Read with Me
Genesis 386-11 (HCSB)
Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the LORD’s sight, and the LORD put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he released his semen on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. What he did was evil in the LORD’s sight, so He put him to death also.
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He might die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
Listen with Me
Even though Moses did not specify the nature of the evil that was found in Judah’s eldest son, Er, it was a serious enough defect that God was not willing to allow him to have any effect on subsequent generations, so He eliminated him from the gene pool. That left Tamar as a young widow.
The levirate law was not codified for the Jewish people until the final speech of Moses in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. But it was widely practice in the clan-based societies of the time. The basic principle was that if a married man died childless, the closest male relative was to marry the widow. The eldest son of that union would then be considered the child of the deceased man. That way, the deceased man’s line would continue legally, even if it did not continue genetically.
Onan was the closest male relative of Er, so it was up to him to marry Tamar in order to bring forth a son for his brother to continue the line. But Onan knew that the firstborn would be considered the heir of his older, deceased brother, and that when his father, Judah, died, that child would receive the birthright, the double portion of the estate, which would otherwise go to Onan as the oldest surviving heir. So, even though Onan was more than willing to have sexual relations with Tamar, he was unwilling to impregnate her and always took steps to ensure that that wouldn’t happen.
Many over the centuries have interpreted this event as a condemnation of a specific sexual practice. But what God found evil in Onan was his heart. He was willing to enjoy the privileges of levirate marriage, the sexual side of things. But he was unwilling to participate in the obligation involved, to intentionally raise up an heir for his brother, specifically because it would have a potential downside for his own wealth. Such duplicity is abhorrent in God’s sight, so He marked Onan for elimination.
Judah himself had some serious character issues of his own at this point in his life They blinded him to the flaws in his own sons, which led him to blame some flaw in Tamar for their deaths. For that reason, he was unwilling to give his third son, Shelah, to her as a husband.
Pray with Me
Father, this reemphasizes the fact that our bad actions spring from and are symptoms of sin in our hearts, just as Jesus pointed out (Matthew 7:15-20). And it is the quality of our hearts that will form the basis for our final judgment and our eternal destinies. Even if we try to cover up our sinful hearts with good deeds, that only opens us up to Your judgement of us as hypocrites (Matthew 12:33-37; 23:27-28). Thank You, Lord, that You can actually change our hearts so that we can become the people we are supposed to be, not just on the outside, but all the way through. Help me to see clearly any part of me that is not fully Yours, Lord, so that I can surrender it to You and be transformed entirely into the person You want me to be. Amen.