Realized Mistake

Realized Mistake

Genesis 38: ²⁰ And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. ²¹ Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”

And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”

²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”

²⁴ And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”

So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

²⁵ When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”

²⁶ So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

 

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Judah did not know he slept with his daughter-in-law. He thought she was a harlot. Instead of looking for her to pay her, he sent the payment by his friend Hirah, who could not find the harlot. After three months, Tamar was discovered to be pregnant. Judah’s friends accused her of being a harlot.  But Tamar exposed Judah as being the father.

 

My Observations:

• Judah seemed ashamed that he slept with a harlot, otherwise known as a prostitute.
• Judah seemed to want to get the payment over with so his deed could be swept under the rug.
• Judah wanted to burn Tamar for acting like a prostitute, but realized it was him who got her pregnant and it was because he never gave his son to her.

 

When GOD told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, Abraham probably thought his descendants would love the LORD as much as he did. He probably thought his family would be honorable and that GOD would pour out HIS blessings on a clean family who obeyed well. But that was not the case.

 

JESUS came from a messy family who made mistakes like you and me. Judah became the father of the lineage of JESUS through his daughter-in-law Tamar. Deceit, lust, false accusation and many other unexpected things happened, yet GOD chose this family. Judah accepted responsibility and never slept with Tamar again.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Judah’s shameful approach?
• What are your expectations of GOD and are they based on misinformation about HIS grace?
• Will you realize how much grace GOD is showing you today?