WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.279
Today, we are going to be talking about dirty

00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:07.080
laundry. Anybody have dirty laundry? We all have

00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:10.199
dirty laundry. Real and metaphorical, right?

00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:12.679
Yeah, we're going to be talking about dirty laundry

00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:16.179
and what God does with it. You see, we're going

00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:19.769
to be in Genesis 38 this morning. this chapter

00:00:19.769 --> 00:00:23.870
reads like something that is radically out of

00:00:23.870 --> 00:00:27.469
place with where we're at in Scripture. We have

00:00:27.469 --> 00:00:30.350
been studying the life of Joseph, who's one of

00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:33.770
the sons of Jacob, and his story is really what

00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:36.829
closes out the book of Genesis, and yet we get

00:00:36.829 --> 00:00:40.289
to chapter 38 here. And it comes right on the

00:00:40.289 --> 00:00:43.649
heels of chapter 37, right? Big surprise. But

00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:46.670
at the end of chapter 37, we read that Joseph

00:00:46.670 --> 00:00:50.450
had been, you know, just sold by his brothers

00:00:50.450 --> 00:00:52.469
into slavery. They wanted to kill him. They were

00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:54.909
really upset and mad at him. Yet he was a young

00:00:54.909 --> 00:00:57.770
man that God was using. He was a man who was

00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:01.890
getting dreams from God. And so they, you know,

00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:05.120
just really... abuse him, sell him into slavery,

00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.719
lie to their father about what happened to him.

00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.379
And that's how 37 ends. And then we get to chapter

00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:13.079
38, and it's kind of like, meanwhile, Judah,

00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.140
right? And it just stands out of place. It's

00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:19.900
abrupt. It's, like I said, out of place, but

00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:22.859
intentional. God's word is always intentional.

00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:25.219
And, you know, as we go through this chapter

00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:27.719
today, you might see that if the Bible were not

00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:30.980
inspired, Genesis 38 might have been one of those

00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:33.480
stories that got cut. But because it is inspired,

00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:36.780
God includes this chapter here. And he includes

00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:40.280
it for two big reasons, contrast and continuity.

00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:43.239
You see, this chapter is about Judah, what's

00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:46.939
happening with Judah while Joseph is now in Egypt

00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:50.299
being a slave in Potiphar's house. And it's really

00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.599
going to show us a contrast between Joseph's

00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:55.840
purity in Egypt, which we're going to continue

00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.079
to study as we move forward, and Judah's compromise

00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:02.459
in the promised land. You see, it's an interesting

00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:05.159
picture that it's when believers are in the world,

00:02:05.260 --> 00:02:08.180
we're supposed to be people of purity and shining

00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:10.759
the light of the gospel. And yet so many times

00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:12.979
when believers are in the promised land, within

00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:15.560
the place God has them, in community and stuff,

00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.319
sometimes they can find themselves compromising.

00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:20.759
And so that's the contrast that God's showing

00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:22.680
in this chapter. And then the other one is continuity.

00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:27.639
Because even though... Joseph's story is so encouraging.

00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:30.680
He's such a godly young man, and God uses him

00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.979
for great things. The Messiah doesn't ultimately

00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:37.439
come from his line. The Messiah comes from the

00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:40.860
line of Judah. And then this chapter gives us

00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:44.599
a very stark picture of why God had to move Jacob's

00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:47.879
family to Egypt in the first place. And the reason

00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:50.539
is because they were becoming indistinguishable

00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:52.860
from the Canaanites, the pagans that lived in

00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:56.169
the land. This chapter, I'm going to be straight

00:02:56.169 --> 00:03:00.129
up front. It's gross. It's messy. It's dark.

00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:06.030
It's shocking. But I wanted to title the study

00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:09.550
Judah. You gross. But I didn't think that would

00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:13.020
resonate with people. But despite all of the

00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:14.680
details that we're going to read about, it is

00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.080
inspired. It is the inspired word of God. It's

00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.860
breathed by God as part of his story of redemption

00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:26.080
and salvation. And, you know, it's a story of

00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:29.680
real family. It's a story of real people. It's

00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.379
a story of God's people. And guess what? All

00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:34.159
three of those things can be very, very messy.

00:03:35.139 --> 00:03:37.159
But it's in the mess where God's grace works.

00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.439
where God's grace shines. One of the truths that

00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:43.979
I cling to dearly is that God is not embarrassed

00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:47.849
to work with messy people. He is not embarrassed

00:03:47.849 --> 00:03:51.189
to call us his children despite just the mess

00:03:51.189 --> 00:03:53.889
in our lives and our families, despite the bad

00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:56.289
decisions we can make. God is not embarrassed.

00:03:56.490 --> 00:04:00.169
He's proud in a godly way to call us his children.

00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:02.909
And so we're going to be looking at a story of

00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:06.270
a messy man who is redeemed through confession,

00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:08.729
through repentance, and we're just going to see

00:04:08.729 --> 00:04:11.030
this wonderful story of what God can do through

00:04:11.030 --> 00:04:14.580
us. sinful mankind. But first, we're going to

00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:16.699
praise Him. We want to lift His name on high

00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:19.000
and worship Him because He is worthy. And so,

00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:21.839
much more than just, oh, this is how we get started

00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.439
for the Bible study, this is a moment to set

00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:26.959
our hearts right, to forget about the problems,

00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:30.379
to forget about the challenges, to leave it all

00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:32.660
at the door and say, God, I am here to hear from

00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:35.879
You. God, I am here to be spoken to by Your Spirit.

00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.930
Teach me, mold me, and shape me. But as we're

00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:41.509
asking that question, we want to start with,

00:04:41.589 --> 00:04:43.730
Lord, you're awesome. Praise your holy name.

00:04:43.790 --> 00:04:47.189
Amen. Let's pray. God, we love you. We thank

00:04:47.189 --> 00:04:49.569
you, Lord. And God, we're so grateful that your

00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:53.250
word includes all the messy stories, Lord. God,

00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:55.170
if we're to be honest, it's been one long, messy

00:04:55.170 --> 00:04:57.889
story because mankind is a part of it. And yet,

00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:00.870
Lord, we see the faithfulness that you have to

00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:03.050
yourself, the faithfulness you have to your promises,

00:05:03.189 --> 00:05:05.529
Lord, and the faithfulness you have to us, your

00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:10.040
people. Lord, we are your creation and you love

00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.560
us, Lord. That's what your word tells us. Lord,

00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:15.800
I'm sure we all have plenty of opportunity to

00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.720
wonder why you love us because, Lord, we're sinful

00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:23.740
people. But, God, the fact that we're sinful

00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:26.579
people really is the foundation of the story

00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:28.639
and even the season we're entering into, God,

00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.339
that because we're sinful people and there's

00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:34.339
no hope in and of ourselves, Lord, you came to

00:05:34.339 --> 00:05:36.930
this earth. to live and die for us, that we would

00:05:36.930 --> 00:05:39.930
have grace and mercy and forgiveness and hope

00:05:39.930 --> 00:05:41.769
of eternal life. And God, we're so grateful.

00:05:42.449 --> 00:05:44.810
So Lord, just speak to us today in this chapter

00:05:44.810 --> 00:05:48.230
that seems to stand out odd amongst the story

00:05:48.230 --> 00:05:50.089
that it's embedded in. But Lord, we know it's

00:05:50.089 --> 00:05:53.750
here because you want to speak to us. Lord, we

00:05:53.750 --> 00:05:55.629
want to praise you first. Lift up your name,

00:05:55.689 --> 00:05:59.589
God, because you are so worthy. You saved us.

00:06:00.269 --> 00:06:03.069
We're eternally grateful, God. We love you. We

00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:05.629
thank you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

00:06:06.170 --> 00:06:12.829
So, we are in Genesis chapter 38. And, you know,

00:06:12.850 --> 00:06:16.889
we're covering a difficult story here. Some stories,

00:06:17.050 --> 00:06:19.230
you know, they start out well, right? They're

00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:22.660
somebody who... is born and raised, and they

00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:24.740
have the right family, and the good family, and

00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.040
everything's great, and they're like, you know,

00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:30.120
they raise up to serve the Lord, and then you

00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:31.560
get later on in their story, and then there's

00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:34.980
a collapse. There's a fall. There's something

00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:37.259
like that, and then on the other hand, you have

00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:40.740
stories that start bad, and then they surprise

00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:44.550
you. and there's redemption. Well, chapter 38

00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:48.069
is the second kind of story for Judah, right?

00:06:48.149 --> 00:06:51.250
The story starts really bad, but ends with redemption,

00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:54.670
because in Genesis 38, we find Judah, the fourth

00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:58.629
son of Jacob, is drifting. He's compromised.

00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:03.149
He's impulsive. He's absorbed by the culture

00:07:03.149 --> 00:07:06.370
around him, and he's kind of a bad dude in the

00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:08.569
beginning of this chapter, but what happens in

00:07:08.569 --> 00:07:12.240
this chapter changes him. So much so that by

00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:16.040
Genesis 44, he is now pleading to be a substitute

00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:18.139
for his little brother Benjamin, risking his

00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:21.459
own life, saying, trade my life for his. And

00:07:21.459 --> 00:07:24.500
then by Genesis chapter 49, he receives a prophecy

00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:28.180
that the kingly line, the Messiah, will come

00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:31.839
through his family line. And so big change from

00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:33.860
what we're going to see in Genesis 38 to later

00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:36.259
in his life. And you ask the question, how did

00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:38.379
that happen? That's what we're going to see here

00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:40.560
in this chapter. But the New Testament tells

00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:44.180
us this in Philippians 2 .13. For it is God who

00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:48.519
is working in you both to will and to work according

00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:54.060
to his good purpose. That's a great verse to

00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:56.439
memorize. It's a great life verse for everybody

00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.259
to understand that it is God who is working.

00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:03.939
Before we jump into Judah's disaster, we need

00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:06.279
to remember that we're actually in the beginning

00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:09.540
of Joseph's story, right? The story of Joseph

00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:12.160
is what carries us through the rest of Genesis.

00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.500
And it's his story that we've been setting up.

00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:19.480
He was a young man gripped by God early. He was

00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:21.959
a young man who was receiving dreams from God.

00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:24.740
And really, this is very important to understand

00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:28.100
here because this chapter is included to give

00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:32.269
us a contrast. to Joseph. Now, Joseph is a young

00:08:32.269 --> 00:08:36.009
man who fits a biblical pattern that we see all

00:08:36.009 --> 00:08:39.649
the way throughout Scripture, that God uses young

00:08:39.649 --> 00:08:43.649
people to really do significantly great things.

00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:48.389
Samuel was a young kid, and in 1 Samuel 3, we

00:08:48.389 --> 00:08:51.590
read about God speaking to him, and his response

00:08:51.590 --> 00:08:55.990
as a young man was, God, your servant is listening.

00:08:57.730 --> 00:09:02.590
Now, in Jeremiah, God spoke to Jeremiah the prophet,

00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:06.669
and Jeremiah was called to a ministry, and he

00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:09.210
initially objected because he was young. He goes,

00:09:09.250 --> 00:09:12.230
I'm just a kid. But in Jeremiah 1 .7, it says,

00:09:12.289 --> 00:09:15.129
then the Lord said to me, do not say I am only

00:09:15.129 --> 00:09:18.070
a youth, for you will go to everyone I send you

00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:21.519
and speak whatever I tell you. In the book of

00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:24.519
Daniel, in chapter 1, verse 4, Daniel is called

00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.200
a young man who was brought in to serve the king.

00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:30.720
And when he was done so, it tells us that he

00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.139
was determined that he would not defile himself.

00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:36.399
That as a young man, he decided, I'm not going

00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:39.759
to dishonor God in my life. And then, of course,

00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.840
we're familiar in 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse

00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:46.460
12, Paul the apostle told young Timothy, let

00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:51.159
no one despise your youth. You see, when God

00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:55.659
grabs a hold of someone young, he is shaping

00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:58.899
an entire lifetime of usefulness to the kingdom.

00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:02.620
You know, if he gets a hold of someone when they're

00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:05.679
in junior high, and there used to be a statistic,

00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:07.700
I don't know if the statistic is accurate anymore,

00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:10.940
but the statistic used to say that a majority

00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:13.539
of all people who get saved do so when they're

00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:16.720
in junior high. And when God gets a hold of someone

00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.740
in junior high, you look at the whole rest of

00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:22.580
their life that can be used for the kingdom and

00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:25.779
for God and for God's purposes. Now, this doesn't

00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:27.679
mean that when he gets a hold of somebody in

00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:30.659
their old age that that's any less important.

00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:35.019
But we would have to agree that 50 years of work

00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:37.840
in the kingdom is just a lot more time than 10

00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.769
years of work in the kingdom. And so Joseph is

00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:43.049
this story of God getting a hold of somebody

00:10:43.049 --> 00:10:45.669
young, what he can do with the young and their

00:10:45.669 --> 00:10:47.350
faithfulness to him. And so if you're a young

00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:49.529
person in the room today or watching online,

00:10:49.669 --> 00:10:52.429
I want you to know that God can do great, great,

00:10:52.529 --> 00:10:54.149
great things with you. It doesn't matter how

00:10:54.149 --> 00:10:57.549
young you are. It matters that you trust him.

00:10:57.669 --> 00:10:59.649
It matters that you're faithful to him. It matters

00:10:59.649 --> 00:11:02.549
that you grow to know him more, and God could

00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:04.809
use you. And so don't feel like, oh, I'm just

00:11:04.809 --> 00:11:07.090
a kid. I can't do anything for the kingdom. The

00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:11.629
Bible speaks quite the opposite, okay? So Joseph's

00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:15.899
story is that. Now, here in Genesis 38, all of

00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:18.559
a sudden we get Judah interjected into the story

00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:21.600
of this young faithful man, and it's here to

00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.559
show the contrast. It's here to show the contrast

00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:27.159
of what happens when someone who's been with

00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:31.179
the Lord for a long time makes compromises in

00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:32.799
the middle of their life, and it's a story of

00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.860
midlife collapse and unfaithfulness. Now, the

00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:38.299
reason I believe God put this in the story here

00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:41.539
is because both are real, right? Young faithfulness.

00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:46.100
Old collapse. They're both real. They're both

00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:49.039
here in our church at Hosanna. They're both in

00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.960
the church as a whole. And so this story is here

00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.940
to speak to all of us regardless of what side

00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:57.240
of the equation we're on. So with that, read

00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:01.740
with me here in verse one of Genesis 38. It says,

00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:04.740
at that time, this was when Joseph had been sold

00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:07.559
into slavery in Egypt. Judah left his brothers

00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:10.620
and settled near an Adulamite named Hira. There

00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:13.740
Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua,

00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:16.379
and he took her as a wife and slept with her.

00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:19.919
She conceived and gave birth to a son, and he

00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:23.679
named him Ur. She conceived again, gave birth

00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:27.259
to a son, and he named him Onan. She gave birth

00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:30.460
to another son and named him Shelah. It was at

00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:34.429
Chezeb that she gave birth to him. Now, sons

00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:37.330
were considered a great blessing that if your

00:12:37.330 --> 00:12:40.610
children were boys, it was, wow, big deal. God

00:12:40.610 --> 00:12:43.049
is honoring you. God is blessing. At least that's

00:12:43.049 --> 00:12:46.570
how it was considered in the culture there. Here,

00:12:46.789 --> 00:12:49.909
Judah is in a place where he shouldn't be. You

00:12:49.909 --> 00:12:54.350
see, Judah, as one of Jacob's sons, knew the

00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:57.929
covenant instructions. Genesis 24 .3, Abraham

00:12:57.929 --> 00:13:00.590
was told, do not intermarry with the Canaanite

00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:05.200
women. That was passed down to Isaac. In Genesis

00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:09.139
28, Isaac told Jacob the same thing. Do not intermarry

00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:12.340
with the Canaanite women. And yet here we see

00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:15.899
that's exactly what Judah is doing. They're in

00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:19.019
the promised land, but the land wasn't Israel's

00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:22.200
yet. There were still pagans and Canaanites living

00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.000
there. And here we have Judah at this point doing

00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.549
something that is just very wrong. We also have

00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:31.090
to understand that at this point, Judah effectively

00:13:31.090 --> 00:13:34.309
carried the birthright of the family, that he

00:13:34.309 --> 00:13:38.490
carried what was going to be the right to lead

00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:40.870
and rule the family. And we know that because

00:13:40.870 --> 00:13:44.350
we read earlier how Reuben disqualified himself

00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.710
by sleeping with Jacob's concubine. And Jacob's

00:13:47.710 --> 00:13:50.490
like, you're done, bro. You dishonored me greatly.

00:13:50.570 --> 00:13:54.929
And then Simeon and Levi were the two sons that

00:13:54.929 --> 00:13:58.259
led the slaughter in Shechem. And Jacob was like,

00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:00.779
you guys have made me stink in the land, right?

00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:04.120
So effectively, they had lost their position

00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.799
to be the heir of the family authority. And so

00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.080
Judah, being the number four son, was the one

00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:12.419
in line for that. But instead of remaining close

00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:14.320
to the family, what we're told here right off

00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.480
the bat is that he chooses to leave the family

00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:22.779
and go live in the world. He left his brothers

00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.919
and settled near an Adulamite named Hira. Now,

00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:28.639
Adulamite is a people group that lived in the

00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:30.740
land of Canaan. Collectively, all the people

00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:34.240
there were considered Canaanites. And so he went

00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.639
to go settle near this guy Hira. Now, Hira is

00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.000
going to be what we would call a bad influence

00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:41.879
on his life, someone that really didn't hold

00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:46.330
him accountable to godly things. Judah's error

00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:49.429
here, as we're opening this chapter, is distancing

00:14:49.429 --> 00:14:52.830
himself from God's family. Distance will always

00:14:52.830 --> 00:14:58.009
produce decay. When community, this community,

00:14:58.330 --> 00:15:01.409
your godly church community, when that becomes

00:15:01.409 --> 00:15:06.230
optional, compromise is inevitable. We just have

00:15:06.230 --> 00:15:08.909
to understand that. This comes in relationships.

00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:12.970
This comes in dating situations, in business,

00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:15.289
all kinds of things. We just have to understand

00:15:15.289 --> 00:15:18.669
that when we separate from the godly community,

00:15:19.029 --> 00:15:21.210
the community that's praying for us and holding

00:15:21.210 --> 00:15:23.950
us accountable and encouraging us in the Lord,

00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:27.149
and we go to hang out with and settle near the

00:15:27.149 --> 00:15:29.470
world, those who don't know the Lord don't care

00:15:29.470 --> 00:15:32.409
about the Lord. We may have noble intentions.

00:15:32.529 --> 00:15:36.559
I'm going to go save them all. But what always

00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.779
happens is they corrupt you. They lead you away

00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:43.539
from your godly values, and this is what we see

00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:46.480
happening with Judah. That distance has led to

00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.820
his decay. Now, again, this good friend Hira,

00:15:49.899 --> 00:15:52.139
he settles near. We're going to see later that

00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.399
they actually have a relationship, and then it

00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:56.840
just gets right into it. Judah saw a daughter

00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:58.539
of a Canaanite named Shua, and he took her as

00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:01.669
a wife and slept with her. It's kind of impulsive

00:16:01.669 --> 00:16:04.230
the way it reads in the original language. That

00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:06.230
it wasn't a thought. He didn't stop. He didn't

00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.389
pray about it. He didn't say God. He just said,

00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:10.929
wow. And then he went and he married her and

00:16:10.929 --> 00:16:13.110
it's a direct violation of the covenant instructions.

00:16:13.330 --> 00:16:17.350
Do not intermarry with the Canaanite women. And

00:16:17.350 --> 00:16:20.350
it doesn't even seem to have much ceremony here,

00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:24.330
right? It's a union that's driven by chemistry

00:16:24.330 --> 00:16:28.679
instead of principle. And those unions are never

00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:30.580
going to be unions that work out right for those

00:16:30.580 --> 00:16:33.779
who are the people of God. There's countless

00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:36.440
stories of people who have entered into marriages

00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:40.840
where they knew. They knew the other person was

00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.480
not the godly spouse that they should be with.

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.559
But we have chemistry. We click. We connect.

00:16:47.779 --> 00:16:49.980
And wow, I think they're really beautiful and

00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:52.480
this and that. And so, you know, we can work

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:54.820
on those things. And then a marriage happens

00:16:54.820 --> 00:16:58.399
and it's terrible. right? This is where it goes

00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:00.399
into what they call missionary dating, right?

00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:05.079
Oh, he's so handsome, and yeah, but he's not

00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:10.140
a godly man. I'll change him. And then five years

00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:12.359
later, I made a mistake. Why did I marry this

00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.099
man? And the counsel, according to the Word of

00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:19.619
God, is stay there and pray, right? And God can

00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:22.140
work in those things, yes, but it's unnecessary

00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:24.960
difficulty sometimes people put themselves into.

00:17:25.829 --> 00:17:28.990
And so he impulsively marries this woman. They

00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:31.910
have three sons. All three of these sons have

00:17:31.910 --> 00:17:34.809
Canaanite names. What does that tell you about

00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:39.190
the influence in the household? Is it the godly

00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:42.450
influence from Judah's family, or is it the Canaanite

00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:45.509
influence that is leading this family? And the

00:17:45.509 --> 00:17:47.529
answer is it's the Canaanite influence. The kids

00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:49.809
are named with Canaanite names. I do think it's

00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:53.500
ironic that the first kid is named Er. Right?

00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.099
Have you guys ever heard that phrase, to err

00:17:55.099 --> 00:18:00.039
is human, right? Err, first kid, mistake. Wow,

00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:01.759
how did that be a kid to grow up with that name,

00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:04.680
right? I don't know if that's what it means in

00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:06.279
original language, but I just find it ironic.

00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:10.019
But the idea here is Judah has separated from

00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:13.339
the family of God. Judah is not the one shaping

00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:15.640
his home. His faith and beliefs are not the one

00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:17.960
shaping his home. Canaan is. And so verse 6,

00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:21.200
it says, Judah got a wife for Ur, his firstborn,

00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:24.299
and her name was Tamar. Now Ur, Judah's firstborn,

00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:26.299
was evil in the Lord's sight and the Lord put

00:18:26.299 --> 00:18:29.779
him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, this is

00:18:29.779 --> 00:18:32.240
son number two, sleep with your brother's wife,

00:18:32.500 --> 00:18:35.119
perform your duty as her brother -in -law and

00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:37.940
produce offspring for your brother. But Onan

00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:40.299
knew that the offspring would not be his. So

00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:42.640
whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he

00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.059
released his semen on the ground so that he would

00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:48.069
not produce offspring for his brother. What he

00:18:48.069 --> 00:18:50.430
did was evil in the Lord's sight, and so he put

00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:54.970
him to death also. Now, yeah, I really just read

00:18:54.970 --> 00:18:57.109
that, and it did say what you heard it to say,

00:18:57.190 --> 00:18:59.150
right? These are one of those parts of the Bible

00:18:59.150 --> 00:19:01.109
where we go, does the Bible really say that?

00:19:01.769 --> 00:19:04.049
Yes, it does. The Bible deals with real things

00:19:04.049 --> 00:19:08.269
in real life in real ways. Now, Ur, or Er, or

00:19:08.269 --> 00:19:10.670
whatever you want to call him, he gets married

00:19:10.670 --> 00:19:13.500
to this woman Tamar. His dad... finds a bride

00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:16.440
as was custom and as he was supposed to do. And

00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:19.500
then he dies due to some unnamed evil. It doesn't

00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.359
even tell us what it was. It's just that he wasn't

00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:25.339
a godly person and God put him to death. Now,

00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:29.720
the culture of the time and what was later codified

00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:33.319
in the Jewish law called the Levirate responsibility

00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:38.579
was that if you had multiple brothers, if the

00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:42.539
firstborn was married and he died, Since he was

00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.319
the one supposed to inherit everything and he

00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.660
doesn't have a son, the second brother was obligated

00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:52.900
to marry the wife and produce an offspring that

00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:55.920
would be his first brother's offspring. Does

00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:58.660
that make sense? It was a responsibility. Now,

00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:01.940
Onan... It tells us didn't want to do any of

00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:04.440
that. Why? Because Onan was now the one going

00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:06.579
to inherit everything because his brother died.

00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:09.859
If he produced an offspring, that offspring would

00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:11.960
be the one that would inherit everything that

00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:14.599
the first brother was supposed to inherit. So

00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.619
Onan says, no, I'm not going to do that. But

00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:20.700
he still ends up sleeping with her. And basically

00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:23.880
what that's telling us is he just used her as

00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:27.779
an object. He used her for sexual gratification.

00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.380
just used her for his own pleasure instead of

00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:35.180
doing what was the honorable thing in the culture

00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:39.460
and producing a son. And so the whole idea of

00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:43.220
this is that Onan acted very, very ungodly in

00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:46.519
regards to the rights and responsibilities. And

00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:48.819
so God killed him too. It's very interesting.

00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:51.319
When I was in South Sudan, this practice is still

00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.140
very, very active in the culture there. That

00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:57.180
when the older brother dies, the second brother

00:20:57.180 --> 00:20:59.299
is obligated. Take the wife and produce a son

00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:01.859
for her. And one of the big questions that came

00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.700
up when we were talking to these men and these

00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:08.319
chaplains and stuff is their culture is take

00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.380
the wife, take the wife, right? And so you'll

00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:12.539
have these South Sudanese men that will end up

00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:16.190
with two, three, four wives. Just... doing what

00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:18.230
they're supposed to do in producing offspring

00:21:18.230 --> 00:21:21.269
for their older brothers. But then they get saved

00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:23.529
and become a Christian, and Christianity is like

00:21:23.529 --> 00:21:25.750
you have one wife. Especially if you're getting

00:21:25.750 --> 00:21:28.329
into ministry, you're a man of one wife. And

00:21:28.329 --> 00:21:31.950
they would go, what do I do? Do I abandon them?

00:21:32.109 --> 00:21:34.839
Do I, right? Really difficult question in their

00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:37.039
culture. Now, I don't have time to give you my

00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.180
answer. But, you know, there's godly ways that

00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:41.900
they deal with that there and how they still

00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:43.880
take care of the women and the children and still

00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:46.160
honor the Lord and all that. But really interesting.

00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:48.740
It happens in quite a few places, honestly. And

00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:52.079
so, Onan, instead of getting her pregnant, just

00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.980
exploits her. God kills him for that. And now

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:58.519
Judah is down two sons. Right? Sons are what

00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:00.180
the family name carried on. It's where all the

00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:01.700
inheritance and property rights and everything

00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:05.000
went through. So now Judah lets fear begin to

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.319
drive his decision -making. Verse 11. Then Judah

00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.380
said to his daughter -in -law Tamar, remain a

00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:13.799
widow in your father's house until my son Shelah

00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:17.779
grows up. So the third son was supposed to take

00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:19.579
the wife because brother one and brother two

00:22:19.579 --> 00:22:22.779
died, but he was too young to marry. And so the

00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:24.920
instructions were, go back to your dad's house.

00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:28.079
Be a widow, and that included putting on widow's

00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:31.140
garb so that everybody knew that's a widow of

00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:34.400
a husband who died, and remain there until son

00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.380
three is old enough. But it tells us, for he

00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:39.380
thought he might die too, like his brothers.

00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:43.680
No intention on giving his third son to Tamar,

00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:46.339
giving Tamar to him. The intention was, Tamar,

00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:48.519
you're poison. You're the common denominator.

00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.470
Two of my kids have died, so... I'm going to

00:22:51.470 --> 00:22:54.910
set you aside and just tell you to wait. So Tamar

00:22:54.910 --> 00:22:57.190
went to live at her father's house. Verse 12.

00:22:57.670 --> 00:22:59.910
After a long time, Judah's wife, the daughter

00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:02.630
of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning,

00:23:02.849 --> 00:23:04.970
he and his friend Hira, the Adulamite, went up

00:23:04.970 --> 00:23:09.210
to Timnah to his sheep shearers. Tamar was told,

00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:11.829
your father -in -law is going up to Timnah to

00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:14.910
shear his sheep. So she took off her widow's

00:23:14.910 --> 00:23:17.410
clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and

00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:19.589
sat at the entrance to Enayim, which is on the

00:23:19.589 --> 00:23:22.920
way to Timnah. For she saw that though Sheila

00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:25.720
had grown up, she had not been given to him as

00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:29.400
wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was

00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:32.539
a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He

00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:34.759
went over to her and said, Come, let me sleep

00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:37.079
with you. For he did not know that she was his

00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:39.759
daughter -in -law. She said, What will you give

00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.859
me for sleeping with me? I will send you a young

00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:45.559
goat from my flock, he replied. But she said,

00:23:45.619 --> 00:23:47.960
Only if you leave something with me until you

00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.460
send it. What should I give you, he asked. She

00:23:51.460 --> 00:23:53.859
answered, your signet ring, your cord, and the

00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:57.180
staff in your hand. So he gave them to her, and

00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:59.500
he slept with her, and she became pregnant by

00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:02.660
him. She got up and left, then removed her veil

00:24:02.660 --> 00:24:08.319
and put her widow's clothes back on. So, ew,

00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:14.660
right? Judah had promised her his third son with

00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:18.069
no intention of ever honoring that promise. And

00:24:18.069 --> 00:24:21.049
so, like I said, two sons had died connected

00:24:21.049 --> 00:24:24.029
to her. I'm not going to risk my third son. And

00:24:24.029 --> 00:24:28.390
so, from the earthly standpoint here, in the

00:24:28.390 --> 00:24:31.089
moment of this story, the future of Judah's line,

00:24:31.250 --> 00:24:33.809
the messianic line as we know that the line of

00:24:33.809 --> 00:24:36.750
Judah is, is kind of impossible. The covenant

00:24:36.750 --> 00:24:38.990
line is dying here. Shelah doesn't have a wife.

00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:42.390
He won't marry Tamar. Judah won't give Tamar

00:24:42.390 --> 00:24:47.940
to him, and things are bad. So, years pass. Sheila

00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:50.640
grows up. Tamar is still sequestered over here.

00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:53.039
And her situation was really bad because as a

00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.259
widowed woman who was promised to someone else,

00:24:56.279 --> 00:24:59.400
she couldn't remarry. But because she was sequestered

00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:01.299
over here, she was also not under the care and

00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:04.299
the financial provision of Judah's house. So

00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:06.420
she had no money. She was poor. She had no status.

00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.920
She couldn't marry anybody else. She had no kids.

00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:12.900
As a woman in the culture, it was basically she

00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:16.059
had no life. And so she waited, and she waited.

00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:19.599
Judah's wife ends up dying. He grieves, and then

00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:22.240
he needs a change of scenery, right? So he goes

00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:24.579
with his friend Hira up to this place called

00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:29.140
Timnah, where the sheep were. Now, Tamar, being

00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:32.279
in this situation where she was just left, hatches

00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:36.220
a plan. You see, in the time of Timnah, or in

00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:38.559
the time of this culture, this area of Timnah

00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.480
and where they're going up to shear the sheep,

00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:43.720
it was actually a festival that was taking place

00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.500
in the area. And this festival time came with

00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:50.339
what festivals come with, food, wine. loosened

00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:54.180
morals. Now at this area in the Canaanite lands,

00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:56.359
and this was common throughout the land of Canaan

00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:59.700
that was without God, is that their false worship

00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.440
of the false gods included cult prostitutes.

00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:06.079
That sleeping with these prostitutes that were

00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.720
a part of these false god cults was a part of

00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:10.799
their worship. And so it was a very common thing

00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:13.680
to see these prostitutes everywhere. And this

00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:18.140
festival atmosphere explains Tamar's tactic,

00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.339
that she knew there would be prostitutes, and

00:26:20.339 --> 00:26:23.160
so she's going to go dress up as one on the way

00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:26.140
into the festival area, and then it also explains

00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:29.079
to us why Judah assumed she was a prostitute,

00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:34.279
right? But Judah doesn't hesitate. What does

00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:36.440
that tell us about Judah's spiritual condition?

00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:39.940
What does that tell us about where he's at with

00:26:39.940 --> 00:26:42.460
his own walk with the Lord? He doesn't hesitate.

00:26:44.009 --> 00:26:46.490
He's walking down the road, hey, how much? Just

00:26:46.490 --> 00:26:49.670
right into it. He's compromised at this point.

00:26:49.710 --> 00:26:52.710
He's forgotten his own values and, you know,

00:26:52.750 --> 00:26:56.289
it's just, this is what happens when a Christian

00:26:56.289 --> 00:26:59.430
departs from the family of God and surrounds

00:26:59.430 --> 00:27:04.549
himself by the world. Yes, God is all powerful

00:27:04.549 --> 00:27:08.470
and God can do all promises and fulfilled and

00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:12.559
all this stuff, but he works through us. And

00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:15.440
when we don't work with him the way he wants

00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.980
us to, to be empowered by prayer and encouraged

00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:19.819
by the body and strengthened through his word,

00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:23.140
when we separate from that, we get weak. And

00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:27.200
compromise comes every single time. So just as

00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:29.740
the story tells us there, they negotiate the

00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:33.220
contract. He says, how much? She goes, well,

00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:34.339
it's going to be this much. He goes, I'll give

00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:37.720
you a goat. A goat in South Sudan right now,

00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:39.819
incidentally, is 80 American dollars, right?

00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:42.559
So there's a value to these things. And she goes,

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:46.839
well, I don't offer credit, so I need collateral,

00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.980
right? I need collateral for this. And he's like,

00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:53.380
okay, I'll give you my ring, my cord, and my

00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:56.299
staff. And so they negotiate the contract. They

00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:58.640
do the deed. She gets pregnant, and she leaves.

00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:02.059
Now, it's just interesting to me right now that

00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:05.829
three generations have now sinned. through deception

00:28:05.829 --> 00:28:12.309
involving goats, right? It's Jacob deceived his

00:28:12.309 --> 00:28:15.470
father Isaac with goat skins on his arms to look

00:28:15.470 --> 00:28:19.230
like his brother, and then Jacob was deceived

00:28:19.230 --> 00:28:23.430
himself by goat's blood on Joseph's robe, you

00:28:23.430 --> 00:28:26.049
know, and now you have Tamar here, you know,

00:28:26.049 --> 00:28:30.269
being promised a goat for services, and so, but

00:28:30.269 --> 00:28:32.369
reading the story, you go, this is just kind

00:28:32.369 --> 00:28:35.309
of wild, and why is she doing this? What is her

00:28:35.309 --> 00:28:37.910
motivation, right? Some people read the story

00:28:37.910 --> 00:28:40.009
and go, oh, she's just doing what women in her

00:28:40.009 --> 00:28:43.269
position would do. That when they were sequestered

00:28:43.269 --> 00:28:45.569
and cast off like that and left to rot, often

00:28:45.569 --> 00:28:48.990
they would turn to prostitution because they

00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:50.849
had to make money. You had to eat, right? There

00:28:50.849 --> 00:28:53.210
was no financial provision. There was no covering.

00:28:53.430 --> 00:28:58.650
But that's not what's taking place here. I mean,

00:28:58.670 --> 00:29:01.029
yeah, it's wrong on so many levels, right? It's

00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:04.289
wrong what she's doing, but lust is not driving

00:29:04.289 --> 00:29:07.849
her. Greed is not driving her. Again, we have

00:29:07.849 --> 00:29:10.230
to put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in this

00:29:10.230 --> 00:29:13.849
society. Her situations with Ur and Onan had

00:29:13.849 --> 00:29:17.390
left her childless, had left her twice widowed

00:29:17.390 --> 00:29:21.259
in a patriarchal culture. where she had some

00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:24.839
rights, but really not much, especially in the

00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:27.500
fact that she was now a widowed bride in this

00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:31.380
family. Judah effectively had control over her

00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:35.200
life and was preventing her from moving on with

00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:38.740
her life, preventing her from being financially

00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:40.940
secure. I mean, it was a very, very difficult

00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:44.180
situation for her. Economically, socially, she

00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:47.160
was in a very, very vulnerable and poor situation.

00:29:48.109 --> 00:29:51.109
And like I said, yes, culturally, many women

00:29:51.109 --> 00:29:52.930
who found themselves in situations like this

00:29:52.930 --> 00:29:55.670
would indeed turn to prostitution just to survive.

00:29:55.750 --> 00:29:59.430
But the reality here is that when Judah did not

00:29:59.430 --> 00:30:02.890
call her to marry Shelah, when he became old

00:30:02.890 --> 00:30:06.109
enough to marry her, was a serious breach of

00:30:06.109 --> 00:30:11.319
duty. It was a serious... illegal act, if you

00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:13.460
want to call it that, because what he is doing,

00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:16.799
Judah is willfully withholding what is legally

00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:23.099
and rightfully hers. The rights of bearing the

00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:25.839
children, the rights of being included in the

00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:28.559
family, being provided for and taken care of

00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:32.839
in the family, he just abandons her. And from

00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:35.779
her position, And really, when we look at the

00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:37.680
whole story from a bird's eye view, she is a

00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.180
victim of Judah's deception. Judah, who knows

00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:43.759
better, is the godly man, is the patriarch of

00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:46.500
his household. He knows better, and he deceives

00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:48.359
her, and she now has no husband, no children,

00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:53.859
no prospect of marriage left to rot. Now, sometimes

00:30:53.859 --> 00:30:58.619
the greatest wounds in our life don't come from

00:30:58.619 --> 00:31:01.640
what people do to us. They come from what people

00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:06.069
don't do. when they don't honor a promise, when

00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:08.890
they don't follow through, when they don't do

00:31:08.890 --> 00:31:12.710
the thing that they're supposed to do, and she's

00:31:12.710 --> 00:31:15.589
wounded by all of this. And so Judah's injustice

00:31:15.589 --> 00:31:20.950
really is what's motivating her to disguise herself

00:31:20.950 --> 00:31:23.750
and to do this because, again, burying the child

00:31:23.750 --> 00:31:28.000
was really the... the primary pinnacle of what

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:29.980
women in the family would do in this day, to

00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:32.140
bear children to carry on the family name. And

00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:35.759
she's not just trying to get a child. She's trying

00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:38.440
to get the child that the family owes her. Now,

00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:41.380
this is speculation on my part, but I believe

00:31:41.380 --> 00:31:44.440
the fact that she had been with Judah and the

00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:46.380
family for a while, that even though Judah was

00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:50.960
compromised, I believe she had heard about Judah's

00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:54.450
family and about who they were. And about the

00:31:54.450 --> 00:31:56.809
covenant and about the expectations and stuff.

00:31:56.890 --> 00:31:59.769
And maybe Judah had possibly shared that and

00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:00.990
just thought, yeah, that's just, you know, my

00:32:00.990 --> 00:32:02.930
dad believes all that stuff and whatever. But

00:32:02.930 --> 00:32:07.349
I think she knew the importance of being a part

00:32:07.349 --> 00:32:09.230
of this family more than just I need to be taken

00:32:09.230 --> 00:32:13.230
care of. And so she is robbed of all of that

00:32:13.230 --> 00:32:18.400
by Judah. And so, yeah, she has been robbed of

00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.960
the connection to her husband's name, robbed

00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:22.859
of the connection to her husband's inheritance,

00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:25.519
robbed of the connection to her husband's covenant

00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.660
place, as well as her safety and her own well

00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:33.220
-being. And so, she does this thing. Not a good

00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:37.500
thing. But she's kind of like Jacob in the sense

00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:39.299
of, remember in the beginning when Jacob was

00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:42.740
a kid? He believed God's promises. He believed

00:32:42.740 --> 00:32:45.480
the covenant. He believed all the stuff that

00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:47.839
God had said, and he believed it so strongly

00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:51.079
that he connived to steal it from his older brother.

00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:54.319
And you're like, well, commendable that you believed

00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:58.019
the promise that much. Not commendable how you

00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:00.440
went about getting it, right? There's kind of

00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:02.220
a little bit of that here in my opinion that

00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:06.319
she just knows. What is at stake here? And so

00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:09.140
she insists on this pledge of a promised payment,

00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:11.500
and I do believe this was also a calculated move

00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:15.380
on her part because she's about to... be in a

00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:17.200
position where she's going to need to legally

00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:22.460
defend her place, legally defend her rights to

00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:24.880
be a part of this family and what's going on

00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:27.319
here. And so the seal, the cord, and the staff,

00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:30.799
this is the ancient equivalent of his driver's

00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:34.140
license and his signature stamp and his credit

00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:36.200
card, right? It's like, leave the collateral.

00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:38.640
We've all done that in places, right? Oh, yeah,

00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:40.119
leave a driver's license. You can go test drive

00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:46.890
the car. So it's his identity. It's his authority.

00:33:48.630 --> 00:33:51.289
It's his position within the family because he

00:33:51.289 --> 00:33:53.210
is the one that makes the final call within his

00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:56.589
family. But he's not just leaving all his identifying

00:33:56.589 --> 00:34:00.930
elements. He's surrendering his integrity is

00:34:00.930 --> 00:34:04.309
what he does here. So verse 20. When Judah sent

00:34:04.309 --> 00:34:06.349
the young goat by his friend the Adulamite in

00:34:06.349 --> 00:34:08.150
order to get back the items he had left with

00:34:08.150 --> 00:34:10.849
the woman, he could not find her. He asked the

00:34:10.849 --> 00:34:12.969
men of the place, where is the cult prostitute

00:34:12.969 --> 00:34:16.039
who is beside the roads at Enim? There has been

00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:19.079
no cult prostitute here, they answered. So the

00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:21.300
Adulamite returned to Judah saying, I couldn't

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:23.739
find her. And besides, the men of the place said

00:34:23.739 --> 00:34:27.300
there was no cult prostitute here. So Judah replied,

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.800
let her keep the items for herself. Otherwise,

00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:33.800
we will become a laughingstock. After all, I

00:34:33.800 --> 00:34:35.519
did send this young goat, but you couldn't find

00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:40.460
her. These verses reveal Judah's heart more clearly

00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:42.380
than anything else in this chapter, in my opinion.

00:34:43.469 --> 00:34:47.769
You see, he wants his ID back because who wants

00:34:47.769 --> 00:34:51.690
to go to the DMV to get a new ID, right? He wants

00:34:51.690 --> 00:34:53.730
his credit card back because, come on, you lose

00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:55.690
your credit card, you've got to redo all of your

00:34:55.690 --> 00:34:59.789
auto drafts and stuff, it's a pain. But he doesn't

00:34:59.789 --> 00:35:04.329
want to face the woman. He sends his worldly

00:35:04.329 --> 00:35:06.769
buddy, hey, can you go just pay the bill for

00:35:06.769 --> 00:35:10.130
me? This is the early stage of guilt management.

00:35:11.250 --> 00:35:14.659
This is... how we know that Judah knows he's

00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:18.760
done wrong. He has sinned. He's done something

00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:20.360
he knows he shouldn't have done, but instead

00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:23.639
of facing it, instead of repenting or confessing

00:35:23.639 --> 00:35:26.960
or any of that, he's trying to manage his guilt.

00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:30.280
Well, if I pay the bill like I said I was, we're

00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:35.099
good. His friend goes, can't find the prostitute.

00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:38.760
In fact, he asks around and then dun, dun, dun.

00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:44.340
There were no cult prostitutes here. Now, Judah

00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:47.539
is in a difficult spot right there because if

00:35:47.539 --> 00:35:51.260
he presses the issue, he risks public embarrassment.

00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:55.420
No, there was. She looked like this. I slept

00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:57.940
with her. I gave her these things, right? But

00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:02.360
he says, let her keep the items for herself.

00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:05.739
Otherwise, we'll become a laughingstock. He's

00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:07.440
more worried about his shame than he is about

00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:10.449
his sin. He's more worried about being found

00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:13.289
out. He cares more about his image than his integrity.

00:36:13.469 --> 00:36:17.230
He prefers secrecy to repentance. Does this sound

00:36:17.230 --> 00:36:24.309
familiar to anybody? Sounds familiar to me. I'm

00:36:24.309 --> 00:36:28.349
a sinful man. Just like everybody in here is

00:36:28.349 --> 00:36:30.670
a sinful person, and we all deal with this. We

00:36:30.670 --> 00:36:33.630
sin, we mess up, we know we did wrong, and we

00:36:33.630 --> 00:36:36.489
have that temptation to manage the guilt instead

00:36:36.489 --> 00:36:41.300
of deal with it. To want to figure out ways to

00:36:41.300 --> 00:36:43.760
hide it or to keep it a secret. And it's far

00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:47.920
too often we want to get past the sin instead

00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:52.519
of confessing it. I just want it to be done.

00:36:53.260 --> 00:36:55.639
So we send someone else. Hey, buddy, can you

00:36:55.639 --> 00:37:01.079
go tell her? Can you go tell him? We want someone

00:37:01.079 --> 00:37:03.380
else to deal with it for us instead of issuing

00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:06.269
or confronting the issue personally. when the

00:37:06.269 --> 00:37:08.829
consequences of our sin become really awkward,

00:37:09.090 --> 00:37:11.429
we just want to drop it. We just want the story

00:37:11.429 --> 00:37:13.130
to go away. Let's just move on and forget about

00:37:13.130 --> 00:37:16.269
it, right? We all deal with that because our

00:37:16.269 --> 00:37:19.389
sinful nature is prideful. And we don't want

00:37:19.389 --> 00:37:21.750
to be held accountable. But to use a phrase that

00:37:21.750 --> 00:37:24.750
the kids use today, God has all the receipts.

00:37:25.989 --> 00:37:29.789
He knows every detail. He knows every bit of

00:37:29.789 --> 00:37:33.510
it, and Tamar now holds the evidence that God

00:37:33.510 --> 00:37:37.690
will later use to break Judah. So let's move

00:37:37.690 --> 00:37:42.070
on. Verse 24. About three months later, Judah

00:37:42.070 --> 00:37:45.050
was told, your daughter -in -law Tamar has been

00:37:45.050 --> 00:37:48.789
acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.

00:37:49.250 --> 00:37:52.510
Bring her out, Judah said, and let her be burned

00:37:52.510 --> 00:37:56.599
to death. As she was being brought out, she sent

00:37:56.599 --> 00:37:59.420
her father -in -law this message. I am pregnant

00:37:59.420 --> 00:38:04.619
by the man to whom these items belong. And she

00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:09.380
added, examine them. Whose signet ring, cord,

00:38:09.460 --> 00:38:15.960
and staff are these? Judah recognized them. Can

00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:20.599
you imagine that moment, right? She is more in

00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:23.139
the right than I am, since I did not give her

00:38:23.139 --> 00:38:25.780
to my son, Sheila. and he did not know her intimately

00:38:25.780 --> 00:38:31.219
again. Three months after his deed, Tamar is

00:38:31.219 --> 00:38:35.119
visibly pregnant. She's a widow. Everybody knows

00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:36.760
that. She's in the widow's garb all the time.

00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:40.000
She's being reserved for Sheila. That's her position

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:42.179
in life. She cannot do anything else, and yet

00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:45.840
she's pregnant. Everybody starts calling her

00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:48.260
names, calling her a whore, calling her all these

00:38:48.260 --> 00:38:50.960
terrible things. Look, she's been acting like

00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:53.800
a prostitute sleeping around. And then Judah's

00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:57.199
told him, oh my gosh, what dishonor on the family

00:38:57.199 --> 00:39:01.099
name. What a sinful piece of trash. I cannot

00:39:01.099 --> 00:39:03.059
believe. Bring her out and we'll burn her to

00:39:03.059 --> 00:39:08.460
death. No compassion. No reflection on his own

00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:11.860
sin. No self -awareness. No curiosity about the

00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:16.059
truth. He's just outraged by her sin and totally

00:39:16.059 --> 00:39:19.900
blinded to his own. You know, one of the things

00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:24.659
God has done in my life to teach me grace and

00:39:24.659 --> 00:39:31.019
mercy and forgiveness is to reflect before you

00:39:31.019 --> 00:39:37.440
condemn, right? somebody sins against you or,

00:39:37.460 --> 00:39:39.900
you know, in my position as a pastor, you know,

00:39:39.980 --> 00:39:42.659
you have a ministry leader that did something

00:39:42.659 --> 00:39:45.420
that they shouldn't have done or whatever and

00:39:45.420 --> 00:39:47.079
you find out about it and they're like, oh my

00:39:47.079 --> 00:39:49.940
God, I can't believe they did that. Burn them

00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:54.199
at the stake, right? And yet God says, great,

00:39:54.460 --> 00:39:58.079
that's awesome. They should be judged for their

00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:01.739
sin, right? Yes, absolutely. And then what God

00:40:01.739 --> 00:40:03.619
has always said to me is, cool, are we going

00:40:03.619 --> 00:40:07.420
to start with you? Like, what are you talking

00:40:07.420 --> 00:40:12.099
about? Well, I mean, you want to enact judgment

00:40:12.099 --> 00:40:16.480
for sin. You're not free from sin, so let's start

00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:24.059
with you. And you reflect, I am a sinner. You

00:40:24.059 --> 00:40:29.280
know, and God says, well, did I kill you? No.

00:40:30.699 --> 00:40:34.579
What did I do to you? You extended forgiveness

00:40:34.579 --> 00:40:37.239
and grace and mercy through my confession and

00:40:37.239 --> 00:40:39.800
my repentance. Okay, so now what are you going

00:40:39.800 --> 00:40:43.059
to do? Well, I guess I'm going to extend forgiveness

00:40:43.059 --> 00:40:47.619
and grace and mercy through confession and repentance.

00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:51.280
Yeah. Now, this doesn't mean there's not consequences

00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:53.179
that come with things. I mean, we all experience

00:40:53.179 --> 00:40:58.360
the consequences, but how can I not forgive when

00:40:58.360 --> 00:41:02.300
God has forgiven me of so much? How can we not

00:41:02.300 --> 00:41:04.639
extend grace and mercy when God continually extends

00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:10.019
grace and mercy to us? And Judah here, he's so

00:41:10.019 --> 00:41:13.360
blinded to his own sin, so encapsulated in his

00:41:13.360 --> 00:41:15.820
own self -righteousness. Why? Because this secret

00:41:15.820 --> 00:41:18.039
sin, this guilt and this condemnation he's been

00:41:18.039 --> 00:41:20.340
living with, he suppressed it and he buried it.

00:41:20.440 --> 00:41:22.780
And what that causes us to do is then build this

00:41:22.780 --> 00:41:25.719
false facade of righteousness. I'm a good person.

00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:31.019
Remember when David was confronted by Nathan?

00:41:32.619 --> 00:41:35.880
After David had Bathsheba's husband murdered,

00:41:36.059 --> 00:41:38.940
killed in the front lines of battle, cover it

00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:42.039
up, make it look like a combat injury, he's dead.

00:41:43.380 --> 00:41:45.420
Nathan comes to King David and says, hey man,

00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:48.360
we have a problem, sir. There's this guy who

00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:50.739
has like a bazillion sheep, and then there's

00:41:50.739 --> 00:41:52.699
this guy over here who just had one and he loved

00:41:52.699 --> 00:41:55.239
it so much, but this guy with the bazillion sheep

00:41:55.239 --> 00:41:58.110
killed him and took his sheep. And David's like,

00:41:58.190 --> 00:42:03.730
that's wrong. How dare he kill that man? And

00:42:03.730 --> 00:42:12.190
what did Nathan say? You're the man. Wow. Our

00:42:12.190 --> 00:42:14.489
judgment changes quite quickly when we're the

00:42:14.489 --> 00:42:21.050
man, right? Oh, wait. But the point is, is God

00:42:21.050 --> 00:42:25.179
wants us to reflect and just, yes. Yes, consequences.

00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:27.179
Yes, people need to be held accountable. I'm

00:42:27.179 --> 00:42:31.800
not saying that at all. But be forgiving. Be

00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:36.340
gracious. Be merciful. Because God has forgiven

00:42:36.340 --> 00:42:39.820
you. And this isn't what Judah's doing here.

00:42:40.860 --> 00:42:43.579
She says examine these things. It's very interesting

00:42:43.579 --> 00:42:46.840
she says that because That was the same language

00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:49.900
that Judah used with his dad, right, when they

00:42:49.900 --> 00:42:52.920
dipped Joseph's robe in blood and sent it back

00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:55.139
to their dad. They knew the stinking robe. They

00:42:55.139 --> 00:42:56.579
knew who it was, and they knew their dad would

00:42:56.579 --> 00:43:00.079
recognize it, but they go, Dad, is this Joseph's

00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:06.320
robe? We don't know. And she says the same thing

00:43:06.320 --> 00:43:09.019
to him, right? Examine this ring, this cord,

00:43:09.059 --> 00:43:13.079
and their staff. You know, God often uses the

00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:18.269
things we fear most. to set us free. For Judah,

00:43:18.349 --> 00:43:22.289
what he feared most was exposure. What he feared

00:43:22.289 --> 00:43:25.010
most was people knowing the truth about who he

00:43:25.010 --> 00:43:29.690
was. To damage whatever self -image he had created

00:43:29.690 --> 00:43:33.530
for himself. And if people knew, oh my goodness,

00:43:33.670 --> 00:43:40.730
that was terrible for him. And yet his sin was

00:43:40.730 --> 00:43:42.449
no longer going to be secret. Everybody would

00:43:42.449 --> 00:43:45.889
know. Is this your driver's license? It has your

00:43:45.889 --> 00:43:51.250
picture on it. Is this your ring that you as

00:43:51.250 --> 00:43:54.210
the patriarch of this tribe, this signature card

00:43:54.210 --> 00:43:57.030
that only you have because is this your ring?

00:43:58.030 --> 00:44:01.030
Everybody would know. And, you know, God is eventually

00:44:01.030 --> 00:44:03.909
going to ask every single sinner this question.

00:44:05.050 --> 00:44:10.110
Do you recognize this? Do you recognize that

00:44:10.110 --> 00:44:13.829
lie you told? Do you? Do you recognize that vow

00:44:13.829 --> 00:44:18.150
you broke? How about that person you wounded?

00:44:20.369 --> 00:44:22.869
Do you recognize that hypocrisy you're hiding

00:44:22.869 --> 00:44:27.329
behind? What about that behavior that you excused?

00:44:27.329 --> 00:44:31.909
Do you recognize it? God will do that because

00:44:31.909 --> 00:44:35.389
he's going to face us with what we need to be

00:44:35.389 --> 00:44:38.429
faced with so that we come to the place of repentance

00:44:38.429 --> 00:44:43.670
and confession. Conviction is God's mercy, not

00:44:43.670 --> 00:44:52.010
his cruelty. If God exposes you, it's his mercy,

00:44:52.110 --> 00:45:00.429
not him being mean. Now, like I said, her words,

00:45:00.429 --> 00:45:05.050
they just echo. And I believe when he heard the

00:45:05.050 --> 00:45:08.630
words of the message, examine this. And then

00:45:08.630 --> 00:45:12.010
he realized that those things were his. I believe

00:45:12.010 --> 00:45:17.070
he was feeling the sting of his hypocrisy. I

00:45:17.070 --> 00:45:24.389
did this exact thing to my dad. And I tried to

00:45:24.389 --> 00:45:26.730
do it again. I'm trying to cover my sin instead

00:45:26.730 --> 00:45:31.590
of facing it. I'm trying to hide behind this

00:45:31.590 --> 00:45:33.849
false facade so I don't have to deal with my

00:45:33.849 --> 00:45:37.389
guilt. I did it with Joseph, and now here I am.

00:45:37.389 --> 00:45:45.789
I did it again. And he breaks. He breaks. He

00:45:45.789 --> 00:45:50.670
finally breaks. This is his moment of change.

00:45:50.789 --> 00:45:53.610
He recognized him and said, she is more in the

00:45:53.610 --> 00:45:56.670
right than I. He's not saying she's without sin.

00:45:56.989 --> 00:46:01.010
This isn't God justifying or excusing what she

00:46:01.010 --> 00:46:04.659
did. deceiving and prostituting and all that

00:46:04.659 --> 00:46:08.480
stuff. What he's saying is what I did to her

00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:16.539
far exceeds what she's doing to me. I robbed

00:46:16.539 --> 00:46:19.019
her of her life. I robbed her of her rights.

00:46:19.179 --> 00:46:21.920
I robbed her of a child. I robbed her of marriage

00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:30.619
and protection. I robbed her of life. She got

00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:39.840
me. He admits his failure, his deception. He's

00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:42.639
admitting his injustice towards her, and that's

00:46:42.639 --> 00:46:44.679
what confession is. Confession is a doorway to

00:46:44.679 --> 00:46:48.219
transformation. That's why God will expose us.

00:46:48.260 --> 00:46:49.880
That's why God will bring these things to light

00:46:49.880 --> 00:46:53.820
so that we stop hiding and stop lying and stop

00:46:53.820 --> 00:46:58.300
playing the hypocrite and finally go, wow, yep,

00:46:58.420 --> 00:47:03.820
I did that. I did that. I own it. God, I'm so

00:47:03.820 --> 00:47:13.539
sorry. He owns it. He confesses. And he's changed.

00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:15.960
You see this transformation. This is the moment

00:47:15.960 --> 00:47:21.000
where he begins to become the person that we

00:47:21.000 --> 00:47:24.159
read about in Genesis 44 and 49. This is the

00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:26.039
moment where he becomes the person instead of

00:47:26.039 --> 00:47:29.440
hiding his own sin and trying to just play the

00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:32.019
part. Yeah, I don't want to sacrifice anything

00:47:32.019 --> 00:47:34.800
in my life. This is where he becomes the person

00:47:34.800 --> 00:47:39.820
who in Genesis 44 will say, Please take my life

00:47:39.820 --> 00:47:43.500
instead of Benjamin. He's my little brother.

00:47:44.139 --> 00:47:46.960
I will sacrifice everything just that he could

00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:50.280
be free. That's a different man than we've been

00:47:50.280 --> 00:47:56.340
reading about here in Genesis 38. Verse 27. When

00:47:56.340 --> 00:47:58.099
the time came for her to give birth, there were

00:47:58.099 --> 00:48:02.599
twins in her womb. And as she was giving birth,

00:48:02.719 --> 00:48:04.360
one of them put out his hand and the midwife

00:48:04.360 --> 00:48:06.320
took it and tied a scarlet thread around it,

00:48:06.380 --> 00:48:09.599
announcing this one came out first. But then

00:48:09.599 --> 00:48:11.579
he pulled his hand back and out came his brother.

00:48:11.699 --> 00:48:13.940
And she said, what a breakout you have made for

00:48:13.940 --> 00:48:18.480
yourself. So he was named Perez. Then his brother,

00:48:18.599 --> 00:48:20.639
who had the scarlet thread tied around his hand,

00:48:20.699 --> 00:48:24.360
came out and was named Zerah. So this is just

00:48:24.360 --> 00:48:26.780
like with Jacob and Esau, right? Younger brother

00:48:26.780 --> 00:48:28.900
and older brother fighting for position here.

00:48:29.599 --> 00:48:31.739
I don't know if Perez was like, hey, I read the

00:48:31.739 --> 00:48:33.559
story about grabbing the heel. That doesn't work.

00:48:33.659 --> 00:48:38.800
Ah, tries to punch out. Or Zerah, I mean, Zerah

00:48:38.800 --> 00:48:40.219
punches out. They're like, well, he's first.

00:48:40.320 --> 00:48:41.800
He's the first one out of the womb. They tie

00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:43.860
this string around his wrist, and then he pulls

00:48:43.860 --> 00:48:46.840
his hand back in, and then Perez is born, which

00:48:46.840 --> 00:48:49.860
makes Perez actually the younger of the two brothers,

00:48:50.139 --> 00:48:55.300
the younger overtaking the older again. Now,

00:48:55.320 --> 00:48:58.130
God's servant choices are... They're unexpected,

00:48:58.369 --> 00:49:01.389
but they're all according to His will. They're

00:49:01.389 --> 00:49:03.449
all according to His will. You see, God is advancing

00:49:03.449 --> 00:49:06.389
His redemptive line through very surprising people

00:49:06.389 --> 00:49:10.789
here, through very messy stories. Because Perez,

00:49:10.929 --> 00:49:13.070
who is the younger of these two, according to

00:49:13.070 --> 00:49:16.389
birth order in that sense, he is the one that

00:49:16.389 --> 00:49:19.989
becomes the ancestor of King David and the ancestor

00:49:19.989 --> 00:49:23.989
of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. You see, what looked

00:49:23.989 --> 00:49:27.750
hopeless here God worked in and through the mess

00:49:27.750 --> 00:49:30.010
and redeemed it. And then on top of this, you

00:49:30.010 --> 00:49:32.429
know, if you go read the genealogy of Jesus Christ

00:49:32.429 --> 00:49:35.210
in Matthew, there's a few names in there that

00:49:35.210 --> 00:49:37.349
are kind of surprising, right? The first one

00:49:37.349 --> 00:49:41.429
we read is Tamar, this woman, this deceiver who

00:49:41.429 --> 00:49:46.150
is acting in desperation. She's included in the

00:49:46.150 --> 00:49:50.750
genealogy of the Messiah. Later on, you'll read

00:49:50.750 --> 00:49:58.300
a name Rahab, who was an actual prostitute. Ruth,

00:49:58.300 --> 00:50:01.940
a Moabite, Moabitess, an outsider to the family

00:50:01.940 --> 00:50:05.579
of God. Three Gentile women that are recorded

00:50:05.579 --> 00:50:10.420
in the lineage of the Messiah. And then there's

00:50:10.420 --> 00:50:13.800
also Bathsheba, who was an Israelite woman, but

00:50:13.800 --> 00:50:16.440
she was a woman caught up in terrible, horrible

00:50:16.440 --> 00:50:20.539
scandal with David. Why does God include these

00:50:20.539 --> 00:50:23.300
women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ? To reveal

00:50:23.300 --> 00:50:29.420
God's grace towards Gentiles. Way back here in

00:50:29.420 --> 00:50:32.480
the beginning, God said the Gentiles are a part

00:50:32.480 --> 00:50:36.179
of this plan. Now, over history, the Jewish nation,

00:50:36.280 --> 00:50:39.320
they kind of forgot that and got elitist and

00:50:39.320 --> 00:50:42.039
thought, no, we're the chosen ones and everybody

00:50:42.039 --> 00:50:47.320
else is just trash. God has humbled the nation

00:50:47.320 --> 00:50:51.079
Israel and he's going to deal with them again

00:50:51.079 --> 00:50:53.320
in tribulation and raise them back up and redeem

00:50:53.320 --> 00:50:57.929
that nation. Why does God reveal Tamar of all

00:50:57.929 --> 00:51:00.190
people in the genealogy of Jesus Christ? All

00:51:00.190 --> 00:51:03.570
this stuff she did, it's to normalize the existence

00:51:03.570 --> 00:51:08.230
of scandal in the line of the Messiah. To normalize

00:51:08.230 --> 00:51:12.750
it. It's not perfect people who are in the family

00:51:12.750 --> 00:51:20.670
of Christ. It's imperfect people. We are scandal.

00:51:22.429 --> 00:51:25.409
And yet God says, I love you so much. I died

00:51:25.409 --> 00:51:27.090
for you. Put your faith in me. You're in my family.

00:51:28.630 --> 00:51:30.969
And then it's to also foreshadow Mary's socially

00:51:30.969 --> 00:51:33.329
suspect pregnancy. And we'll be talking about

00:51:33.329 --> 00:51:36.829
that this month coming up. But really to show

00:51:36.829 --> 00:51:38.969
that God brings Christ through deeply imperfect

00:51:38.969 --> 00:51:42.070
people. And in these stories, I mean, if you

00:51:42.070 --> 00:51:44.750
think your background disqualifies you from being

00:51:44.750 --> 00:51:48.530
in the family of God, Tamar and Perez should

00:51:48.530 --> 00:51:56.030
tell you otherwise. God loves to rewrite stories.

00:51:56.150 --> 00:51:58.150
You go, here's my terrible story, and God's like,

00:51:58.190 --> 00:52:03.309
nah, here's the ending. And it's beautiful. You

00:52:03.309 --> 00:52:06.170
see, we're God's people. We're all prone to corruption.

00:52:06.809 --> 00:52:09.610
It's a part of the nature we have. Judah is proof

00:52:09.610 --> 00:52:12.710
of that. For one, godly heritage cannot replace

00:52:12.710 --> 00:52:15.829
personal holiness. Just because you were born

00:52:15.829 --> 00:52:17.590
and raised in a Christian home and went to church

00:52:17.590 --> 00:52:20.750
and went to youth group does not mean you got

00:52:20.750 --> 00:52:25.579
a lock on heaven. Because as we see, Judah was

00:52:25.579 --> 00:52:29.420
from the line, the family, and yet he still strays

00:52:29.420 --> 00:52:33.019
into corruption. So when you distance yourself

00:52:33.019 --> 00:52:36.780
from God's people, when you marry outside of

00:52:36.780 --> 00:52:38.659
God's people, something the Bible talks a lot

00:52:38.659 --> 00:52:41.019
about, when you live like the surrounding culture,

00:52:41.199 --> 00:52:44.820
when you have a casual attitude about sexual

00:52:44.820 --> 00:52:49.510
sin and temptation, When you value your own fake

00:52:49.510 --> 00:52:52.489
reputation over repentance, you're going to drift,

00:52:52.610 --> 00:52:54.309
you're going to wander, you're going to fall.

00:52:58.449 --> 00:53:01.309
Sin is not often a sudden fall. That's how we

00:53:01.309 --> 00:53:03.289
see it. We hear about someone falling and we

00:53:03.289 --> 00:53:06.969
go, how did that happen? How did that happen?

00:53:07.010 --> 00:53:09.230
Because there was months and years of secrets

00:53:09.230 --> 00:53:12.110
that nobody knew about of compromise and sin.

00:53:13.929 --> 00:53:16.269
That just boiled over in that moment that is

00:53:16.269 --> 00:53:21.849
so public. But on the other side of that, you

00:53:21.849 --> 00:53:24.010
have God who is marked by holiness and grace.

00:53:25.130 --> 00:53:28.449
Holiness, right? In holiness, he judges Ur and

00:53:28.449 --> 00:53:33.989
Onan and they die. In the New Testament, Ananias

00:53:33.989 --> 00:53:35.710
and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit and they

00:53:35.710 --> 00:53:40.690
die. I'm glad he doesn't do that all the time.

00:53:43.949 --> 00:53:46.550
But we understand how seriously God takes holiness,

00:53:46.730 --> 00:53:51.510
don't we? He disciplines Judah through pain and

00:53:51.510 --> 00:53:54.829
loss and shame and exposure. But Judah responds

00:53:54.829 --> 00:53:59.710
appropriately. Man, I've sinned. So you have

00:53:59.710 --> 00:54:01.349
God's holiness, but you also have God's grace.

00:54:03.030 --> 00:54:06.230
God kept his promise, his line of a Messiah alive

00:54:06.230 --> 00:54:12.039
through Tamar and her wrong choices. But her

00:54:12.039 --> 00:54:16.800
pursuing the godly promises, God preserved that.

00:54:16.940 --> 00:54:19.940
He uses the shocking to accomplish the sacred.

00:54:20.199 --> 00:54:24.400
He turns a Canaanite outsider into a matriarch

00:54:24.400 --> 00:54:28.440
of the Messiah. In the line of Jesus Christ,

00:54:28.579 --> 00:54:34.360
and he transforms Judah from a hypocrite into

00:54:34.360 --> 00:54:38.340
an intercessor, and then ultimately to the tribe

00:54:38.340 --> 00:54:42.719
of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Tamar's

00:54:42.719 --> 00:54:48.000
persistence is used by God. She refuses to accept

00:54:48.000 --> 00:54:50.199
injustice and the barrenness that would be on

00:54:50.199 --> 00:54:53.059
her life because of that. She insists on participating

00:54:53.059 --> 00:54:57.679
in the promise. Yeah, her means are flawed. We

00:54:57.679 --> 00:55:00.900
don't say, oh, what she did was okay, but there's

00:55:00.900 --> 00:55:05.719
a shrewdness in her. And it just shows us that

00:55:05.719 --> 00:55:08.019
God uses the overlooked and the powerless and

00:55:08.019 --> 00:55:10.559
the culturally excluded to move his purposes

00:55:10.559 --> 00:55:15.300
forward. In Judah, his turning point came when

00:55:15.300 --> 00:55:18.139
Tamar asked him, do you recognize these things?

00:55:19.980 --> 00:55:23.239
Do these things belong to you? And God will often

00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:26.139
confront us in the same way. Whether it's a moment

00:55:26.139 --> 00:55:29.980
of exposure, whether it's a conversation, a lingering

00:55:29.980 --> 00:55:32.500
conviction we have, a guilt that we keep trying

00:55:32.500 --> 00:55:35.539
to hide in the background. It might be somebody

00:55:35.539 --> 00:55:40.179
who shows up holding the receipts. Or it might

00:55:40.179 --> 00:55:43.269
be a sin we see in someone else. We get so righteously

00:55:43.269 --> 00:55:45.409
indignant and all it is is a reflection of our

00:55:45.409 --> 00:55:49.829
own sin. Know that exposure is not condemnation.

00:55:50.750 --> 00:55:55.989
It's an invitation to transformation. The gritty,

00:55:56.030 --> 00:56:01.780
uncomfortable, you gross chapter here. It just

00:56:01.780 --> 00:56:04.280
shows us again that God writes his story through

00:56:04.280 --> 00:56:08.019
people who are compromised and drifting and sinful

00:56:08.019 --> 00:56:12.119
and hypocritical and wounded and desperate and

00:56:12.119 --> 00:56:15.739
outsiders to the world around them because it's

00:56:15.739 --> 00:56:19.559
those people who are the ones who are completely

00:56:19.559 --> 00:56:26.500
surprised by grace. You love me? Are you sure?

00:56:32.869 --> 00:56:37.750
Why? I'm messed up. I'm all these things. And

00:56:37.750 --> 00:56:41.769
God goes, yeah. I got a whole book of people

00:56:41.769 --> 00:56:44.010
like that that I just did awesome things through.

00:56:44.050 --> 00:56:47.989
You should read it. So if you're drifting, Judah

00:56:47.989 --> 00:56:52.630
is a warning to you. If you're wounded or overlooked

00:56:52.630 --> 00:56:55.010
or feel cast aside, Tamar is an encouragement

00:56:55.010 --> 00:56:59.619
to you. If you're ashamed, Well, God's grace

00:56:59.619 --> 00:57:03.239
is inviting you to repentance. If you feel like

00:57:03.239 --> 00:57:06.800
your story is too messy to possibly be allowed

00:57:06.800 --> 00:57:09.159
into the family of God, well, the genealogy of

00:57:09.159 --> 00:57:14.079
Jesus Christ refutes you. If you're convinced

00:57:14.079 --> 00:57:18.420
you can't change, Judah's transformation is here

00:57:18.420 --> 00:57:24.960
to give you hope. If you fear exposure, remember

00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:27.760
that God exposes only what he intends to heal.

00:57:28.880 --> 00:57:31.139
He doesn't expose to just embarrass you and point

00:57:31.139 --> 00:57:33.139
the finger and laugh. He exposes it so that you

00:57:33.139 --> 00:57:37.119
may repent and be healed. So that you may confess

00:57:37.119 --> 00:57:39.360
and own it and then come to God for healing and

00:57:39.360 --> 00:57:44.119
that he would heal you and change you. You see

00:57:44.119 --> 00:57:47.599
Philippians 2 .13. For it is God who is working

00:57:47.599 --> 00:57:50.800
in you both to will and to work according to

00:57:50.800 --> 00:57:56.820
his good purpose. So if God can weave this chapter

00:57:58.119 --> 00:58:01.420
into the story of Joseph and ultimately into

00:58:01.420 --> 00:58:04.380
the story of salvation through Jesus Christ,

00:58:04.519 --> 00:58:08.900
if God can take all of our dirty laundry and

00:58:08.900 --> 00:58:13.539
make it white as snow, then he could weave your

00:58:13.539 --> 00:58:17.940
story, your life, even the gross, messy parts

00:58:17.940 --> 00:58:22.659
into his redemption story. You just have to come

00:58:22.659 --> 00:58:27.360
to him and receive it. Let's pray. Father, we

00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:35.300
love you so much. God, so many of us, Lord, I

00:58:35.300 --> 00:58:38.280
would risk saying all of us, Lord, can see ourselves

00:58:38.280 --> 00:58:42.980
in this story in some parts. There are some of

00:58:42.980 --> 00:58:45.519
us, Lord, that like Judah, we've known you for

00:58:45.519 --> 00:58:47.420
a long time and walked with you for a long time,

00:58:47.480 --> 00:58:51.519
but we've drifted. We distanced ourselves from

00:58:51.519 --> 00:58:59.619
the family of God. We've made friends of those

00:58:59.619 --> 00:59:02.380
who would lead us astray, Lord. Not that we're

00:59:02.380 --> 00:59:05.480
not supposed to be in the world, but not to be

00:59:05.480 --> 00:59:11.780
of the world. God, some hearing this, Lord, may

00:59:11.780 --> 00:59:14.559
feel like Tamar. They may feel like they've been

00:59:14.559 --> 00:59:18.659
promised things by people, by the world, by whatever,

00:59:18.800 --> 00:59:21.260
Lord, and those promises haven't been fulfilled

00:59:21.260 --> 00:59:22.900
and they feel like they've been forgotten and

00:59:22.900 --> 00:59:27.659
cast off and overlooked. And yet, Lord, they

00:59:27.659 --> 00:59:33.679
believe you to the point where they would entertain

00:59:33.679 --> 00:59:40.000
doing not good things to realize the promises

00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:42.940
you have for them, God. Maybe there's some here,

00:59:43.000 --> 00:59:47.840
Lord, that God just are fearing exposure, and

00:59:47.840 --> 00:59:53.000
they've been living this lie, and God, you're

00:59:53.000 --> 00:59:56.510
bringing things to them. asking them if they

00:59:56.510 --> 01:00:01.349
recognize these sins. That, Lord, in your graciousness,

01:00:01.369 --> 01:00:04.769
you're saying, look, you are the person. Repent.

01:00:08.349 --> 01:00:10.150
God, maybe there's some in here that you're going

01:00:10.150 --> 01:00:13.889
to have to expose in a very publicly and embarrassing,

01:00:14.090 --> 01:00:18.849
humiliating way, but Lord, we know you do everything

01:00:18.849 --> 01:00:24.869
you do for our well -being. That we would have

01:00:24.869 --> 01:00:29.610
hope in our future. That we would have strength

01:00:29.610 --> 01:00:34.590
to live righteously for you. God, we know we're

01:00:34.590 --> 01:00:36.909
fallen people and we know we have this sin nature

01:00:36.909 --> 01:00:40.769
that will be with us until we die, but God, we

01:00:40.769 --> 01:00:45.710
want to use as much of our life as possible to

01:00:45.710 --> 01:00:48.030
do good, to affect the world positively for the

01:00:48.030 --> 01:00:50.150
kingdom of Jesus Christ, to lead those who don't

01:00:50.150 --> 01:00:55.980
know you to salvation. So, Lord, I pray right

01:00:55.980 --> 01:00:57.980
now, God, if there's anybody in this room, Lord,

01:00:58.059 --> 01:01:03.239
that you've been speaking to that needs to recommit

01:01:03.239 --> 01:01:07.300
themselves to you, Lord, like Judah, to come

01:01:07.300 --> 01:01:11.300
to that place of finally saying, I've sinned.

01:01:11.639 --> 01:01:13.539
I've been living in sin. I've been living a lie,

01:01:13.639 --> 01:01:18.119
and I'm done. Lord, if there's someone in here

01:01:18.119 --> 01:01:22.300
that doesn't know you and... For whatever reason,

01:01:22.340 --> 01:01:23.840
Lord, they're here in church today to hear this

01:01:23.840 --> 01:01:28.360
message. That your Holy Spirit is speaking to

01:01:28.360 --> 01:01:30.179
them and they're understanding that you are calling

01:01:30.179 --> 01:01:32.039
them, that they are not overlooked, that you

01:01:32.039 --> 01:01:38.619
see them and you want to save them. Lord, I just

01:01:38.619 --> 01:01:41.860
pray for all of those, God, that even right now

01:01:41.860 --> 01:01:46.579
they would say, Lord God, I believe you are God.

01:01:49.550 --> 01:01:54.550
I believe you are almighty. I believe you already

01:01:54.550 --> 01:02:01.789
have all the receipts. And Lord, I want to be

01:02:01.789 --> 01:02:08.070
right with you. I want to be close to you. I

01:02:08.070 --> 01:02:09.670
don't want to play the life of the hypocrite.

01:02:12.170 --> 01:02:16.590
I don't want to feel that I'm overlooked and

01:02:16.590 --> 01:02:24.070
worthless. So Lord, I confess all of my sin to

01:02:24.070 --> 01:02:27.829
you. I am a sinner. I have sinned against you

01:02:27.829 --> 01:02:33.989
and you alone. And God, I ask you to forgive

01:02:33.989 --> 01:02:40.269
me. To heal me. To extend grace and mercy to

01:02:40.269 --> 01:02:45.170
me. Because Lord, I know you could rewrite the

01:02:45.170 --> 01:02:49.730
end of my story. And to make it something glorious.

01:02:52.110 --> 01:02:54.789
That my name will be written in the Lamb's book

01:02:54.789 --> 01:03:02.489
of life. That I will be saved. Help me to live

01:03:02.489 --> 01:03:05.349
for you, Lord. Help me to live in obedience.

01:03:07.150 --> 01:03:11.670
Help me to walk faithfully. That I would use

01:03:11.670 --> 01:03:16.630
every year I have left on this earth to glorify

01:03:16.630 --> 01:03:21.309
you in my life. Thank you for loving me so much.

01:03:22.730 --> 01:03:29.050
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, if you found

01:03:29.050 --> 01:03:32.469
yourselves very spoken to this morning in any

01:03:32.469 --> 01:03:34.230
one of those situations, I want to invite you

01:03:34.230 --> 01:03:35.929
to come forward after we're done worshiping.

01:03:36.670 --> 01:03:38.590
Because myself and other elders and stuff, we'd

01:03:38.590 --> 01:03:41.590
love to pray with you and pray for you. Don't

01:03:41.590 --> 01:03:43.210
forget that we do have an all -church prayer

01:03:43.210 --> 01:03:45.309
meeting after, which is just a great time to

01:03:45.309 --> 01:03:49.800
come together to pray for whatever. I just can't

01:03:49.800 --> 01:03:53.300
stress how much God loves you. And it doesn't

01:03:53.300 --> 01:03:54.880
matter if you believe it or not. It doesn't matter

01:03:54.880 --> 01:03:57.519
if you feel like you're worth it or not. He loves

01:03:57.519 --> 01:04:00.320
you. He loves you with a love that's everlasting

01:04:00.320 --> 01:04:02.760
that you'll never understand but you can experience

01:04:02.760 --> 01:04:07.760
if you just come to him and embrace him. So do

01:04:07.760 --> 01:04:11.539
that. Let's praise God for what he's done in

01:04:11.539 --> 01:04:14.579
our life. Let's praise God that he uses the messy

01:04:14.579 --> 01:04:18.590
and the scandalous to work his will. Because

01:04:18.590 --> 01:04:21.590
that's all of us. Amen? Amen. God bless you guys.