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