Genesis Chapter 38

GENESIS 

CHAPTER 

38

1. It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her. 3 She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er. 4 Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 1 to 5)

In contrast to Genesis chapter 37 which had Joseph as the centre of attraction Genesis chapter 38 has Judah one of Jacob's sons as the primary focus. Although it was common knowledge that the descendants of Abraham were not to marry the people of Canaan, this rule was constantly violated. On analysing verses 1 to 5 we can observe that the presence of God was not with Judah. With reference to Judah and his wife, the biblical author used terms impersonal terms such as he and she thus denoting that the act of marriage and the resulting offspring did not have anything to do with God and neither did it have His blessing. When we insist on having our way instead of deciding to follow the will of God, we automatically place God, outside of the scenario and we become the primary actors in the situation to our own detriment.

6. Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 7 But E, Judah's firstborn was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 6 to 7)


It is shocking to reflect on such verses that reflect God as having put to death a human being after having had promised not to destroy any human on earth by means of the flood. However, it surely was the case that Er had violated all of God's rules and even the social norms of his time by his wickedness and therefore there was no shred of goodness in him. Somehow Er had the death penalty on his head especially when considering that he was living in a circle of evil and negativity. The devil had a field day with him. I do not believe that actually God in all his love and goodness, could ever kill someone however, on the other hand, He could permit that negative person to perish by the hand of another person who is also deep in sin.


8. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother."

(Genesis chapter 38 verse 8)


In this world of struggles between rights, wants needs and obligations we have a tendency to forget the meaning of the word duty which is based on a two fold axis, that is our duty to God and our duty to our family, friends amongst others. When you find yourself fighting for your rights, stop and think if your are performing what is your duty on the mentioned axis. If we find that we are not performing our duty, it is best to stop fighting for our rights.


9. But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. 10 What he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 9 to 10)


Verses 9 to 10 give us a concrete answer to the question whether masturbation is good or bad. When Onan spilled his semen on the ground, this is similar to masturbation. God hated this bad and negative practise and even condemned Onan for it. Death can be considered as taking place on two levels, the physical and the spiritual. A person could be alive physically but dead on a spiritual level.


11. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up"- for he feared that he too would die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

(Genesis chapter 38 verse 11)


Fear causes us to do things that we do not want to. Judah feared that he would lose his life if he had physical contact with Tamar, so he lied to her. During our everyday interactions we often end up in the same situation and end up saying a lie to conceal the truth.


12. In course of time the wife of Judah Shua's daughter, died; when Judah's time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep," 14 she put off her widow's garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 12 to 14)


When reflecting on verses 12 to 14 of the 38th Chapter of the book of Genesis we have a portrayal of a person who is cheated and hurt. Judah had lied to Tamar about Shelah. On the other hand Tamar had remained obedient and faithful to Judah's wish, that conditioned Tamar to remain a widow and not marry until his son Shelah was of an age to marry her and have children. Now that Tamar realised that Judah had broken his promise she decided to seek revenge on him.


When in such an emotionally stimulating situation conditioned by anger and hurts, we are never to seek revenge. Our first reaction if we really believe in God is to seek His consolation and discernment. Although the world may treat us badly we are never to behave likewise. If I applied for 15 days leave at work and was only allowed to have 7 my reaction is to accept it as being according to the will of God, and not hit back by taking a whole month sick leave for no reason at all.


 15. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 he went over to her at the roadside, and said, "Come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?" 17 He answered, "I will send you a kid from the flock." And she said, "Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it." He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her, and went in to her. and she conceived by him. 19 then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 15 to 19)


The betrayed person loses all hope of trust in the person by whom one is betrayed. This is the reality of Tamar which we partake of. In English we have the saying, "Once bitten, twice shy". When in the presence of Judah Tamar asks him for evidence or a token that reflected himself that she could use against him when the right moment arose. With God we do the same thing, although He has never betrayed us. As humans we tend to treat God as we treat each other, that is by showing distrust in Him. We make promises that are tied to a condition that we make thus binding God into our personal agenda. A typical example is when we promise God not to smoke cigarettes if our son or daughter graduates from university, or if my daughter has a safe pregnancy (which is not the case for she is still six years old)


20. When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. 21 He asked the townspeople, "Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?" But they said, "No prostitute has been here." 22 So he returned to Judah, and said, "I have not found her: moreover the townspeople said, 'No prostitute has been here.' 23 Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her."

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 20 to 23)


On reflecting, when Judah gave his personal belongings to Tamar it was like when we give or mishandle our identity card that is a precious document reflecting our personal identity. Judah did not value his personal self and thus traded it for a cheap price of carnal desires. When he could not retrieve back his precious items, he did not care about it. Judah was happy by the fact that he did his part but otherwise he did not care of the outcome of the situation, in the sense that he could do nothing else about the matter.


When we have a serious argument with somebody, as in the example of husband and wife, who in the end might call of their marriage, our attitude might be the same as Judah. We might make a trivial attempt to amend the situation, however due to the fact that our motivation might not be that strong to find a solution we remain happy with the fact that at least we tried by maybe a single phone call, that was rejected, or sending a gift that may have been sent back. This may be a subtle way of reconciling w9ith our ego or conscience or moralistic self. However this is not enough. In such situations, we are to seek all attempts to seek a reconciliation and never give up, even if all our attempts are rejected. If we still believe in the relationship that God wanted to be so in holy matrimony, as being the fruit of God's will we are to keep on praying and trying to seek a reconciliation even if this means alot of sacrifice from our part.


24. About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom." And Judah said, "Bring her out. and let her be be burned."

(Genesis chapter 38 verse 24)


In light of verse 24 of the 38th chapter of the book of Genesis, the Word of God teaches us, how easy it is to pass judgement on other people, without even ever stopping to consider if we had a part or fault in the given circumstances as in the present case in point that of Tamar and Judah. When passing such judgement without considering all factors we make one mistake after another. Ideally as Jesus tells us in the New Testament it is better not to judge others at all. However if we are in a responsible position that requires that we pass judgement we are to be very careful and do so in a way that is respectful and adherent to God's ways and values and ethical moral judgements as found in God's Word both in the old Testament and as confirmed by Jesus in the New Testament.


25. As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "It was the owner of these who made me pregnant." And she said, "Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff." 26 Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more in right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 25 to 26)


As the English saying says, honesty is the best policy. On facing the evidence Judah could not deny the truth and acknowledged that he was was the owner of the mentioned items and son the father of Tamar's child. Judah also admitted his sin, that of not keeping the promise that he had made to Tamar with reference to his son Shelah. When put to the test Judah showed that he was an honest person. This is to be our reality when placed in a situation where we are to give testimony to the truth, about God, and even about ourselves.


27. When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was in labour, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and bound his hand a crimson thread, saying, "This one came out first." 29 But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore he was named Perez. 30 Afterwards his brother came out with the crimson hand; and he was named Zerah.

(Genesis chapter 38 verses 27 to 30)


As in the case of Jacob and Esau, from the time of birth, there was strife between the two brothers, that almost ended up with the tragic loss of one of them. In the case of Tamar, we are already witnessing signs of strife between the two brothers, that may be confirmed later on in life.


In light of the teachings that the Holy Spirit of God taught us throughout this chapter I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer.


Oh God I pray that you give me more control over my self, meaning my drives and urges and even my thoughts and wishes that are not always positive. I pray forgiveness when myself got the better of me and I did acts which were not approved of in your sight. Thank for loving me and giving me the opportunity to start again in my relationship with you. I also pray that you heal me from the wounds of the past, that like Tamar also consisted of bitter experiences of betrayal and anger that at times culminated to the level of revenge. Thank you for making me aware that you avenge with love over hatred and not with violence.

Thank You God.