." It is ironic that at Enaim, at "Opening of the Eyes," Judah's eyes are closed as to the identity of his daughter-in-law when he sleeps with her. Lust blinds any man or woman.

Tamar asks for an I.D. Tamar excels in playing the part of the prostitute. “'And what will you give me to sleep with you?' she asked. ^'I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,' he said. 'Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?' she asked. He said, 'What pledge should I give you?' 'Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,' she answered" (Gen 38:16b-18a). The signet or seal was Judah's mark of identification, much like a picture I.D. today. The staff was a symbol of authority (Num 17:2; Ps 110:2), as well as being practically useful.

Amazingly, Judah gives this unknown prostitute his personal insignia as collateral for a little goat. This is equivalent to us handing over to a stranger our driver's license and credit card. "So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again" (Gen 38:18b-19). Tamar is safely in her father's house again. But she conceived. She is pregnant by Judah himself.

Concern for one's own honor. Judah, of course, wants his personal insignia back as quickly as possible. Perhaps embarrassed to be seen with a prostitute, he sends his Canannite friend with the young goat to recover the pledge from the woman, but he could not find her. When he inquired the townspeople regarding the shrine prostitute, they responded that there was none (Gen 38:20-21). When Judah heard this from his friend (Gen 38:22), he said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her” (Gen 38:23). Judah is concerned only about his own honor and reputation. He does not want to become the laughingstock of the local population. Yet he is unconcerned about the continuing disgrace Tamar suffers as a childless widow in her father's house.

Still blaming: Burn her to death. "About three months later Judah was told, 'Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.' Judah said, 'Bring her out and have her burned to death!'” (Gen 38:24). Without so much as a hearing, Judah orders that she be brought outside the town gate and be burned. In Israel the usual punishment for adultery was death by stoning (Dt 22:23-24). Judah demands an even more cruel death for Tamar. Why? In his heart, he holds her responsible for the death of his 2 sons. Here was his opportunity to get rid of her and give her her due punishment.

Tamar's strategic move. Tamar waits till the very last moment to defend herself. "As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. 'I am pregnant by the man who owns these,' she said. And she added, 'See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are'” (Gen 38:25). "Tamar has staked her all, chancing her honor and life, so as to get her right and prove her innocence. She takes her stand entirely on the pledge which now, at the very last moment, publicly establishes the father of the child in such a way that Judah himself has to reveal her innocence." (Westermann, Claus. Genesis 37-50. 1986.)

The self-righteous Judah humbled. Suddenly Judah's eyes are opened. While he did not recognize Tamar at Enaim, he now sees clearly what happened at "Opening of the Eyes." Tamar was the prostitute, and he fathered this child. "Judah recognized them and said, 'She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.' And he did not sleep with her again" (Gen 38:26). Judah acknowledges his insignia and publicly declares Tamar's innocence: "She is more righteous than I"; and declares his own guilt: "since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah." This is the beginning of Judah's transformation. After this Judah returns to his brothers; he will show great concern for his elderly father; he will even offer himself as a slave to Joseph for Benjamin's freedom (Gen 44:18-34); and Jacob will give him the greatest blessing of all, "Judah, your brothers will praise you... The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet..." (Gen 49:8-12).

The heroine. In this narrative the Canaanite woman Tamar is the heroine. While Judah was doing her injustice by lying and withholding Shelah, thus placing his family line in jeopardy, Tamar was bound and determined to have a child in Judah's family. "Such determination to propagate descendants of Abraham, especially by a Canaanite woman, is remarkable, and so despite her foreign background and irregualr behavior, Tamar emerges as the heroine of this story." (Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 16-50. Vol. 2 of Word. 1994.)

God is the One who chooses. "When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, 'This one came out first.' But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, 'So this is how you have broken out!' And he was named Perez. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah" (Gen 38:27-30). The midwife is shocked. The child that should have been second somehow bypassed the first. "There is no logical or biological explanation for Perez's usurpation over Zerah, any more than there was for Jacob's over Esau. The decisions are God's. The selections are gratuitous." (Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis Chapters 18-50. 1995.)

God's will and purposes prevail. God uses Tamar's deception of disobedient Judah to continue Judah's family line. Tamar's deception of Judah results in twins: Perez and Zerah. Perez's name appears in a genealogy in Ruth 4:18-22 (1 Chron 2:5, 9-15), showing 10 generations from Perez to the great king David; and through David to the King of kings, Jesus Christ. Both Perez and David are younger sons, rather insignificant by human standards, but chosen by God for greatness in carrying forward the line of the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15).

This narrative of Judah and Tamar assured Israel that God can accomplish his plan of salvation even through Israel's disobedience and the deception of a Canaanite woman.

We are often confused about events in this world. We may sometimes wonder if there really is a God who controls this mixed-up world. This narrative shows us that God is in control even when it appears that he is absent. God punished the wicked Er and Onan who defied his plans of salvation, but he blessed the obedient Canaanite woman Tamar with children. Thus, God continued Judah's family line, which eventually resulted in the birth of our Savior. God is in control. We can fully trust him to accomplish his plan of salvation.

III. The Ultimate Tamar

Who is the ultimate Tamar? The ultimate Righteous One? Judah said, "She is more righteous than I" (Gen 38:26). We learn that Tamar, the more righteous one, did everything she could and risked even her life in order to be blessed by being included in the family line of God's people. But centuries later, another Righteous One came who did not just risk his life, but lost his life entirely. For her efforts and decisive action, Tamar was blessed and included in the genealogy of Christ. But for his righteous efforts and decisive action, he was cursed and abandoned to die on the cross in agony all alone. Why? It was for us. Jesus is the true and ultimate Tamar, the truly Righteous One, who lost everything, so that we, the unrighteous, who deserve all the wretched wages of our own sin, can be blessed and be freely included among the "righteous" people of God.

IV. (5 Practical Applications)

1. The wages of sin are devastating. Judah was greedy, callous and heartless. Er and Onan were directly killed by God for their wickedness. Younger brother sins lead to the gutter of the pig pen, while older brother sins lead to deadly self-righteousness. Our sins blind us. Judah's younger brother sins led him to prostitution. Judah's older brother sins made him self-righteous toward one who was more righteous than he.
2. You can't screw up your own life. We often live dishonestly by hiding or covering up our sins. If we are honest with ourselves, which is always commendable, we may despair because of our habitual and besetting sins. We think, "I can't stop sinning. I'm totally messed up. God will never bless me." Based on the Law, this is true. But God operates by grace. God can even use our sins to fulfill his own glory and purposes. God used Judah's horrible life of lust, blaming others, prostitution, heartlessness, irresponsibility and self-righteousness, and included even him to be the ancestor of Christ. This does not minimize or negate the seriousness of sin. But it does help us to have hope in God in spite of our sins.
3. There are no real heroes but One. Every person is severely flawed. Even Tamar, the "righteous" one, used highly questionable methods that are clearly not meant to be literally emulated by any believer. If we forget that there is only One hero, we will deceive ourselves into thinking that we can "be like Abraham," and then make ourselves the hero. All Christians who even remotely think that they are heroes become Pharisees, like Judah who condemned Tamar, and like the self-righteous older brother who condemned his younger brother (Lk 15:29-30).
   
4. The Bible is about the gospel, not religion. Religion (wrongly understood and poorly communicated) says, "Live like this." The Gospel says, "You can't!" Religion says, "Obey." The Gospel says, "Believe." Religion says, "Conform." The Gospel says, "Be transformed." Religion says, "Work." The Gospel says, "Rest." Religion says, "Do." The Gospel says, "Be." Religion says, "Change." The Gospel says, "Respond." Religion says, "Disgrace." The Gospel says, "Grace." Religion is about rules. The Gospel is about Jesus. If we think of the Bible as a book of good moral teachings, examples, illustrations, commandments, and principles, then there is nothing to learn from this chapter. But the Bible is not primarily about what we must do. The Bible is a story about what God has done (through Christ), and is continuing to do (by His Spirit) to bring about our redemption and salvation, which is entirely by God's grace alone. Religion either makes us proud (when we do well), or despair (when we do poorly). The Gospel enables us to always be confident (even when we are weak), and yet humbled to the dust (even when we are strong).
5. Despite our evil schemes, God will always reign. The only question we need to ask ourselves is this: Do I want to be on God's side? Or do I want to resist the truth of God? Whatever you decide, God will always prevail and win the final and ultimate victory. In his first Pentecost sermon, Peter said, "This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him" (Ac 2:23-24). No matter what sinful man does to seemingly thwart the will of God, it is impossible for God to not prevail and to fulfill his intended purpose and will.
   

References:

1. Greidanus, Sidney, Preaching Christ from Genesis. Chap. 19. Judah and Tamar (Gen 38:1-30). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmas Publishing Co. 2007, 357-377.
2. Kidner, Derek. Genesis: An Introduction & Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP. 1967, 187-189.
3. Altar, Robert. Genesis: Translation and Commentary. New York: W W Norton & Company. 1996, 217-223.
4. Duncan, Ligon. The Shame of Judah (Gen 38:1-30). 
5. The ESV Study Bible (ID: westloopchurch@gmail.com; Password: 12001200).