Genesis 38:24
And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
About three months after Tamar returned to her father's house, Judah was told she was pregnant through prostitution and ordered her brought out to be burned, judging her harshly before he learned that he himself was responsible, after which he confessed that he was more at fault than she was. His order to have her burned shows he regarded her sexual offense as a grave crime deserving death, proving that the seventh commandment against adultery and its sinfulness and desert of punishment were known to mankind long before the law was proclaimed at Sinai or given through Moses. His judgment holds the same idea of the punishment for this crime that God revealed to Moses more than two centuries afterward. Tamar acted as a harlot with her father-in-law Judah, so that Pharez was born of harlotry and stood in the human line of Christ, in which were concentrated all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies of fallen humanity. This was not accidental but a necessary part of the plan of redemption, that He should take fallen human nature and be made like His brethren in all things, so that death could have power over Him and He could suffer death, suffer being tempted, and be a merciful and faithful high priest able to sympathize with and succor those who are tempted.
Narrative Setting and Judgment
About three months after Tamar had returned to her father's house, Judah was told that she was pregnant through prostitution and ordered her to be brought out to be burned, showing his harsh judgment before he learned that he himself was responsible for her condition. He regarded her offense as adultery deserving death by burning. When he learned that he was the father, he confessed that he was more at fault than she was.
The verse belongs to the history of Joseph's family and to the telling of the sin of Judah and his family. It stands after Joseph was sold into Egypt and before Joseph was bought by Potiphar, resisted temptation, and was cast into prison. In that setting it belongs to the history of Joseph's family showing that God's guidance can lead through a winding course while still bringing events toward His purpose.
The account including this verse shows that having more than one wife led to sad results, for Jacob's polygamy bore fruit in low standards of morality and crime. The record of Judah's sin exposes sin so that it may be shunned, not excused. It points to the need for God's love, mercy, and power as its remedy.
Tamar put herself out of her accustomed manner and walked in an unaccustomed path, so that Judah did not know her. Time, place, speech, or apparel can obscure a person from human eyes, and ignorance and forgetfulness can estrange human love and knowledge. Yet the Lord knows who are His, His eye is always over them, and nothing can darken His eye or ear.
Law Known Before Sinai
Judah's order to bring Tamar out to be burned when he heard she was pregnant by prostitution shows he regarded her sexual trespass as adultery and as a grave crime deserving death by burning. That condemnation proves he already knew the act was sinful and knew its desert, and that the seventh commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery, with its sinfulness, wrongfulness, severity, and desert of punishment, was known to mankind in general long before the law was proclaimed at Sinai or given through Moses. When he learned that he himself was the father, he confessed that he was more at fault than she was.
His judgment holds the same idea of the punishment for this crime that God revealed to Moses more than two centuries afterward. Treating harlotry as guilt deserving burning proves adultery was already understood as sin and worthy of punishment, evidencing that knowledge of the Ten Commandments and the principle of the seventh commandment existed from Creation.
Christ's Lineage and Hope
Tamar acted as a harlot with her father-in-law Judah, and her place among Christ's ancestors shows that the Bible records a family history unlike the exemplary lineage people might choose, and offers hope to the fallen.
Tamar played the harlot and was with child by whoredom, so that Pharez was born of a harlot and was an ancestor of Christ according to His human nature, in a human line that would tend to concentrate in Him all the weaknesses of humanity, including selfishness, craft, deceit, harlotry, heathenism, weakness and idolatry. The flesh Christ assumed therefore had all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies to which fallen human nature is subject and was more subject to the infirmities of the flesh than if He had been born before the race had deteriorated physically and morally.
This deteriorated ancestry, with Jacob, his sons, Rahab, Solomon, and the wicked kings of Judah, although His mother was pure and godly, meant His human nature must have been more subject to the infirmities of the flesh than if He had been born before the race had deteriorated physically and morally. This was not accidental but a necessary part of the plan of redemption, that He should take fallen human nature with its weaknesses and sinful tendencies and be made like sinful man and like His brethren in all things. Only so could death have power over Him, could He suffer death, suffer being tempted, and be a merciful and faithful high priest able to sympathize with and succor those tempted through weakness of the flesh.