CHAPTER 38

(1729 B.C.)

JUDAH

¹And 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. (This Chapter is a parenthesis introduced here as an actual picture of the sin, darkness, corruption, and self-will of Josephs brethren during the whole period of his absence from them and as the certain fruit of their rejection of him. It is, as well, a fore-picture of the moral condition of the Jews today, as the result of their rejection of the Messiah.)

²And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her (Judah marrying a Canaanite sinned with his eyes open, for he must have known the Will of God in that matter [Gen. 24:3; 26:35; 27:36; 28:1]).

³And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Er.

⁴And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan.

⁵And she yet again conceived, and bore a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. (Chronologically, it is believed by some that Chapter 38 should follow Chapter 33.)

⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. (This Chapter is also placed here in order to show the connection between Christ and His predecessor, Judah. Chapter 1 of Matthew shows how truly Christ made Himself of no reputation and, by being born a member of the Tribe of Judah, humbled Himself. For in that genealogy the names Tamar and Bathsheba appear. But He in no wise inherited from these any taint of sin, for He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and, though born of a woman, was wholly free from moral corruption.)

⁷And Er, Judahs firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him (exactly as to how this happened, we arent told; it probably means that he became grossly involved in Canaanite idolatry).

⁸And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto your brothers wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother.

⁹And Onan knew that the seed should not be his (he didnt want it to be his); and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brothers wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother (Judah demanded this in order that the lineage would continue; however, Onan, in essence, was saying by his actions that he cared nothing about a Redeemer coming into the world; he didnt want Tamar for a wife, so he refused the command of his father, Judah).

¹⁰And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore He killed him also. (Again, in what manner the Lord did this, we arent told. The major reason all of this was so grievous in the sight of the Lord was because it had to do with the lineage of the coming Redeemer, which was the single most important thing in the world.)

¹¹Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at your fathers 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 fathers house.

¹²And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judahs wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

TAMAR

¹³And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold your father in law goes up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

¹⁴And she put her widows garments off from her, and covered her face 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. (It does not follow that Judah blamed Tamar for the deaths of his two sons; however, the loss of these two in succession must have frightened him, for he made no move to give his third son, Shelah, to her for marriage.)

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

¹⁶And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray you, let me come in unto you; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What will you give me, that you may come in unto me? (The conduct of Tamar, though in every way reprehensible, is not to be attributed to mere lust, or inordinate desire for children, but was most probably to assert her right to a place among the ancestresses of the Patriarchal family. We find from all of this, and as should be obvious, that God will show that His choice is of Grace, and not of merit, and that Christ came into the world to save sinners, even the chiefest of sinners, and is not ashamed, upon their repentance, to be allied to them.)

¹⁷And he said, I will send you a kid from the flock (a baby lamb). And she said, Will you give me a pledge, till you send it? (Something she could hold that was personally his, until she received the animal).

¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet, and your bracelets, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave it to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. (This is what she had planned; the pledge she demanded would incriminate Judah. His problem was lust, while hers was commitment.)

¹⁹And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰And Judah sent the kid (baby lamb) by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the womans hand: but he found her not.

²¹Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, who was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

²²And 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.

²³And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed (she had the items of his pledge with her): behold, I sent this kid (baby lamb), and you have not found her.

²⁴And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar your daughter in law has played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom (while she was with child, it was not by whoredom; how so quick we are to judge). And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burned (Judah was quick to condemn her, when, in reality, he was just as guilty, even much more so).

²⁵When 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 you, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

²⁶And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She has been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. (But still, the sons were his, and Tamar was now an ancestress of the Patriarchal family.)

TWINS

²⁷And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁸And 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. (All of this had to do with the coming Redeemer.)

²⁹And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How have you broken forth? this breach be upon you: therefore his name was called Pharez (this one was in the lineage of Christ, because he was the firstborn).

³⁰And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. (Luther asks why such things were placed in Scripture. He answers: 1. That no one should be self-righteous; 2. That no one should despair. There is forgiveness for all who will humbly come to the Lord; and, 3. To remind us that Gentiles, by natural right, are brothers, mothers, and sisters to our Lord; the Word of Salvation is a Word for the whole world.)