Judah and Tamar

1. Judah and Tamar Genesis 38:1-30

2. Chapter 38: A Loud Warning! • A child can go astray within a Godly family • Young people can leave a godly home to go out into the world and spend years living a life away from God • The world will always swallow up a person who does not trust and follow God! • They will become worldly • They seek the pleasures and possessions of this earth • They pay no attention to God • Judah left the influence of his Godly father and the ways of the world swallowed him up

3. Why is this story here? • But wait a minute! • We are studying Joseph, not Judah • There is much that is offensive to good taste, but what happened describes real life • Why is this chapter here? • Why is this chapter found in the Book of Genesis at all? • Because of History • Because of Morality • Because of a Covenent Community • Because of God’s Grace

4. Because of the History It Records • The Timing • The events in this chapter seem to interrupt the story, but actually they take place during the time of the “Joseph story” • Joseph was 17 to 30 years old • 13 years before the throne • + 7 years of plenty • + 2 years of famine • 22 years before Joseph was reconciled to his brothers • Plenty of time for Judah to marry, beget three sons, bury two sons and a wife, and get involved with Tamar • If his marriage occurred before Joseph’s exile, even more time is available

5. The Tribe of Judah • A major purpose of Genesis - to record the origin and development of the 12 tribes of Israel • The Israelites went down to Egypt a large family, and 400 years later they left Egypt a large nation • Here the tribe of Judah had its beginning • Judah is the royal tribe from which the Messiah would come • Without this chapter, you’d wonder at finding Tamar and Perez in our Lord’s genealogy – Matthew 1:1-17

6. The Mercy and Grace of God • God is merciful to all people • The disciplined and the undisciplined • The controlled and the uncontrolled • In fact, God’s mercy is needed by every human being as well as by Judah • Judah repented • Because he turned his life over to God, God used him in a marvelous way • God chose Judah’s offspring to bear the promised seed, the Savior of the world (Genesis 49:8-10)

7. Jacob’s Prophecy Genesis 49:8-10 8 Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;    Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;    Your father’s children shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;    From the prey, my son, you have gone up.    He bows down, he lies down as a lion;    And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10The scepter shall not depart from Judah,    Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,    Until Shiloh comes;    And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

8. The Mercy and Grace of God • How could God choose such a great sinner to make him such a princely tribe? • By mercy and grace • God had mercy upon Judah just as He has mercy upon all who sincerely turn to Him • God took Judah and demonstrated that God’s choice is by grace, not by human goodness, merit, or works • Judah was saved by the grace of God and by the grace of God alone

9. Ephesians 2:4-10 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

10. Because of the Morality It Teaches Practical Lessons • It is dangerous for God’s people to be in the land with the Canaanites • Illustrates why God had to move Israel out of Canaan down into Egypt • Following the lifestyle of unbelievers, of the Canaanites • Intermarriage - the very real threat of losing their godly identity and of failing to fulfill God’s great purpose for their lives • The contrast between Judah and Joseph • Joseph refused to compromise himself with Potiphar’s wife • Judah casually slept with a strange woman • We reap what we sow • Jacob, Judah, Tamar used a garment to deceive

11. Because of the Importance of a Covenant Community • Judah got into trouble when he separated from his brothers and lived with the Canaanites • Like Samson, he saw a woman he liked and took her to be his wife • Abraham and Isaac had been careful to see to it that their sons didn’t marry women of the land - idolatry and immorality • Judah and his brother opposed the marriage of their sister Dinah with a Canaanite, but he married one • What was wrong for his sister to do was right for him • Judah left the only godly help and influence he had

12. Hebrews 10:24-25 “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”

13. Because It Reveals God’s Grace • People Are Not Perfect • Genesis reminds us of God’s grace and His sovereignty • The people weren’t perfect, and some of them were deliberately disobedient • Yet the Lord used them to accomplish His purposes • God doesn’t approve of their sins - their sins were ultimately revealed and judged • But God can take the weak things of this world and accomplish His purposes • God overruled the sin and shame of Judah • Tamar gave birth to twins – Perez and Zerah • These children eventually become true believers

14. The Genealogy of Grace Matthew 1:1-17 • The genealogy of Jesus Christ • More than who Jesus’ ancestors were - it’s more like an abridged tribute to God’s grace throughout redemptive history • Matthew wants us to see that Jesus, the King of Israel, is a king of grace • The wonderful grace of God to provide hope for every sinner! • A genealogy dominated by men • 4 women are exceptional illustrations of God’s grace • Tamar (v 3), Rahab and Ruth (v 5), and Bathsheba (v 6) • Matthew 1:3-6 - Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar … Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, … David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah

15. God’s Amazing Grace • Tamar • A Canaanite who posed as a prostitute (Genesis 38) • Rahab • A prostitute in Jericho who put her faith in the God of Israel • She became the wife of Salmon and the mother of the godly Boaz - David’s great-grandfather (Joshua 2) • Ruth • A Moabitess who converted to Judaism (Ruth 2) • God’s grace brought Ruth into the family of Israel • She became the wife of Boaz and grandmother of King David • Bathsheba • Entered the Messianic line through adultery with David • By God’s grace Bathsheba became the wife of David, the mother of Solomon, and an ancestor of the Messiah

16. God’s Amazing Grace • The genealogy of Jesus Christ is immeasurably more than a list of ancient names • More than a list of Jesus’ human ancestors • A beautiful testimony to God’s grace • He is truly the friend of sinners who came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance • That’s why this story is in Genesis! • It is a glorious demonstration of the grace of God!

17. Matthew 9:10-13 • Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. • And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” • When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. • But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”