Unit 1: The Word: God Calls Abraham’s Family
Key Verse:
Genesis 49:10 NLT
10
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,[a]
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,[b]
the one whom all nations will honor.
It was not so much the what, as it was the why. Bear with me as we find out together.
What you need to know
Genesis 35:11-15 NLT
11 Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 12 And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil. 15 And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.
After the controversy at Shechem, God instructs Jacob to return to Bethel. This is the place where Abram encountered God. This is the place where Jacob had seen the angels ascending and descending from Heaven, where he had seen God at the top of the stairway to Heaven. It is here that God declares that all that He has promised to Israel, He will perform. It was here that Israel settled with his family.
Genesis 35:22a NLT
22a While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.
What Reuben does here will have eternal consequences. It will affect the narrative going forward. Save it for later.
The Lesson
Genesis 35:22b-23 NLT
22b These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
We begin with the birth record of Israel’s sons, ordered by the women that bore them. Leah, Israel’s first wife, and Rachel’s sister bore six sons, The first four, Reuben to Judah, followed by Issachar and Zebulun much later on. This Is important because the birthright and the blessing are conferred within this group of sons.
Genesis 30:31 NLT
21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Leah also gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. She was raped at Shechem, leading to the controversy we will discuss later.
Genesis 35:24 NLT
24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Israel’s second wife, Rachel, whom he cherished were Joseph and Benjamin. What you will discover is that it is upon Joseph that the prophetic mantle rested. He was a dreamer. He was Israel’s favorite. His brothers hated him for that.
Genesis 35:25 NLT
25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Bilhah were Dan and Napthali.
Genesis 35:26 NLT
26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-Aram.
Gad and Asher round out the sons of Israel. OF importance is the fact that Joseph and Benjamin were the last two sons born to Israel. The four sons of his wive’s maidservants were born before them.
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Genesis 38:6-10 NLT
6 In the course of time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. 7 But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life. 8 Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”
9 But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother. 10 But the Lord considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.
Very briefly, let me mention that both of Judah’s first two sons displeased the Lord in such a way that God took their lives. We do not know what evil his first son, Er, committed. We do know that his second son, Onan, refused to produce an heir to his brother’s inheritance by his widow, Tamar. It is conceivable that he might have lived if only he had honored the traditions of his culture (the law of Moses was not yet given). In all of this, the widow, Tamar, was blameless.
Genesis 38:11 NLT
11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her father’s home.
Through no fault of her own, Tamar had fallen into disgrace. Her first husband besmirched their good name. Her second husband disregarded her desire for wholeness through childbearing. Now, by the time Judah’s third son was eligible for marriage, Judah was completely uninterested in following through on the custom of having his third son wed her. Was she considered cursed? Who can know? More likely than not, her father-in-law just did not want his son tied to a woman with such emotional baggage. She became an afterthought. Completely unwanted and unloved.
Let me pause here. Beloved, this commitment to marry for the sake of producing an heir was strictly business. Onan could have married Tamar and produced a son, then he could have married another and produced children to whom he would pass his inheritance. The same was true of Judah’s son, Shelah. In all of this, Tamar was denied the privilege of bearing an heir to Judah’s lineage. So she took matters into her own hands.
Genesis 38:12-23 NLT
12 Some years later Judah’s wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep. 13 Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14 Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but no arrangements had been made for her to come and marry him. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. 15 Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. 16 So he stopped and propositioned her. “Let me have sex with you,” he said, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law.
“How much will you pay to have sex with me?” Tamar asked.
17 “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised.
“But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she asked.
18 “What kind of guarantee do you want?” he replied.
She answered, “Leave me your identification seal and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her. Then he had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. 19 Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.
20 Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his guarantee. But Hirah couldn’t find her. 21 So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the shrine prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to Enaim?”
“We’ve never had a shrine prostitute here,” they replied.
22 So Hirah returned to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the village claim they’ve never had a shrine prostitute there.”
23 “Then let her keep the things I gave her,” Judah said. “I sent the young goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t find her. We’d be the laughingstock of the village if we went back again to look for her.”
Tamar disguised herself as a temple prostitute and beguiled her father-in-law-, Judah into sex for the purpose of becoming pregnant. One way or another, she was determined to give birth to the heir of Judah. Wisely, Tamar took Judah’s signet ring and his staff (scepter) as a deposit for payment for their eventual intimate encounter. This turned out to be very important. Had she not presented them later in this narrative, she may have lost her life.
Genesis 38:24 NLT
24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute. And now, because of this, she’s pregnant.”
“Bring her out, and let her be burned!” Judah demanded.
Upon being informed of his daughter-in-law’s pregnancy, Judah immediately demands the harshest of punishment: death. Not only does he demand Tamar’s death, but he demands that she suffer the harshest, most horrible kind of death, to be burned alive. Why? Beloved, there are numerous questions, and much that can be surmised. What gave Judah the authority to call for Tamar’s execution? She was his ‘property’ by virtue of the fact that her life had been held in reserve for the purpose of bearing an heir to the house of Judah. Why would Judah call for her death? From a cultural standpoint, it would have been customary to punish a woman caught in adultery in this way. Why was Judah’s pronouncement so harsh? I don’t know. Perhaps he felt embarrassed by her pregnancy and sought to, somehow, save face. Perhaps he sought to rid himself of the responsibility of marrying her to his third son, Selah. By pronouncing such a harsh punishment, he may have been signaling to onlookers that she was certainly a disgrace and was not worthy of being married to his sons. In fact, he may have reasoned and communicated that she was never worthy of being a part of his family. Sadly, like so many women of her day and ours, when Tamar could not be objectified, she was denigrated and discarded.
Genesis 38:25 NLT
25 But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?”
Tamar’s response, in the very moments before she is to be horribly executed, is telling. She does not name the father of her children. Rather, she presents the scepter and signet ring of the person by whom she became pregnant. By now, three months have passed, and Judah may have fashioned a new signet ring and a new staff by that time, so the old ring and staff may have been unrecognizable to anyone but him. Whatever the case, when these items are produced by Tamar, everything changes.
Genesis 38:26 NLT
26 Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never slept with Tamar again.
Upon seeing his old staff and signet ring, Judah immediately understands what has occurred and halts Tamar’s execution, proclaiming her to be ‘more righteous’ than himself because he denied her union with his third son, Shelah.
Genesis 38:27-30 NLT
27 When the time came for Tamar to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins. 28 While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand. The midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” 29 But then he pulled back his hand, and out came his brother! “What!” the midwife exclaimed. “How did you break out first?” So he was named Perez.[a] 30 Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.[b]
Matthew 1:3a NLT
3
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
The Bible makes note of the fact that Judah never slept with her again. What is further implied and later proven is that Judah took her into his tents as a concubine, or wife, where she went on to give birth to twin sons who would be heirs to Judah’s inheritance. The one twin, Perez, would inherit Judah’s staff, ring, half of his wealth, and an eventual place of honor as a progenitor of Christ. Thus, Tamar was also honored as a progenitor of Christ, and is included in the genealogy record provided by Matthew. All because she would not allow herself to be defined by her circumstances. Before Ruth, before Rahab, there was Tamar.
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Genesis 49:1-4 NLT
1 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.
2
“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
3
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
the child of my vigorous youth.
You are first in rank and first in power.
4
But you are as unruly as a flood,
and you will be first no longer.
For you went to bed with my wife;
you defiled my marriage couch.
As we close the lesson, I want to resolve a few loose ends. First among them is the birthright issue. How did it fall to Judah? Verse three rightly identifies Reuben as the firstborn, but verse four tells us that he was denied the birthright because he slept with Bilhah, the maidservant of Rachel. In Genesis 35:22a, Bilhah is described as Israel’s concubine, but in Genesis 49, Israel identifies her as his wife. What is the difference? There is none…in the eyes of the Lord. Selah… It is here that I remind you that when Judah took Tamar into his care, though he never slept with her again, she was his wife. Selah…
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Genesis 49:5-7 NLT
5
“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
their weapons are instruments of violence.
6
May I never join in their meetings;
may I never be a party to their plans.
For in their anger they murdered men,
and they crippled oxen just for sport.
7
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob;
I will disperse them throughout Israel.
Earlier, I made mention of the incident at Shechem, the incident that caused Israel to gather his family and belongings and flee from that place. The incident is recorded in Genesis, Chapter 34. Please read it at your convenience for the full rendering. In short, Simeon and Levi avenged the rape of their sister, Dinah, by murdering all of the men of Shechem, taking all of the women and children captive, and plundering the entire city of its wealth, including its livestock. It was for that reason that Israel fled the area and it was for that reason that he denied his second and third sons the birthright of the firstborn. Thus, the birthright and the inheritance of the firstborn fell to Leah’s fourth son, Judah.
Genesis 49:10 NLT
10
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,[a]
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,[b]
the one whom all nations will honor.
Beloved, as we bring this lesson to a close, we have gained valuable insight into how God worked through and past all of the varied circumstances to bring about the eventual rise of Judah as the progenitor of Christ. Of note, for me personally, is the thought that when confronted with his own guilt, he acknowledged it, then he extended mercy to Tamar, eventually elevating her to a place of honor among all of Israel. In his humility, he proved himself worthy to receive the honor attached to his name, Judah, which means ‘Praise’. Judah was far from perfect, but he set an example for all of us on how we can recover from sin by confession and repentant behavior. For his repentant actions toward Tamar, the ‘scepter’ of authority would never depart from his tribe. For his redemptive actions toward Tamar, he was redeemed. Forever, his name will be associated with…redemption.
Genesis 49:11-12 NLT
11
He ties his foal to a grapevine,
the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
Not only was Judah elevated to the position of a king among kings, but verses eleven and twelve inform us that, from the tribe of Judah would come the eventual King of kings, Jesus, the Christ. He was the progenitor to David, the boy who would become the second king of Israel, a man after God’s own heart, to whom the promise of the everlasting throne was made. He also became the progenitor, an integral figure in the appearing of Christ to us as the living Word of God, the Lamb of God who took away all of our sins, hurt, and shame. Judah’s name is forever tied to the Messiah, the Savior of all creation. Our Lord and Savior now, and forever… Amen!
Selah,
wb
Revelation 5:5-11 NLT
5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne,[b] has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit[c] of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. 7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10
And you have caused them to become
a Kingdom of priests for our God.
And they will reign[d] on the earth.”
11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders
