His story picks up in Chapter
39. And in Chapter 38, we have a
very bizarre story. And it has something to do with
the genealogy of Judah. I was tempted to go ahead and
skip Genesis Chapter 38, but I thought, no, I'm not going
to do that because this is part of God's inspired word. So I'd
like to introduce this passage of scripture by reading to you
from 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21. You don't have to
turn there, but follow along with me. Peter says, knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scriptures of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Moses wrote the book of Genesis,
and when he penned this story in Genesis chapter 38, he did
so as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. Now, this chapter 38
is dedicated to the genealogy of Judah. And we see the Lord's purpose
in this because the Lord Jesus Himself came through which of
the twelve tribes? Judah. You remember, perhaps,
in Hebrews 7, verse 14, where it says it is evident that our
Lord sprung through Judah. So, obviously, understanding
something of his genealogy is very important. Now, would you
turn with me to Matthew, chapter 1? Matthew, chapter 1, beginning
in verse 1. The book of the generation of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat
Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas, or Judah
and his brethren, his eleven brothers, and Judah begat Phares
and Zerah of Tamar. And we have the story of Fares
and Zerah in Genesis chapter 38. Now, would you turn with
me there? As I said, this is a an almost bizarre story, but
it is the inspired word of God and very important. And this happened at the same
time that the brothers had sold Joseph into slavery. Verse one
of Genesis 38, and it came to pass at that time that Judah
went down from his brethren. He left his brethren and turned
into a certain Adulamite whose name was Hiram. He was from the
land of Canaan, and they were not supposed to mix with these
people, but he did anyway. Verse two, and Judah saw there
a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. And he took
her and went into her. We know as we read down this
passage of scripture that he married this woman and he went
into her and they had children. Now, he shouldn't have married
this Canaanite woman. It was going to cause him trouble,
but he did anyway. One sin always leads to another
sin, and here's what took place out of this. Verse three. And
she conceived and bear a son and he called his name Eir. And she conceived again. and
bear son, and she called his name Onan. And she yet again
conceived and bear son, and called his name Shelah. And he was at
Sheba's when she bare him." There are the three children from this
union. Verse six, and Judah took a wife for heir, his firstborn,
whose name was Tamar. Back then, they could pick out
the spouses for their children. I see some wisdom in that. I'd
like to be able to do that. I don't think it'll work, but
I'd like to give it a shot. And Er, verse 7, Judah's firstborn,
was wicked in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord slew him. The Lord killed him. What was
his wickedness? We don't know, but I don't have
any doubt that it was for some kind of religious sin. Because
you'll find that every time the Lord did a special judgment on
somebody, it was always for a religious sin. And he was wicked in the
sight of the Lord. And the Lord slew him because
of it. Verse 8, And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's
wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. Now this
was required at that time. If you died without any children,
if you had a brother, he was to go into your wife to raise
up some children for your inheritance. And that's why he was supposed
to do this. He was commanded to go in and raise up seed to
your brother. Verse 9, And Onan knew that the
seed should not be his. And it came to pass when he went
in unto his brother's wife that he spilled it on the ground.
He practiced this form of birth control, lest he should give
seed to his brother. Now, he didn't want to raise
up seed to his brother, I suppose, because he thought, well, if
my brother doesn't have any seed, his property will become mine.
And so he had a reason to not raise up seed. He thought he
would give his brother's inheritance, so he refused to do that. But
look what verse 10 says. And the thing which he did displeased
the Lord. Wherefore, he slew him also.
He killed him because of this. Verse 11. Then said Judah to
Tamar, his daughter-in-law. Remain a widow at thy father's
house till Shelah, my son, be grown. In other words, he's promising
his Third son to Tamar. He's just a kid at this time.
He said, you wait until he's grown up and I'll give you him.
Let's pray adventure. He died also as his brethren
did. He thought we'd better wait on this. And Tamar went and dwelt
in her father's house waiting for Sheila to be born. Or to
be grown up so she could have him as her husband. Verse 12.
And in process of time, The daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died. This is the woman who had these
three different kids. She died. And Judah was comforted,
or he mourned, and went up unto his sheep shears to Timnath,
he and his friend Hira the Dulamite. And it was told Tamar, saying,
Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear the sheep. Now, evidently, Sheila was grown
at this time, and Judah did not keep his promise. I try to speculate. Why didn't he do it? Maybe he
thought that it was because of Tamar that his first two boys
were killed. And he thought, maybe I better
not give her to them. He came up with some reason,
but he didn't remain good to his word. He did not give his
son to this woman. So we read in verse 14. And she
put her widow's garments off from her and covered her with
a veil and wrapped herself and sat in an open place, which is
by the way to Timnath, for she saw that Shelah was grown and
she was not given unto him to wife. And we know from verse
15 that what she did is she took upon her the clothing of a harlot
and she took upon her the conduct of a harlot. And she stood in
an open place where he would be sure to see her. Verse 15.
Now, she did this to spite him. She was upset because he did
not do what he said he was going to do. And I guess this is her
way of getting revenge to Judah for not getting her son. So we
read in verse 15, when Judah saw her, he thought her to be
an harlot because she covered her face. He couldn't see her
face. He didn't recognize that this was his daughter-in-law.
He thought it was just a common harlot on the road. And so he
said in verse 16, and he turned unto her, by the way, and said,
Go to, I pray thee. Let me come in unto thee, for
he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said,
Want what thou give me, that thou mayest come in to me. Now,
let me ask you a question. Was this a sinful act? Sure it was. She was a prostitute,
or she was making herself out to be a prostitute. And Judah
looked at her. He didn't know who she was. He was inflamed
in his lust toward her. He didn't have a good motive
in this. He was inflamed in his lust toward her. He wanted to
gratify his lust. He said, how much will you charge? It was
a pure act of prostitution. It was a sinful, wrong act. He
had no idea that she was in his daughter-in-law. Now, he turned
into her, by the way, and said, Go to verse 16. I pray thee,
let me come in unto thee, for he knew not that she was his
daughter-in-law. This was wrong what he was doing. And she said,
What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come into me? What
do you pay me for this? And he said, I'll send thee a kid from
the flock. I'll give you a goat. And she said, Wilt thou give
me a pledge till thou send it? I need something to prove that
I'm going to get this. And he said, What pledge shall
I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, or thy ring, and thy
bracelets, and thy staff that's in thine hand. And he gave it
to her. And he came in unto her, and
she conceived by him. They had a child through this
union. He didn't know it. And she arose,
and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the
garments of her widowhood. She took off the garments of
a prostitute, and she put back on the garments of a widowhood.
20, maybe the next day, maybe it
was that afternoon, I don't know. And Judah sent the kid by the
hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the
woman's hands. He wanted his ring back and his bracelets back
and his staff back. And he sent his friend Hiram
to find this woman, but he found her not. Then Hiram, he asked
the men of that place, where is the harlot that was openly
by the wayside? And they said, there's no harlot
in this place. They didn't have any idea what
he was talking about. And he returned to Judah and said, I
can't find her. And also the men of that place said that there
was no harlot in this place. I mean, we looked everywhere,
but we couldn't find a harlot anywhere around here. And Judah
said, well, let her take it to her. What he's saying is let
her keep the pledge the ring, the bracelets and the staff,
lest we be ashamed, lest we be made a laughing stock. Behold,
I sent this kid and now it's not found her. We don't know
what happened to her. Well, it came to pass about three months
afterwards. That it was told you to say,
Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot. And also behold,
she is with child by whoredom. Whose baby was this? It was Judah's,
wasn't it? But Judah didn't know that. So
what does he say? Judah said, bring her forth and
let her be burnt. Let her be burnt alive. Isn't
that just like the flesh? Judah was guilty of making this
woman what she was. He didn't know it. And when he
saw what happened to her, he said, burn her at the stake,
put her to death. Isn't it amazing how harsh we
can be on others and how easy we can be on ourselves? Judah
didn't realize that he was condemning himself, but boy, he was hard
on this woman. Bring her forth and let her be
burnt. Verse 25. When she was brought
forth, She said to her father-in-law, saying, by the man whose these
are, am I with child? And she said, discern, I pray
thee, whose are these? The signet, and the bracelets,
and the staff. Judah was caught red-handed. He knew exactly what
had taken place. And Judah acknowledged them and
said, she hath been more righteous than I, because I gave her not
to Shelah, my son, and he knew her again no more. He acknowledged his sin, and
this is what God's people do. He acknowledged his guilt. He
acknowledged this. And he went in no more to her.
He said, I'm guilty. And this sinful relationship
was stopped. You know, some believe that although what she did was
wrong, her intentions were right to preserve sin, because it says
she was more righteous. And they think, well, this was
an act of faith. I've heard several people say
that. I've even read that. I don't believe it for a second.
I don't believe she had any good intentions in this at all. She
was trying to get revenge. She was mad. And to say this
is an act of faith is to say the end justifies the means.
If the end's right, the means can be wrong. No, not at all. What she did was wrong and there's
no way of justifying what she did. It was evil. It was sin. This is the story of sin. Verse 27. And it came to pass
in the time of her travail, that behold twins were in her womb
and it came to pass when she prevailed that the one put out
his hand and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet
thread saying this came out first she wanted to make sure they
knew who the firstborn was this is the one who came out first
and it came to pass as he drew back his hand that behold his
brother came out And she said, how has thou broken forth? This
was almost a miracle. I mean, this one fella stuck
his hand out first. Obviously, he's the first born. Somehow
this other twin got past him. He made some kind of breach and
he's the one who came out first. And she said, how has thou broken
forth? Therefore, his name was called Fares. You remember where
we read that before? In Matthew chapter one, this
is the direct ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord came
through this union. And afterward came out his brother
that had the scarlet thread upon his hand, and his name was called
Zerah. Now here we have the story of
Phares and Zerah. And this, as we've already seen,
is a part of the Lord's ancestry. The genealogy that goes directly
through Judah and the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to record this
story for us. And, you know, the Bible would
not be complete if we didn't have this story, would it? This
is just as inspired as any other portion of scripture. And it's
a seedy story, isn't it? I mean, it's a wretched story,
the sinfulness that goes on in this thing. But, you know, I
think it's interesting in the Lord's genealogy, there are at
least three scandals. I mean, these things we would
hide. I wouldn't want my genealogy discovered like this, but you
have Rahab the harlot. You have this horrible story,
and you have the story of Bathsheba, David going into Bathsheba. The
Lord came through these. Men would cover this up, but
not the Lord. And how His grace shines through all of this in
this rather seedy and wretched story inspired by the Holy Spirit,
there's some very important lessons for us to learn. Now, here's
the first thing. I have a question for you. Did the Lord know before this
ever happened that his son would come through Perez? Was he taken by surprise? Well,
you know better than that. This is all part of his plan
and his purpose. Everything that happens in time
was purposed in eternity. And so was this. This is all
a part of God's sovereign plan. If you take God's decrees, that's
what he did before time began, and you take God's providence,
that's what happens in time. God's decree is before time.
God's providence is what happens in time. And if you put God's
decree and God's problems beside each other, you know what you'd
have? The precise same thing. Exactly. Everything that happens
in time was purposed in eternity. God purposed all of this and
he was in control of all this. Now let me show you some scriptures
that deal with this. Acts chapter 2. This was all a part of God's
sovereign plan and purpose. It could not have happened without
the Lord's will. Acts chapter 2, verse 23. Ye men of Israel, verse 22, Acts
chapter 2, verse 22. Ye men of Israel, this is Peter
on the day of Pentecost, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth
A man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs
which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also
know, him being delivered to be crucified, to be slain, to
be tortured, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. you have taken, and by wicked
hands you have crucified and slain him." Now, he was delivered
by the determined counsel of God. Everything that happened
to him was ordained by God. Look in Acts chapter 4, verse
26. This is a quotation from Psalm
2. Matt was reading that back in
the study. The kings of the earth stood up. Acts chapter 4, verse
26, the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his Christ for the truth
against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou has anointed both Herod
and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were
gathered together. And what was it they were gathered to do?
To crucify him, to put him to death, to put him to a death
of pain and shame. But what's it say? They were
gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
before to be done. Everything that happened to him,
every every drive of the nail, every the plunge of the spear,
the crown of thorns, it was all happening according to God's
purpose. He purposed everything that took
place. Look in Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. Verse 27. For they that dwell at Jerusalem,
and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices
of the prophets, which are read every day, they have fulfilled
them in condemning him. And though they found no cause
of death in him, yet they desired Pilate that he should be slain.
And when they had fulfilled All that was written of him, God
had it recorded in a book, everything that was going to take place.
They took him down from the tree and they laid him in a sepulcher.
Now, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus Christ is the most wicked thing to ever take place.
It was sinful, nothing but sinful and evil. And everything that
happened, happened according to God's determinant counsel
and foreknowledge and decree. And this event that we just read
about that took place, it all happened according to God's determined
counsel and foreknowledge and decree. He said in Isaiah chapter
45, verse 7, I am the Lord and there is none else. I form the
light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. And I'm not going to apologize
for what the Lord does. Are you saying God's the author of evil? I'm saying there wouldn't be
evil if he didn't allow it. He's in control of it. He's in control
of everything. And he said, I, the Lord, do
all these things. This story is a story that the
Lord's in control of. But here's the next thing I'd
like to say about this story. This does not, in any way, excuse
their personal sin or their responsibility in this action. Now, here's another
example that's very similar to this. When David went into Bathsheba, the light of Christ came through
that union. Now, you remember what he did. committed adultery
with Bathsheba. He murdered Bathsheba's husband
in order to cover up his own tracks. He murdered Uriah the
Hittite. It's a story filled with sin
and wickedness. But yet Christ was going to come
through that union. Didn't he? Christ came through that union.
But do you know That that did not negate the sinfulness of
the act or the problems that David would have the rest of
his life because of this sin that he committed. Now would
you turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter
11. Verse 27. And when the morning was past,
David sent and fetched her to his house, talking about Bathsheba,
and she became his wife after all this had taken place, and
she buried the son. But the thing that David had
done displeased the Lord. The Lord was angry over this. It displeased him. Now, how in
the world could it displease him when he purposed it? I don't
know. I don't feel the need to explain
that. It says the thing David did displeased the Lord. Was
it part of his sovereign purpose? Absolutely. Solomon came through
this. The Lord Jesus Christ came through
this. This is all a part of God's sovereign purpose and plan, but
it's still true that the thing that David did displeased the
Lord. It was sin. And the Lord sent
Nathan unto David, chapter 12, and he came unto him and said
unto him, there were two men in one city, the one rich and
the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and
herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which
he had bought and nourished up, and grew up together with him,
with his children. He did eat of his own meat, and
drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him
as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man,
and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd,
to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him. But he
took the poor man's lamb. And remember, this man considered
this lamb like a child. He took the poor man's lamb and
dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger
was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, If
the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely
die. Kind of reminds me of Judas, doesn't it? Remember, Judas said,
Bring her forth and burn her. Well, David said the same thing.
Get this fellow and kill him. That's the only thing that he's
fit for. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he
did this thing and because he had no pity. And Nathan said
to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the
hand of Saul, and I gave thy master's house and thy master's
wives into thy bosom, and gave the house of Israel and of Judah.
And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given such
and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment
of the Lord to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah
the Hittite with the sword, and you have taken his wife to be
your wife, and you have slain with the sword the children of
Amnon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine
house. Because thou has despised me, and you've taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife, thus saith the Lord, Behold,
I'll raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I'll
take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor,
and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the Son. For
you did it secretly, but I'll do this thing before all Israel,
and before the Son." Now look what the Lord says to David.
David said, because you did this, the sword is never going to depart
from your house. And you know that David's life
was a series of misery from there on to the end of his life. It
really was. I mean, when he dies, he said,
although my house be not so with God. And oh, what trouble he
had in his house. And the Lord said, you're going
to have trouble because you've done this thing. Now, the question
comes to my mind. If God has predetermined everything. And if everything that I do is
ultimately caused by his sovereign control. If that is the case,
and it is the case, how can God hold me accountable for my sin? I don't know, but he does. That's
the only way I know how to answer that. Paul brought this objection up
in Romans chapter 9 when he said, Why does he yet find fault? For
who has resisted his will? If it's his will, if everything
that happens happens according to his sovereign will, how can
he find fault with me? And how can he hold me responsible
for my sin? That just doesn't seem right. How did Paul answer
that? I love the way Paul answered it. He said, Nay, but, O man,
who are you to reply against God? Since when are you good
enough to sit in judgment on God and judge whether what he
does is right or wrong? Had not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel into honor and
another into dishonor? Whatever God does is right. Yes, everything happens according
to God's plan, and this seedy story of Genesis 38 happened
according to God's sovereign will. God determined for everything
that took place to take place why His Son was born to come
through this. This was all a part of His plan. And what Judah and Tamar did
was evil. And I have no doubt that it brought
great sorrow into their lives. And I also know it was all part
of God's plan. But here is something that I
love to think about. Here is something that only God can do.
And here is exactly what God does indeed do. God brings good
out of evil. In this wretched story, God brings
good. The Messiah comes through this
life. The Lord Jesus Christ comes through
this union. God brings good out of evil. You meant it for evil. You had
no good intentions. But the Lord meant it for good.
And the Lord always brings good out of evil. And the example
of that is what? The cross. What's the most evil
thing to take place ever in the history of the universe? The
crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the most evil,
heartless, cruel, wicked thing to ever take place. What is the
most glorious thing to ever take place? The cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The most glorious, wonderful
good that's ever been thought of is what our Lord accomplished
on Calvary's tree. And while we're not comforted
in our sin, we can look back over everything in our lives,
no matter how dark it may appear. And know, because God's word
tells us this, that the Lord has brought good out of it. You
can look back over everything without regret. Because everything
that's happened has happened according to the Lord's purpose.
And the Lord brings good out of it. Aren't you grateful for
Romans chapter 8 verse 28 where Paul says, and we know that all
things. All things. Work together for
good to them who love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. I spent a lot of time in the
last five months. It's been just over five months
since I had that surgery, but you can ask Lynn. I don't know
how many times I said in the first three or four months,
oh, I regret having that surgery. I wish I didn't do it when I
get nauseous and sick. And I think I could have had
a different kind of surgery maybe that wouldn't have made me so
sick and it wouldn't have been so wrong. I regret it. I regret
it. Oh, why did I do that? I'd lay
in bed thinking, oh, am I going to have to deal with this the
rest of my life? Oh, I'd be nauseous. Oh, I regret it. But you know
what? Now, I'm thankful I did it. I really am. I'm thankful. I can look back over so many
things in my life that seem dark and wretched. And I can have such remorse over
it, but you know that's an exercise in futility. I wouldn't change
a thing. Because God has purposed everything
for my good and for his glory. And we can rest that there's
nothing to regret. There's nothing to feel bad about.
He had done all things well, perfect, and everything that
the Lord has brought my way has been exactly what I need. It's
perfect. Perfect. I wish I always believed that.
Don't you? We never we'd never be upset
at all if we really believe that we ought to believe it all the
time. Now, these last verses are a
reminder to us, I think they're interesting, turn back to our
text in Genesis 38. These last verses are a reminder
to us that the Lord Jesus Christ is always going to have the preeminence. Remember, Christ came through
Pharaohs. And it came to pass, verse 27,
in the time of her travail that behold, twins were in her womb.
And it came to pass. You know, I love that phrase,
it came to pass. God purposed it, it came to pass.
How many times do you read that in scriptures? It came to pass,
it came to pass. God purposed it, it came to pass.
God purposed it, it came to pass. It came to pass when she travailed
that one put out his hand, and the midwife took and bound upon
his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. This is
the firstborn. She had it down. We've got this taken care of.
And it came to pass again, as he drew back his hand, that,
behold, his brother came out. And this was almost a miracle
how he did this and jumped over his brother. We don't know. His
brother came out, and she said, How has thou broken forth? She
was amazed by this. This breached me upon thee. Therefore
his name was called Phares. And afterward came out his brother.
Phares is the one whom the Messiah came through. Now let's close
by turning back to Matthew chapter 1. Verse 3. And Judas beget Phares and Zerah
of Tamar. And Phares begot Esram, and Esram
begot Aram, and it goes on down through all the so-and-so begot
so-and-so. And we read in verse 16, And
Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus,
who was called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham
to David are fourteen generations, and from David into the carrying
away into Babylon are fourteen generations. and from the carrying
on of Babylon unto Christ for fourteen generations. Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, behold, they came together, she
was found with the child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her
husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public
example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, Fear
not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus." Here's the last of this
line, and here's the hope of the believer, for he shall save
his people from their sins. What a hope! He shall save, not He'll try
to save, He shall save His people from their sins. He saves them
from the condemnation of sin. No condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. He saves them from the power of sin by
giving them a new nature. And one of these days we'll be
saved from the very presence of sin. And pharisees, was in
this genealogy, this wonderful genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together.