Having just begun the story of Joseph, we are suddenly whisked back to the brothers, particularly to Judah who by now seems to have left home to make his way in life (v1-5). He was the fourth son of Jacob and the one who suggested selling Joseph to the traders. He visited an Adullamite whose name was Hirah and saw Shula, the daughter of a Canaanite and he married her. Marriage to Canaanites was discouraged as in the case of Esau marrying outside the company of Israel. She gave birth to three sons with the names Er, Onan and Shelah.
We often smile at the names children are given, but some of these are not very adventurous. It sounds like they weren’t sure what to call the first one – ‘What shall we name him? Er, yes that will do’ (excuse my poor attempt at humour). The second – Onan, maybe they weren’t sure again and asked ‘nan’! And then Shelah, no doubt a boy’s name then.
Time obviously moves on, and Judah took a wife for Er, she was Tamar, a Canaanite. Er, however, was wicked, so wicked that God killed him (v6,7). Tamar becomes a widow, probably early in their marriage. Judah tells Onan to fulfil the custom of the brother to marry his brother’s childless widow (See Deuteronomy 25, Ruth 1 & 4) so that there would be a son to continue the line of Er. Onan knew that the child would not be his, so that whenever he had sexual relations with Tamar, he spilt his semen on the ground (v8-10). He was seemingly selfish in that he used her only for selfish sexual gratification. Onan’s behaviour by refusing his responsibilities, displeased God and God put him to death also.
What a disaster for Judah, two older sons dead whilst relatively young. Shelah is obviously still quite young, so Judah asks Tamar to go to and remain in her father’s house until Shelah is grown up (v11).
Further disaster follows – Judah’s wife Shua died. He is bereft and goes to his friend Hirah, the Adullamite, went to spend time with the sheepshearers at Timnah. Tamar saw that Shelah was grown up now, but Judah had not given him to her as he had promised (v12-14). He is thinking only of himself. Tamar could have gone and found another husband, but she was under the control of Judah, her father-in-law. She dressed herself as a prostitute and went to the place where they gathered at the entrance to Enaim, on the way to Timnah. Sure enough, Judah saw her (v15-18) and thought she was available and asked her for sex, purely for pleasure. She asked him to give something in return. He said that he would give her a young goat, but she wanted more, his signet and cord and staff. He did so and had sex with her and she conceived.
It may not have been Judah’s plan to produce a child but, whenever we go against God, our sins will find us out.
She went back to her widowhood clothes. Judah sent the goat by his friend, but he couldn’t find her (v19-23). He asked the men of place where the harlots were about the woman, but they said there was none there.
Remember that all this was because of Judah’s disobedience in going to Canaan in the first place.
Three months later the news came to Judah that Tamar was expecting a child through playing the harlot. Judah is angry and orders that she should be burned. He shows that he doesn’t really care about her. She sent message to Judah and showed the signet, the cord and the staff and told him that these belong to the man who had given her conception. To his credit, Judah admitted it and said that she had been more righteous than he because he had failed to give her his younger son (v24-26).
Tamar eventually gives birth to twins named Perez and Zerah (v27-30). God chose Perez to be in the ancestral line of Jesus, The Messiah. He brought good out of a disastrous situation in His amazing grace. Zerah, who’s arm came out first and a scarlet cord was placed on it, was not born first, but Perez, who became the firstborn.
After this sad interlude, we return to the account of Joseph.
