Genesis 38:27-30 “You have broken out first!”

The Birth of Perez and Zerah

27When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28And as she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it around his wrist. “This one came out first,” she announced. 29But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.30Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.

God took this ungodly situation and showed mercy! 

https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/1.htm

Matthew 1:3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

and Hezron the father of Ram.

Perez, “You have broken out first!”

If you read Matthew 1 you will see the family tree of Perez and the earthly heritage of Jesus on Joseph’s side.

The Bible is full of examples of mercy, no matter what you’ve done the Lord can use you! 

Blessings, David 

Genesis 38:24-26 Sin Sniffer!

24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.”

“Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

25As she was being brought out, Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Please examine them. Whose seal and cord and staff are these?”

26Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

Read carefully....“Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.”

“Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

To me this is a double standard, Judah can have sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage but Tamar can’t? 

They both seem to be equally guilty of sin, so burn them both to death!

It’s a good thing I don’t sit in the judgement seat!

“Whose seal and cord and staff are these?” Busted!.......

“Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.”

And there you have it, Judah fell short of his biblical duties in providing for his daughter in-law. 

How do you think Judah felt when he had to explain he was the father?

Let’s face it, we are all sinners and a sin is a sin, as all are black in Gods eyes. 

We shouldn’t judge other people and become a sin sniffer like Judah because we are use to our own smell and can’t smell our own sin!

Are you a sin sniffer?

Blessings, David

Genesis 38:12-23 The temple prostitute!

12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah. 13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.

15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”

“What will you give me for sleeping with you?” she asked.

17“I will send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah answered.

But she replied, “Only if you leave me something as a pledge until you send it.”

18“What pledge should I give you?” he asked.

She answered, “Your seal and your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.

20Now when Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat to collect the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her. 21He asked the men of that place, “Where is the temple prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“No temple prostitute has been here,” they answered.

22So Hirah returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her, and furthermore, the men of that place said, ‘No temple prostitute has been here.’”

23“Let her keep the items,” Judah replied. “Otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you could not find her.”

“For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.”

Judah didn’t fulfill his obligation to Tamar, to find her a husband. So she hatched a plan. It’s interesting that it seems to be ok for a man to have relations with a prostitute but if a woman was caught in the act it was punishable.

Also notice the term, “temple prostitute”.

There was a reason the Lord didn’t want them to live in Canaan. He didn’t want their false gods to influence them!

But notice the blessing she received....

“and she became pregnant by him.” The Lord blessed her with a child!

Even though we are sinners, the Lord gives us mercy and blesses us because He loves us.

Blessings, David 

The state of your heart dictates whether you harbor a grudge or give grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God’s mercy.

Max Lucado

Genesis 38:6-11 Sin has consequences, he erred in his ways!

6Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death. 8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”

9But Onan knew that the offspring would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife, he would spill his seed on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. 10What he did was evil in the LORD’s sight, so He put Onan to death as well.

11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

We don’t know the wickedness of Er but it evidently was so bad the Lord brought immediate judgement upon him because of his sin. Being raised in a messed up family and having a Canaanite mother affected him to his core.

Deuteronomy 25:Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her fhusband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that ghis name may not be blotted out of Israel.

This custom seems strange to us but Onan evidently didn’t want to fulfill it except for having sex with his brothers widow, so the Lord brought judgement upon him and put him to death because of his sin.

Then Judah takes the Law into his own hands and tells Tamar to live as a widow in her fathers house. He cared more for his son Shelah than for his sons widow. This decision will have consequences.

Sin has consequences, they may not be immediate but will eventually catch up with us.

Can you remember a particular sin that cost you dearly?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 38:1-5 Father knows best!

Judah and Tamar

(1 Chronicles 2:3-12)

1About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite. 2There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her. 3So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er. 4Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan. 5Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.

Judah, the fourth-born son of Jacob and Leah, he was the son who suggested they sell Joseph into slavery.

The Canaanite’s were quickly corrupting Israel and his family with their ungodly ways and Judah had married a Canaanite woman. 

What will become of Judah’s sons?

When we associate with ungodly people they eventually corrupt us with their ways. 

We will soon see why God didn’t want them to intermarry with the Canaanites.

Father knows best!  Remember the television series?

God has a plan to bring them out of Canaan.

Are you associating with ungodly people?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:31-36 Jehovah was with him.

Jacob Mourns Joseph

31Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”

33His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

36Meanwhile, the Midianitesc sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

The cruelty of Joseph’s brothers towards their father shows how messed up this family is. Let this verse sink in, “They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”

They sent? Implies they didn’t go to their father themselves.

They acted in disregard of their fathers feelings, as to hurt him with the news, a lie which they set into motion set forth from jealousy.

Jacob mourns, “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” 

What and Where is Sheol?

http://helpmewithbiblestudy.org/7Humans/DeathWhatWhereIsSheol.aspx#sthash.STYnFlFx.dpbs

“This delicate child of an indulgent father, who had been clothed with a princely garment of many colors, must now wear the garb, of a slave, and march in the hot sun across the burning sand; but never was captive more submissive under cruel treatment, he endured as seeing him who is invisible; his heart was sustained by a deep confidence in the God of his father Jacob, for ‘Jehovah was with him.’” (Spurgeon)

God has a plan to bring forth the Messiah and it is set into motion with this messed up family.

No matter what your circumstances, Jehovah can be with you too. 

Like Joseph, God has a plan for you. 

What do you think that plan is?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:25-30 Twenty shekels of silver!

25And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, 30returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”

The brothers seem heartless because they sat down to eat a meal after throwing their brother Joseph into the pit.

“Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” “let us sell him to the Ishmaelites”. 

They sold him for twenty shekels of silver!

Jesus was sold too!

Matthew 26:14Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

Reuben tears his clothes, a sign of horror and mourning. 

Did the brothers think or care about their fathers feelings?

Next study, covering sin with a lie!

Blessings, David

Genesis 37:21-24 They stripped him of his robe!

21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. 22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.

23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

Reuben did something good here and convinced his brothers not to kill Joseph. But couldn’t he have said, No, this is wrong!

“they stripped him of his robe” Do you think his brothers mocked him when they stripped him of his robe of many colors?

Matthew 27:31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

What his brothers meant for evil, God meant for good.

Genesis 50:20 As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

No matter where you are in life, no matter what you’ve done God can turn it around and use it for good! If you don’t believe me read your bible, you will find many examples. Saul (Paul) murdered Christians but died for Christ!

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:12-20 Here comes that dreamer!

12Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.”

“I am ready,” Joseph replied.

14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.”

So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”

16“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”

17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

Joseph was in a supervisory position, placed above his brothers by their father. He was asked by Israel to check on his brothers and his fathers flocks and to report back word to him. If his brothers were doing anything wrong he would surely report it.

“Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance”, they saw him coming and knew it was him because he was wearing the coat of many colors.

“Here comes that dreamer!” They were in essence mocking the God induced dreams that Joseph foolishly told them about. So they plotted to kill him. 

“Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!” 

Stay tuned!

God won’t be mocked!

Are you a dreamer?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:9-11 I had a dream part duex!

9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

I had a dream part duex!

The reaction of Joseph’s brothers to the first dream should have gave Joseph the wisdom to not tell them about the second dream. 

But we have to remember God is all knowing and is at work here. God uses our weaknesses to confound the wise. He knows the future and we cannot see the bigger picture which will soon unfold.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Maybe God was directing all their steps and planted the dreams because He knew Joseph would tell his brothers and maybe God knew how the brothers would react by wanting to kill him?

If your son came to you and told you about these dreams, how would you react?

I would like to think I would say, that’s nice and discussed them with him. 

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:5-8 I had a dream!

5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”

8“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.

I Had a Dream!

God uses dreams to speak to us. He used a dream to speak to Joseph about Mary and her pregnancy and here He used binding sheaves of grain. Notice the grain because later in Joseph’s life his family will come before him in Egypt to purchase grain because of a drought.

But his brothers react in a prideful fashion and hated him all the more!

Do you react in a prideful fashion?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 37:1-4 Favoritism!

1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.

2This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. 4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

“He was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust him. Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.” (Boice)

Joseph tattletales on two of his brothers that they were acting badly.

“so he made him a robe of many colors.” Jacob shows favoritism to Joseph and was stating with the robe he would inherit the birthright. A man didn’t wear a robe like this while doing manual labor, a man wore a robe like this watching other men doing manual labor. 

This was one messed up family!

Do you show favoritism in your family?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 36:31-43 Man made gods!

The Kings of Edom

31These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites:

32Bela son of Beor ruled in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.

33When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.

34When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

35When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith.

36When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

37When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.

38When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.

39When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadade reigned in his place. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.

40These are the names of Esau’s chiefs, according to their families and regions, by their names: Chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. Esau was the father of the Edomites.

Esau didn’t have a heart for God, in fact God said “but Esau I have hated”.

If Esau was the father of the Edomites, could it be said he led them astray?

Here is our answer!

“Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.”

Baal-hanan; Baal has been gracious. 

How can a man made god do anything, let alone be gracious?

Do you have any man made gods in your life?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 36:15-30 Esau’s jackals!

The Chiefs of Edom

(1 Chronicles 1:43-54)

15These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau are Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16Korah,a Gatam, and Amalek. They are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Adah.

17These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

18These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; they are the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

19All these are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and they were their chiefs.

20These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; they are the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom.

22The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman.b Timna was Lotan’s sister.

23These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (This was Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.)

25These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.

26These are the sons of Dishon:c Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29These are the chiefs of the Horites: Chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; they are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their divisions in the land of Seir.

Malachi 1:1-3 1This is an oracle, the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:a

2“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

But you ask, “How have You loved us?”

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, 3but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Amalek, from him came the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:8After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”

Studying the family tree of Esau can be boring but God wants us to understand history and the consequences of sin, even the jackals!

Do you have jackals in your family tree?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 36:9-14 The Edomites

9This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.

10These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

11The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.

13These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

14These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah (daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon) whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

Who were the Edomites?

https://www.gotquestions.org/Edomites.html

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-edomite-territory-mt-seir.htm

At first the Lord protected them, 

Deuteronomy 23:7 (ESV)

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land.

But later in history they turned against Judah and later lit the match that burned Solomon’s Temple, so the Lord turned against them and predicted their destruction.

Ezekiel 25:12–14 (ESV)

12 “Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast.

What will be our legacy, what will the Lord say about us?

Blessings, David 

Genesis 36:1-8 Esau’s blessings!

Esau's Descendants

1This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). 2Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel, 5and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. 7For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock. 8So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

Genesis 27:38 (ESV)

38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

God blessed Esau because he was a descendant of Abraham and He blessed Him in the only way Esau understood, material blessings.

Genesis 25:23 “Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

Esau became the nation of Edom. If God can bless a faithless person like Esau, will He not bless you?

Blessings, David