And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
Genesis 38:2 stands in Genesis 37-44, the first part of the remarkably interesting story of Joseph and his brethren, always read with interest and always with profit. The sin of Judah and his family here occurred after Joseph was sold into Egypt and before Joseph was bought by Potiphar, resisted temptation, was cast into prison, interpreted dreams there, and was brought out to interpret Pharaoh's dreams thirteen years after being sold. The surrounding story reveals a loving but unwise father who lavished too little affection on his other sons in comparison with Joseph, the son of his favorite wife and the petted child of his old age, and it develops very clearly though incidentally the evils of having more than one wife in the jealousies which existed not only between the wives of Jacob but between their families. As the sad fruit of that unwisdom and marital error, hatred developed in Joseph's brethren so that they first attempted to slay him but finally sold him as a slave into Egypt, and the family life shown in chapter 38 is marked by low moral standards and crime. Joseph, though nearly spoiled by petting, had been given principles of integrity and purity that developed very shortly after his reaching Egypt, and though innocent of any crime he passed two years in prison, in some way needing the discipline, and from there God called him to the throne of Egypt, before whom his brethren came unconsciously to themselves and humbly bowed, fulfilling the dreams which had aroused their envy.
The account of Judah's sin to which the verse belongs was recorded to expose wrongdoing so that people may shun it, not to indulge or excuse sin, and it also points to God's love, mercy, and power as the remedy. Judah's failure to provide Tamar the family duty owed by a go'el brought the Lord's displeasure and judgment. Tamar's later strategy to secure the rights guaranteed her by law and custom was less blameworthy in these circumstances, because Judah had fraudulently withheld those rights. The sons born from their union were counted legitimate, and one became an ancestor of Jesus.
The chapter places the human ancestry of Christ amid moral corruption and weakness, for Pharez, an ancestor of Christ according to the flesh, was born of a harlot, Tamar acted as a harlot with her father-in-law, and Judah and his sons shared the selfish, crafty, deceitful nature of unconverted Jacob, a line that continued through Rahab and through the sinful kings of Judah. Christ therefore took flesh not from a sinless being but from sinful humanity, made of the seed of Abraham and of David, with all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies of fallen human nature and even more subject to infirmities of the flesh because the race had greatly deteriorated physically and morally. This concentrated in him all the weaknesses of fallen humanity and was necessary because only sin causes death, so he had to be made like sinful man in order to suffer death with the iniquity of all laid on him and, by suffering being tempted, to become a merciful and faithful high priest able to help those who are tempted. That fallen family history among Christ's ancestors offers hope to those who have inherited sinful tendencies. As part of the history of Joseph, the verse shows that whatever God has intended a person for, God can be safely trusted to bring them to it, for God may lead by a roundabout way but guides rightly.
Genesis 38:2 stands in Genesis 37-44, the first part of the remarkably interesting story of Joseph and his brethren, always read with interest and always with profit. The sin of Judah and his family here occurred after Joseph was sold into Egypt and before Joseph was bought by Potiphar, resisted temptation, was cast into prison, interpreted dreams there, and was brought out to interpret Pharaoh's dreams thirteen years after being sold. The surrounding story reveals a loving but unwise father who lavished too little affection on his other sons in comparison with Joseph, the son of his favorite wife and the petted child of his old age, and it develops very clearly though incidentally the evils of having more than one wife in the jealousies which existed not only between the wives of Jacob but between their families. As the sad fruit of that unwisdom and marital error, hatred developed in Joseph's brethren so that they first attempted to slay him but finally sold him as a slave into Egypt, and the family life shown in chapter 38 is marked by low moral standards and crime. Joseph, though nearly spoiled by petting, had been given principles of integrity and purity that developed very shortly after his reaching Egypt, and though innocent of any crime he passed two years in prison, in some way needing the discipline, and from there God called him to the throne of Egypt, before whom his brethren came unconsciously to themselves and humbly bowed, fulfilling the dreams which had aroused their envy.
The account of Judah's sin to which the verse belongs was recorded to expose wrongdoing so that people may shun it, not to indulge or excuse sin, and it also points to God's love, mercy, and power as the remedy. Judah's failure to provide Tamar the family duty owed by a go'el brought the Lord's displeasure and judgment. Tamar's later strategy to secure the rights guaranteed her by law and custom was less blameworthy in these circumstances, because Judah had fraudulently withheld those rights. The sons born from their union were counted legitimate, and one became an ancestor of Jesus.
The chapter places the human ancestry of Christ amid moral corruption and weakness, for Pharez, an ancestor of Christ according to the flesh, was born of a harlot, Tamar acted as a harlot with her father-in-law, and Judah and his sons shared the selfish, crafty, deceitful nature of unconverted Jacob, a line that continued through Rahab and through the sinful kings of Judah. Christ therefore took flesh not from a sinless being but from sinful humanity, made of the seed of Abraham and of David, with all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies of fallen human nature and even more subject to infirmities of the flesh because the race had greatly deteriorated physically and morally. This concentrated in him all the weaknesses of fallen humanity and was necessary because only sin causes death, so he had to be made like sinful man in order to suffer death with the iniquity of all laid on him and, by suffering being tempted, to become a merciful and faithful high priest able to help those who are tempted. That fallen family history among Christ's ancestors offers hope to those who have inherited sinful tendencies. As part of the history of Joseph, the verse shows that whatever God has intended a person for, God can be safely trusted to bring them to it, for God may lead by a roundabout way but guides rightly.