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How can God in is his sovereignty allow Jacob’s youngest son be sold into slavery? As this question still rings in our ears from last week (Genesis 37), we are slapped again this Sunday with the temptation to question God’s providence and sovereignty. How could God allow the events of Genesis 38? Much more, how could God ever use the sin and neglect of Judah, and the use and misuse of Tamar in His plan to bring about the promised seed of a Messiah (Genesis 3)? As we seek to apply this passage to our lives, we must be reminded that God is never taken by surprise and He can use even the messiest of people, their actions, and circumstance for ultimate good and His glory.

God always sees what is done in secret. Judah’s two sons, Er and Onan were wicked in the sight of the LORD. After God killed Er for his wickedness, Onan had a responsibility to marry Tamar (Er’s wife) and raise up offspring with her. However, Onan intentionally prevented Tamar from conceiving and refused to raise up offspring by Tamar and thus would not continue the line of Judah. It was because of this wickedness that God killed Onan. Though not the main thrust of this passage, we are reminded that God sees what we do in secret. We may think we are fooling others when we sin, but our sin is always known by God.

No matter how unfaithful man can be, God is always faithful. Judah’s fear motivated him to faithlessness and unreliability. First, Judah withheld his 3rd son from Tamar out of fearful superstition that his son would die (v.11). Second, Judah demonstrated fear when he could not find the cult prostitute to pay her. He thought those around him would laugh at him, so he opted not to find her and pay her (v.23). In contrast, God has been and will continue to keep his promises no matter what other people may think. Though others may blush at this account being recorded in Scripture, God saw fit to make Tamar a part of the line that produced the promised seed, the Messiah. God has no qualms with including her name in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. We can take comfort that God’s faithfulness never relies on human faithfulness. God’s promises never fail even when our promises fall short. We can trust in God even when those closest to us fail to keep their Word. We can be motivated to always be faithful to our word because our God always keeps His.

Finally, how do we respond when we are caught in sin, or have our hypocrisy exposed? In Genesis 38, we see a turning point in Judah’s character as he is caught red-handed in his hypocrisy. When Tamar confronts his unfaithfulness, he recognized that he was in the wrong and repented. How do we respond when we are confronted and rebuked for our sin? Do we continue in folly by blame shifting, making excuses, or deflecting? Or do we humbly admit our wrong and seek forgiveness and restoration?

May we continue to live faithfully throughout this week, faithful to God, faithful to His Word, faithful to keep our word, and faithful to respond to correction.