Ryan Washington
Dr. Anderson
BIBL – 111
17 November 2017
Genesis: Chapter 38, God’s Divine Sovereignty
Idolatry, adultery, immolation, and more. This is a story you will not find in the children’s bible. Genesis 38 is a story focused on the son of Jacob (Israel), Judah. This story is almost centerfold to the story of Joseph. Genesis 37 focuses on how Joseph ended up in Egypt, and Genesis 39 shows the price Joseph had to pay for the sins of his brothers. Since Genesis 38 does not directly follow Joseph’s story, people put it off as if it is a part of some intermission. This act could not be further from the truth. This is a vital passage in telling the story of Joseph and Israel. This paper will demonstrate: how vital this passage is to the story of Joseph, the wickedness of Judah, Judah’s foolishness, Judah’s Renewal, the future generations, and ultimately God’s divine sovereignty.
“All of his sons and all of his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.’” (English Standard Version, Gen. 27. 35). Joseph’s father Jacob mourned after his son’s death. After this, Judah fled to the land to a friend named Hirah. However, Judah’s story still has a major impact on Joseph. This passage shows why the Egyptian exile was necessary. Spiritual purity was essential for the people, but Judah was in such sin that he was willing to marry a Canaanite woman. “There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua.” (Gen. 28. 2). Judah was not alone; the nation was immersed in sin. Something had to be done to the people, and God’s answer was the Exile to Egypt.
Continuing from the last point, Judah was in a state of wickedness. From the very beginning of the passage, Judah has already begun his path through wickedness. He starts his new life with his new ally Hirah. Hirah is an example of a bad influence. The bad decisions Judah makes sparks form Hirah. It was with him that he meets his future wife only referred to in the text as “Suha’s Daughter.” “Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her.” (Gen. 38. 2). It does not explicitly say, but it can be inferred that Judah only took his new wife because of physical attraction. There were no spiritual considerations when picking his wife. In the text, it stats that Judah “saw” the daughter, then “went in to her,” inferring only sexual attraction. Another example of Judah’s wickedness is his two sons. Judah had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah found a wife for Er named Tamar, but God struck him down due to evil. “But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death” (Gen. 38. 7). God also killed Onan due to the evil in his heart. He would not fulfil his responsibilities to Tamar by giving her a child. He selflessly kept his semen from her to promote his will instead of his fallen brothers. “And what he [Onan] did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.” (Gen. 38. 10).
After their deaths, Judah failed to fulfil his duties and hand over his last son to Tamar. He kept him from her because he believed that his other sons died due to Tamar. “For he feared that he [Shelah] would die, like his brothers. So, Tamar went and remained in her father’s house” (Gen. 38.11). It was Hebrew tradition for a brother to impregnate a virgin widow if her husband had fallen, and Judah was keeping his last son from her. Many years later, after Judah’s wife’s death, Judah comes across Tamar again, but he does not know of it. Tamar had removed her virgin clothes and dressed as a prostitute. She knew Judah was returning to shear sheep, so she devised a plan. “He [Judah] turned to her at the roadside and said, ‘Come, let me come into you.’” (Gen. 38. 16). This implies that this is not the first time this has happened, and reveals Judah’s sexual impurity. Tamar knew that Judah would have sex with her, also revealing Judah’s sexual tendencies.
Judah’s actions were done as foolish as they were unspiritual. In the text, when his friend searches for the prostitute, he refers to her as a “cult prostitute.” “He asked the men of the place, ‘Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?’” (Gen. 38. 21). Judah committed an act of worship to the Canaanites fertility god without even realizing it. Later, when Tamar was found guilty of adultery, Judah called her to be burned. “And Judah said, ‘Bring her out, and let her be burned.’” (Gen. 38. 24). The usual punishment for adultery was stoning, as stated in Deuteronomy 22:22. Judah had also committed this sin, but he did not reveal it here. The act of him burning her does raise questions. One explanation is that he is covering up his own sin by punishing hers. A more practical one is that he hated Tamar. He blamed her for the death of his two sons, and burning her would also remove the need for Judah to give Shelah to Tamar.
After Tamar revealed herself, and proved that Judah was the one to impregnate her, Judah seized the punishment and stated, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” (Gen. 38. 26). This puts the act of immorality onto Judah, the opposite of Tamar’s adultery. Afterword’s, Judah never committed sex with her again, and returned to his brothers. “And he did not know her again.” (Gen. 38. 26). Many chapters later in Josephs story, his name is brought up referring that he returned to his brothers once again. “He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph.” (Gen. 46. 28). These two things signal a spiritual reveal in Judah’s life.
This passage concludes with the birth of Tamar’s two children, which is one of the most important parts in this text. Her son names were Perez and Zerah. Perez is the son of Judah who would carry the messianic line to David, then Jesus. It is Judah’s linage that will have David and Jesus. This very important fact leads to this story’s main point: that God’s will is always accomplished. God promises to make Jacob’s descendants a great and mighty nation and works on his promise during chapters 37 and 39 though Joseph. God is also working though Judah, proving a messiah though his descendants. The linage of Jesus Christ came through a man whose sons were so wicked they were put to death, and a man who prostituted a woman apart of a religious cult. This shows that God’s sovereign will is accomplish though obedient servants like Joseph, and those who are less willing to carry out his will whether they want it or not.
In conclusion, chapter 38 in the book of Genesis is a crucial chapter in the Old Testament and cannot be overlooked. It provided reason to the Jew’s exile to Egypt, showed the story of Judah and his trail though sin in Canaan, and showed how God’s will is always accomplished, not matter who is involved.