Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

O.T. #81  "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right"
July 10, 2013
Genesis 38-Part 1
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren.  Genesis 38:1a

LET IT GLOW

What started the down hill slide of Judah? He left his family and went down into the land of
Canaan. They were forbidden to marry these people, idol worshipers.

What good can come out of this messy chapter? Judah commits incest with his daughter in law, though unknowingly to him. She gets pregnant by him and has twins. Before that happened, he
has 3 sons, two die because they are wicked. Judah didn't give his third son to Tamar like he had promised.
If you look at the genealogy of Christ through Joseph, you'll see Judah, Tamar, and son Pharez
listed.
Those people are worthy to be mentioned in the Bible, in Christ's Jewish background?

Sounds like grace and mercy to me. I'm sure we all have some sins in our background that need cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and grace and mercy spread over the top.

LET IT GROW

What happened? Judah's first son, Er was exceedingly wicked, guilty of some very heinous sin,
 not mentioned; his second son, Onan, was sent by his father to father a child in brother Er's name, but didn't. The Lord killed them both. Judah promised the third son to Tamar to give her a son in the name of her first husband, but was sent home to wait on the little brother to grow up. (This didn't occur.)
Tamar took matters into her own hands. She played the harlot and seduced Judah. Demanded a pledge from Judah of a ring, bracelet, and his staff. (The objects became proof that Judah fathered
her babies.) However, two wrongs don't make a right. Her revenge didn't settle things, only made matters worse for her. They may have gotten married, but there was no more physical relations between them.
Twin boys were born in this mess, with the situation similar to Jacob and Esau. One son, Pharez, became one in the lineage of Joseph, which was Jesus' adopted father.

The entire story illustrates the sovereignty of God and God's providential care of His own. Judah yielded to the lusts of the flesh. It is quite a contrast to Joseph's purity in the next chapter. Judah was willing to sell his brother for a slave, yet he himself was a "slave of sin" (John 8:34). Even son, where sin abounds, grace much more abounds (Rom. 5:20), for we see that Tamar is included in the human lineage of Christ. (Wiersbe)

Am I a slave to sin? Are there sins that I keep repeating, without considering it sin?

LET IT GO

Recognize my weaknesses so Satan can't tempt me with them.

Confess my sins and turn from them.

Leave revenge to the Lord when others hurt me.