Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 38 01/26/03

Intro: Ever been interrupted?
 You were in the middle of something and the phone rang.
 You were busy with a project at work and the boss comes in to talk about something else..all the while he is waiting for the report you can't work on, because he is interrupting you.
 
 Do you think interruptions ever beneficial? Perhaps, at times. But the answer is always YES whenever it is God who does the interrupting.

 Chapter 38 is, an  interruption to the Joseph story which begins in  Ch. 37 and continues in  Ch. 39. In fact, many commentators have said that there is no homiletic value in chapter 38 of Genesis. That means, basically, it can't preach. I think they are wrong.

 OK then, why does God interrupt the story of Joseph to talk about his brother Judah's escapades? I believe there are three reasons.

1. To provide a contrast with Joseph's attitude and actions toward temptation and sin in the next chapter. In this chapter when tempted, Judah choose to give into sexual sin. But in the next chapter when Joseph is faced with a similar temptation, he chose not to give in.

2. To show why God had to move Hiss people out of Canaan and into Egypt. Let me explain. Judah in Ch. 38 shows how the sons Jacob were in danger of losing their identity as God's chosen people by intermingling and intermarrying with the Canaanites. Even though the Israelites would suffer slavery for 400 yrs., they would purify their gene pool. The Egyptians disliked foreigners so God's people had to stick together.

 So chapter 38 may be an interruption in the flow of the Joseph story, but it is God's interruption and as such  will be beneficial not only to Joseph and his family...but to us as well.

 I didn't forget the third reason for this interruption. It is this third purpose I want to 'flesh out' in the message this morning. What is that 3rd purpose? To show us that God often interrupts our lives of sin, to do a great work within.

Read: Genesis 38:1

 At that time..what time? After Judah and his brothers sold Joseph to the Midianites and then lied to their father Jacob by saying Joseph was dead.  Why do you think Judah left his family and moved away? Guilt, he couldn't stand being around his godly father because of the guilt of his sin. So he left.

 This is where Judah's problems began. He separated himself from the covenant community of faith. Sure, his brothers were not very God honoring at that time. But had he stayed, he at least would have been under the covenant protection of God's people.

 This place, this church, this family, this covenant assembly of believers is a safer place to live..even with your sin, then outside in the unbelieving world.

 Judahs problems began when he left the security of God's covenant community and went to live with an unbeliever named Hirah.

Read: Genesis 38:2

 The NASB reads 'and Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite...and he took her and went in to her.' Sound familiar? It should. The same order of events has happened over and over again in Scripture to describe the believers compromise with the world.

 Eve in the Garden with the fruit of the tree she was not to eat,
 Lot and the fertile plain that was near the evil city of Sodom, now Judah.
 They saw, they wanted, they took...they sinned.

 Judah sinned by taking an unbeliever as a wife. Notice, he doesn't consult his godly father about the marriage, he doesn't even talk to God about it. The indication from the text is that Hirah, his unbelieving friend, set him up and encouraged the sinful union.

Read: Genesis 38:3-5
 Judah marries and has three children.

Read: Genesis 38:6
 While obtaining a wife for his firstborn was the right thing to do, again, he didn't seek God about it which is obvious from his choice..another Canaanite woman. Yet another sin and further compromise with worldliness.

Read: Genesis 38:7-10
 Whoa! God killed Er. Aren't you glad God doesn't work that way anymore? Are you certain He doesn't? It's not just OT, Acts 5 Ananias and his wife Sapphira were killed by God for lying to Him. And they were professing believers! The point is that God takes sin much more seriously than we do.

 Er dies and Jacob's son Onan is told to marry Tamar and give his dead brother an heir. (Which was the custom of that time) Onan said OK to the marriage and sex part, but no to the heir. And God killed him. He was not killed for being the first recorded case in Scripture of birth control. He was killed because he was disobedient, rebellious and selfish. He wanted the sex but didn't want to share his fathers inheritance with another heir. Make no mistake, God does not take sin lightly.

Read: Genesis 38:11
 Judah sins again by making a promise he never intends to keep. Judah looked his daughter-in-law Tamar right in the eyes and lied to her. He was not going to let her marry his last son. They may be engaged by custom but they will never marry.

Read: Genesis 38:12
 Judah's wife, the Canaanite is never named. Even in her death. That says a lot about her. What happens next says a lot about Judah. Once again his unbelieving friend Hirah encourages him to take a road trip to make him feel better about the loss of his wife.

 Imagine a group of hard working shepherds finishing an exhausting, hot and thirsty week among the sheep. They leave the fields after the sheering and suddenly one of the guys yells, 'It's Miller time!'. With a girl on one arm and a bottle of booze in the other the celebration begins. This is where Judah's FRIEND, Hirah was taking him. And it is where Judah went.
 
 Ever been there? Maybe not a sheep sheering celebration, but perhaps Happy Hour at the local Go GO bar, the infamous office party, or the kegger behind the HS football field... 'Come on, everyone's going.' your friends say....your FRIENDS?

Read: Genesis 38:13-14
 Tamar heard that Judah was going to the party. She knew what went on there, so she got an idea to get Judah to provide her with an heir.

Read: Genesis 38:15-23
 Tamar dresses like a prostitute, Judah approaches her and negotiates the deal so well you think he was hailing a taxi. He had done this before. The longer Judah stayed in Canaan, the more he became like the Canaanites. And besides, his godly father will never find out. Look, if you have to hide what you are doing, what you are doing is wrong!

 In the midst of the frivolity, Judah, influenced by his friend, sins. He has sex, outside of marriage, with a prostitute. But when it came time for payment, he says, Oh, I left my wallet in my other robe. So she convinces him to leave something of his till he makes good on the payment. Judah later sends his  friend Hirah to pay his debt. When he can't find her, Judah tells him to forget about it.

Read: Genesis 38:24-26
 Tamar by custom, was engaged to Judah's youngest son and since she was pregnant, not by him, she was considered an adulteress. Why do you think Judah reacts so violently? He sees this as an out. Kill Tamar and he doesn't have to marry off his last son to her.

 Judah was deep into his life of sin. It was time for God to interrupt. Tamar reveals the items Judah had given to her for sex .
Can you imagine how he must have felt?

 But he finally does the right thing, he confesses his sin to God and the people. It seems Judah did a spiritual 180. He never has sexual relations with Tamar again and the next time we read about him he's back with his father.

 Remember, God's interruptions are always for our benefit.

Read: Genesis 38:27-30
 Once again we see how God weaves his will and purposes even through our sin. Tamar has two sons by Judah's sinful union with her. Turn to Matthew 1 verses 1-3.

 Did you hear that? God chose Judah, a compromising liar, Tamar a prostitute for a day and her illegitimate son Perez to be in the genealogy of JC. That is grace in it's fullest.

Conclusion

 Listen, you are not here this morning by accident. God wants to interrupt your life and transform it by his grace.

 Some of you may be Christians who have been hiding your sin and have been allowing the world to squeeze you into its mold. Like Judah, you are not letting God be an active part of your everyday life. And this intentional pushing God away will open the doors to greater and greater temptation and eventual sin.

 Confess your sin, seek God's forgiveness. Let this time of worship be more than just an interruption to your week, let it be the beginning of a transformation in your life. A spiritual renewal, a return to the covenant promises of God and to the security of his covenant people...this church family.

 Some of you may not have made the commitment to faith in Jesus Christ as your savior. Perhaps because you don't think God can forgive you or even wants you. I want you to know that God wants to interrupt that thought with one of His own. You matter to God.

 Perhaps like Judah you feel you have made a mess of your life. You have made bad decisions. You intentionally went down a path you knew was wrong. You have sinned and you think God can never accept or love you.

 I hope that this sordid event in Biblical history has shown you that if God could forgive Judah, He can and will forgive you.  The God who interrupted Judah's life of sin, just may be interrupting your life right now. The God who transformed sinful Judah, can and will transform you. If you say YES to God by believing in his son, JC.

 It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done or not done. It does, however, matter what you do right now. Anyone who comes to Jesus Christ with the pieces of their sinful lives in their open hands, will be forgiven, and will be made new.

 Whatever your story...you are here for a reason. This is your moment to get things right with God.

 Believe his promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus his son.

 Trust his goodness, cling to his mercy, and you will not be disappointed.

 Let God's interruption be life changing.