1 And 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.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's 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 father's house.
12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her 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.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
22 And 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.
23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
25 When 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 thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
28 And 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.
29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
1. God gives Judah three sons.
2. God kills the older two sons for their wicked behavior.
3. Judah fornicates with Tamar, his son’s widow.
4. Tamar bears two sons.
Verses 1–10. If Jacob’s sons were wicked, his grandsons were even worse. Immorality characterized the covenant people of God as they sank deeper into rebellion with each succeeding generation. This was the sad pattern that marked the people of God throughout the Old Testament. The world was hopelessly locked in the grips of sin before the coming of the Messiah and the outpouring of His Spirit. There were very few instances of generational faithfulness in 4,000 years of biblical historical record.
Judah was Jacob’s fourth son. Thus far, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi had all been disappointments to their father. All three had succumbed to significant moral failure. Now, Judah joined his three elder brothers with his own sinful tryst. His troubles began at the same point where many other young men’s troubles begin. He took a wife from among the ungodly Canaanites. How many times in Scripture do we find the breakdown of true faith happening when the children of believers marry into an unbelieving line? It wasn’t that Judah was without any examples, both good and bad. His father had traveled four hundred miles for a bride. His uncle Esau had suffered from his poor choices for mates, and his grandfather and grandmother had openly expressed their disappointment in Esau.
Not surprisingly, Judah’s two older sons followed the pattern of the Canaanites. We are not told the nature of Er’s wicked lifestyle. But it was bad enough that God killed him. From earlier biblical revelation concerning the terrifying Nephilim, it is clear that covenant breakers are dangerous people. Syncretism in the godly line can be deadly! Undoubtedly, God would have been more patient with the average pagan family residing in the land of Canaan at that time. But He came down hard on this son of the covenant who turned against the covenant. Here is a stark reminder of God’s intimate involvement in the affairs of men. Others may look at the death of a family member as a random accident. But there are no accidents in God’s world. He is especially involved with His own people. During the early days of the New Testament Church, God killed Ananias and Saphira when they lied to the Spirit and to the church (Acts 5:1–10).
Those who fail to understand the pure white holiness and infinitely precise justice of God quickly impugn God with irrational anger. They count God’s actions against Er and Onan as arbitrary and impetuous. But, how could God act with anything but perfect justice? And, who are we to demand a reason for God’s actions? He certainly does not need us to defend Him! Suffice it to say that God was concerned about this grandson of the covenant line who corrupted himself. At this seminal stage in the Old Testament church, such noxious weeds could corrupt the entire field. These examples of God’s judgment are meant to strike fear into the hearts of those who hear about them.
What may seem unusual about this story is the involvement of the family in the death of a son and brother. The surviving brother was expected to take care of the widow of the deceased by taking her as his wife. Today, most “developed” countries are characterized by a socialist view of social relations. In these socialist countries, widows and single women are taught to be “independent” of the family and church. This means that they are dependent upon the civil government for their security and sustenance. That is why single women are the largest demographic voting block that favors big government socialism in democratic elections. Of course, this new social system has destroyed the integrity of the family in most of these countries. Since the family as a viable social unit disappeared several generations ago, most modern readers will have a hard time understanding the practices found in this story. According to the biblical social pattern, a brother in a family (or the Christian church) will quickly marry a young widow upon the death of her spouse. This is Paul’s injunction in 1 Timothy 5:14.
In spite of some of the dysfunctional and sinful aspects of Judah’s family, at least there was some concept of the family as a viable institution. This family was still well ahead of the concept of family found in modern Western countries. They still felt a strong obligation to care for their own. Thus for Judah’s family, it fell to the closest relatives (Judah’s remaining sons, in this case) to look after the widow of the deceased. Therefore, Onan’s sin is mainly seen in his refusal to love his deceased brother and to provide for his brother’s widow. According to the text, he refused to “give seed to his brother.” He went in to lie with his brother’s widow, but evidently he was not committed to marry the woman or have children with her. For selfishness and the senseless violation of a woman, God killed the man. While this passage does not explicitly forbid birth control, it does provide a frightening condemnation of fornication and self-centered liaisons.
Verses 11–30. Sadly, the moral condition of the family continued to deteriorate when Judah’s wife passed away. Instead of seeking another suitable bride, he sought the company of a prostitute. From the text, we learn that Judah had an unbelieving Canaanite friend named Hirah who supported him in this wicked tryst. Long term, ungodly friendships often lead to this kind of moral compromise. What was supposed to have been a simple, anonymous, and “harmless” act of sexual sin turned out to be far more complicated, embarrassing, and heinous in the end. When a man lies with his son’s wife, it is clearly an abominable act and worthy of the death penalty (Leviticus 20:12). This may be the most scandalous story recorded in Scripture. How many times do men commit sin without intending to “harm” anybody? Their actions inevitably produce far more guilt, pain, and hurtful consequences than they would have expected!
Judah’s reaction towards Tamar’s pregnancy contains a powerful lesson as well. In an attempt to judge “righteously,” he at first condemned her to death, which would have been appropriate in the case of adultery in Old Testament law. But this judge had already undermined his right to make a civil judgment, since he himself had committed the same sin (Matt. 7:1, 2). In the end, he confessed that she had been more righteous than he. Judah’s humility is remarkable. Yes, the sin was scandalous. Yes, the woman was deceptive and somewhat to blame for the tryst. But Judah humbled himself and acknowledged his own responsibility in the affair. He felt guilt for neglecting the woman and his earlier promise to her (vs. 11), because upon the death of his two sons, he had promised Shelah to her for a husband (vs. 11).
This may be the most important chapter in the book of Genesis. It tells the true story of the unrestrained, wicked hearts of men. But it is also the story of God’s mercy. Later, Judah becomes the favored son, the line from which comes the Lion of Judah and the Redeemer of Israel. But it all began with an embarrassing account of a wicked act, and a humbled man. God was ready and willing to pour out His mercy on a man who would humble himself and confess his sin. We live in an ugly, sinful world, but where men will just humble themselves, God shows His mercy in unbelievable ways!
1. The young men, Er and Onan probably died of what many today would call “natural causes.” They may have been struck by lightning or perhaps they developed a case of intestinal cancer. Should a man of God walk into a forensics laboratory and declare that the dead man was killed by the living God Himself, he would be laughed out of the place. But that is because the mass of our population is discipled in a religion called “materialistic naturalism.” For over a hundred years, our educated elite have received sixteen to eighteen years of education in the wrong worldview. It is a worldview that eliminates God from all of man’s reality. But as Christians, we will look at a young man dead in the morgue and say without hesitation, “God killed him!”
2. One dead man provides us a startling reminder of the righteous judgment of Almighty God. Clearly, Onan despised his dead brother and his brother’s wife, and he committed one of the most wicked, lascivious actions ever recorded in all of the long lists of sinful things done in this wicked world. But at the root of it all, Onan cared only for himself, and his selfishness eventually produced terrible fruit. Let us look after the interests of others, especially those of our own family and our own church. One of the ways that we look out for others is to look out for the widows in the church. As Paul reminds the church, the younger widows need to be married. If the unmarried brothers in the church ignore these widows year after year, do they also betray this self-centeredness? Could they also fail to love their neighbor or honor their dead brothers as well?
3. Tamar made a terrible mistake when she set out to solve her problems by sinning against God. If things are not going our way, we should never try to correct the problem by breaking the laws of God. We should instead turn to the Lord in prayer, and patiently wait upon Him.
4. “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). It seems that Judah thought he could get away with sin when nobody was looking. But when everything was said and done, everyone found out about it, including those of us who just read the story again, thousands of years later. Do you ever commit sin in secret, counting on the fact that nobody will ever find out? Jesus promises that what you do in secret will be made manifest someday (Luke 8:17). Moreover, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. When you are tempted to sin in secret, ask yourself, “Am I willing for God and all my family, friends, and church members to see this?”
1. What are the themes of Chapters 1 through 38?
2. How many sons did God give Judah?
3. What happened to the older two sons?
4. Why did God kill Onan?
5. How did Judah fail to take care of Tamar?
6. How does the Bible instruct us to take care of the young widows in the church?
7. How did Judah display humility in this story?
1. How do we exhibit selfishness in our words and actions towards our family members?
2. Are there some hidden sins that we need to confess right now, and get out before God and our family?
3. Will we feel obligated to take care of our brother’s wife, should something happen to our brother (both in the family and in the church)?