This is an interesting pairing of chapters. Both pivot around a woman seducing a man- but for very different reasons and with very different results.
You may be asking yourself why Joseph’s story gets interrupted by a kind of random account of Judah getting his daughter-in-law pregnant. There is a reason. But first…
To better understand this narrative we need to grasp the concept of a Leverite marriage. It’s in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. When a man died, his brother (or nearest male relative) would marry the widow. A son born to this union would be legally considered as the son of the dead man and would inherit his estate. Any man who refused to do this was considered disgraceful. This is the exact scenario in the book of Ruth. It just feels way ickier here because Tamar has to resort to some pretty extreme measures to secure her future because Judah won’t cooperate.
If Judah hasn’t admitted, “She is more righteous than I,” I would absolutely hate his guts forever. Because apparently he thought it was perfectly fine for him to visit a prostitute but if his daughter-in-law engages in that activity, he’s ready to burn her at the stake. Uh- hypocritical much there, Judah?
I. Can’t. Stand. Hypocrisy. 😡
Judah was probably a piece of work. His eldest son, Er… Imagine that being your name.
Teacher: What’s your name?
Er: Er
Teacher: errr? what? Don’t you know?
Er: No! Er.
Teacher: Don’t growl at me, kid.
😏
Anyway… we have no details but look at this:
“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life.”
Genesis 38:7 NASB2020
😳
Stop for a moment and consider how many bad people there are in the Bible who the Lord does not pull the plug on. Esau was merely rough around the edges by comparison. Cain the first murderer was spared. Lamech too. Nebuchadnezzar has to spend 7 years out of his mind but God doesn’t just strike him dead. Er is in rare company. Excluding the pre-flood population and a few large-scale judgments and supernatural military overthrows, there aren’t many people to whom the Lord says- “You’re done” and they just drop dead. From Meredith’s Book of Bible Lists (yes! That really is a thing and it’s cool!) here is the People-struck-dead-by-God list:
- Er (Gen. 38:7)
- Onan (Gen. 38:9-10)
- Nadab & Abihu (Lev. 10:1-2)
- Korah and company (Num. 16:1-35)
- Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:6-7)
- Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10)
- *not in the book but I think it should be: Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:21-23)
Judah has 2 sons on this rather short list. Not an indicator of good parenting skills. Also kinda understandable why Judah didn’t want to attempt 3 for 3 with his youngest son. I don’t expect that Shelah was a much better man than his older brothers. Judah was probably right to worry that he would be struck dead too.
So Tamar gets pregnant by Judah and gives birth to twins. The one named Zerah puts out his hand (not the best presentation for a birth), the midwife ties a scarlet cord on his wrist (to identify him as the “firstborn”). But he pulls his hand back into the womb, the babies move, and the other baby, Perez, is actually fully born first.
What’s with the detail of the scarlet cord? Scarlet cord is gonna come up a couple more times and in both instances it points to the scarlet stream of the blood of Christ.
The name Perez is Hebrew word play on “breach” or “break forth.” Zarach/Zerah means “a rising of light.” I suspect that his little fingers reaching out reminded the midwife of the sun shooting forth its first rays of dawn. This may be another 2-for-1 OT special: 2 separate things illustrating 2 aspects of 1 future reality.
Jesus is the light of the world. And He would have a thread of red blood streaming from His wrist. He is both the firstborn of Creation and the second Adam who broke through into the world and breached the boundaries of death to break forth as the Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings. (Mal. 4.2)
And Perez makes one important appearance in the NT.
“…the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,”
Luke 3:33 NASB2020
Perez is Jesus’ ancestor. (This is why we don’t skip the genealogies) That’s why this whole story is in here. Only- nobody but God knew it then. For centuries it was just a weird story jammed into the life of Joseph like a page that has come out of a book and stuck back in at the wrong spot. But there was a reason.
The things in our lives that seem to be interjected at random? Maybe they are part of the foundation for a story that will affect future generations. You might not know for decades. Or ever. But there’s probably a very good reason.
I bet Joseph had days when he wondered, “God, is there a reason for all this?” The way we look at Joseph’s story- from an arial view, knowing how it’s going to turn out- that’s kind of how God sees our lives. We’re in them. We can’t see ahead. Like Joseph is in his story in chapter 39 and he doesn’t know what’s coming but we do. The Lord knows what’s coming in your next chapter. And only He can get you ready for it. So why not just let Him do whatever He needs to do in your heart and life?
Sometimes these moments remind me of the time I had 4 teeth drilled (a little) and filled in college. I didn’t have insurance. When the dentist started talking numbing shots I stopped him and asked how much it would cost. Whatever it was I didn’t have it. And I had to make a decision. I asked him how much drilling he had to do. Only the teeniest bit. Might not even break through the sensitive layer. Just a couple of strokes of the drill. I gripped the arms of the chair. “Do it” I said. And it hurt. But I refused to move and it was over fast. So when the Lord needs to drill into our hearts and get the decay out- sometimes ya just gotta brace yourself and say, “Whatever it takes and no matter how it hurts- Do it.” Don’t run from the pain. It’ll be over soon.
Picking up where we left off last week, here’s another parallel between Joseph and Jesus- they both suffered unjustly. Neither one had done anything to deserve what was done to them.
Both were sent by the father to visit their brethren to see how the flock was. Both were obedient. In both instances, the brothers didn’t like it and sought to kill the favored son so they could maintain their places of leadership.
Joseph, like Jesus, is falsely accused. Mrs. Potiphar decided to make him regret turning down her lustful advances. Both Joseph and Jesus refused to yield to temptation- even when it was boldly offered to them. Neither would compromise on the grounds of their loyalty to Yahweh.
Also like Jesus, Joseph maintains his integrity and service to others even while carrying out the sentence placed on him.
I can’t help but notice how different Joseph is to Jacob or even Isaac or Abraham. None of them went through the things Joseph did. They were all wildly wealthy and powerful. Joseph is a slave who doesn’t even own the clothes on his back.
“And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison.”
Genesis 39:21 LEB
“Loyal love” here is the wonderful Hebrew word chesed (KHEH-sed). I looked up every instance of it (a LOT!). Abraham’s servant says that God did not withhold His chesed from his master. Jacob mentions in his prayer that he is not worthy of all God’s chesed. This word is often translated as “mercy,” “tender mercies, “kindness,” “loyal love,” “loyal kindness,” and “loving-kindness.” There is no English equivalent. It means all these things. This is the first time in the Bible where the narrative voice says that Yahweh is showing chesed toward anyone. I feel like that’s important.
This statement seems to summarize Joseph’s story up to this point:
“…Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.”
Genesis 39:23 LEB
See you tomorrow.
To The Reader 