Judah and Tamar produces Perez

The tales of adultery and perversion continues even in the line of God's chosen people. We need to be careful how we interpret this. The main event described here seem to be how Tamar, the daughter in law of Judah, tricked Judah into laying with her. Some background to this even shows the wrongdoing of various parties, perhaps a greater sin than Tamar's.
- Judah married a Cannanite woman, despite the fact that his immediate ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, avoided this, due to God's advice against marrying pagans in the land.
- Judah's first son Er, husband of Tamar, was so evil that it was recorded that God killed him.
- Judah's second son, Onan, whose duty was to marry his brother's widow and produce an heir, chose otherwise because of selfish reason. This displeased the Lord enough to get him killed.
- Judah's sin in witholding his younger son, Shelah, from marrying Tamar because he feared his younger son might die too.

Later on, Tamar tricked Judah into sleeping with her by pretending to be a prostitute. By modern standard, this event seem quite perverted. But notice the response from Judah. Initially Judah was furious that her Tamar acted like a prostitute, not knowing yet that he slept with her. But when he found out that she was the one he slept with, Judah's response was that his sin is greater than hers. Judah explained that his sin was not to have given his younger son to Tamar as his custom required. So it seemed that Tamar's act was not for pleasure nor money but rather she was after the seed to produce a child.

The result of Judah and Tamar's act was twin offspring, whose birth mirrored that of Jacob and Esau as they were fighting to come out of the womb. The one who would be second became first, this time it was Perez.

These events may be uncomfortable reading for the moral audience in modern society but it is from Judah and Tamar and from Perez that our Lord Jesus comes from. Not only does this line of kings come from Tamar, a non-Israelite, but in came from an immoral union. What else can we do but in awe of God's Amazing Grace, and his Total Sovereingty in choosing whom He pleases, and ultimately:


1 Corinthians 1:27 
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;


Genesis 38

Judah and Tamar

 1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.”
So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”
18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?”
So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”
And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”
So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”
26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.
27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.[a] 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.