Genesis 38
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”
25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.
This chapter talks about how Judah deceived his daughter-in-law, Tamar. He refused to follow the custom of giving Tamar, his eldest son's widow, the right to establish herself as part of his household by withholding her marriage, as dictated by Jewish law, to his last remaining son. However, Tamar outsmarted her father-in-law by seducing him so that she can produce an heir through him, thereby securing her standing in the family. Consequently, Judah, who is later quick to condemn and judge Tamar for prostitution is convicted of his guilt when he realized that it was he who actually wronged her.
The moral of this story is that faithfulness to family obligations is important. We cannot just ignore those obligations because it is an inconvenience. Secondly, the sins we try to cover up are probably the very ones that anger us most when we see them in others. If you become indignant at the sins of others, you may have a similar tendency to sin that you don't wish to face. When we admit our sins and ask God to forgive us, forgiving others becomes easier.
Thanks for the insights on these passages. The passage about Judah and Tamar shows that God takes faithfulness to family obligations very seriously. He killed Onan too bc he didn't fulfill his obligation to Tamar.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good reminder for me... Just today I found myself impatient when my mother asked me to do something for her. I would like to work on learning to be more respectful especially in those moments when I feel stressed out.
Also with this passage, I am always struck by how even though Judah was anything but exemplary for most of the story, he recognizes what he did wrong and admits it. That is the most important thing.