Read with Me
Genesis 38:12-19 (HCSB)
After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to the sheepshearers. Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” So she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me?”
“I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied.
But she said, “Only if you leave something with me until you send it.”
“What should I give you?” he asked.
She answered, “Your signet ring, your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she got pregnant by him. She got up and left, then removed her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.
Listen with Me
Even though Judah and his brothers were sons of Jacob and presumably living in the hope of God’s future blessing, their character was no different than the people among whom they were living who knew nothing of the Lord. The sons of Jacob followed the standards and mores of the people of the land rather than conforming themselves to God’s holy character. And that proved to be the downfall of several of them.
In Judah’s case, even though his son, Shelah, had reached maturity, there was no way that he was going to require him to marry Tamar in order to produce sons for his dead brothers, Er and Onan. Judah believed that his elder two sons had died because of something wrong with Tamar, being blind to their own character flaws.
Tamar noticed. And having been married twice before, her odds of being chosen by another man were slim to nil. But hearing that Judah was coming to her area for sheep shearing, and knowing where the flaws in his character were, she devised a plan. She would pose as a prostitute and get Judah himself to impregnate here. That way, she would at least have a claim on him to provide for her going forward.
The plan worked well. Prostitutes kept their faces covered until they were in the darkened room or tent, so Jacob approached her having no idea who she was. As soon as the deed was done, she immediately covered her face before any light was let into the room and made her exit.
The things Tamar got from Judah as a pledge of payment didn’t raise any alarm bells in his mind. They were items that he had on him at the moment, and they would have been of no use to the woman, so there was no chance of her not returning them in exchange for the promised young goat. But these items were distinctive and easily identifiable, and they would play a key role in future events.
Pray with Me
Father, it is absolutely true that the flaws in our character, even the small ones, provide large opportunities for our downfall. At this point in his life, Judah was a man of low character. But you were using these events to purify him, to shape him into a man who would receive the promise of kingship (Genesis 49:8-12), and who would ultimately become the ancestor not only of King David, but of the Messiah, Jesus Himself. Lord, thank You for Your work in our lives, work that can make even the foulest sinner into a mighty saint of God. Amen.