By Bob Wilkin
Genesis 37-38 shows that Judah was a carnal believer at that time. He nearly had his brother Joseph killed. He agreed to sell Joseph into slavery. He married a Canaanite woman. His two oldest sons were evil, and God killed them. He refused to give his daughter-in-law, Tamar, to his youngest son. Judah’s wife died. One tragedy after another occurred due to Judah’s carnality. Then, after mourning, Judah thought he was hiring a harlot when he had relations with Tamar. Only when he discovered that he was the guilty party did he do the right thing. He confessed his sin and acknowledged that she was more righteous than he.
Yet despite his being carnally-minded, God chose to bless him. He was the brother chosen to be in the line of Messiah:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people (Gen 49:10).
Ross comments:
In this oracle Jacob predicted a fierce lionlike dominance of Judah over his enemies and over his brothers who would praise him. A wordplay was made here on the name Judah which means “praise” (cf. 29:35, NIV marg.). The oracle pivots on the word until (49:10b). When the Promised One who will rule the nations appears, the scene will become an earthly paradise. These verses anticipate the kingship in Judah culminating in the reign of Messiah (cf. the tribe of Judah, Rev. 5:5), in which nations will obey Him (“Genesis” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 98).
The three oldest sons were passed over for the blessing because of major moral failures (Gen 49:3-7). While Judah was still a baby believer and had his own moral failures, his confession of his sin and acknowledgment of Tamar’s righteousness suggest that he was not rebelling against God. Israel said, “You are he whom your brothers shall praise” (Gen 49:8a). He was immature in his faith. See 1 Cor 3:1-3 and the rest of that letter for examples of other baby believers.
Hamilton comments on how Judah and David were alike in both carnal behavior and ultimate confession and repentancei:
In many ways the development of this story is similar to the David-Bathsheba liaison (2 Sam 11). Both focus on an illicit sexual relationship from which a child is born. Both have a period of quietness (3 months here, an unspecified time in 2 Sam 11) in which the man involved doubtless hopes that the incident is forgotten (Judah) or covered up (David). Both men express righteous indignation when informed of the misconduct of another: Take her out and let her be burned; “the man who has done this deserves to die” (2 Sam 12:5). Both Judah and David are trapped into admitting their culpability. Finally, when confronted with the truth, both men made public acknowledgments: She is in the right, not I (v. 25); “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam 12:13) (Genesis 18-50, p. 448).
Genesis 37 to 50 tells the story of Joseph. Why, then, did Moses insert a chapter about Judah? First, it helps explain how his tribe could be chosen. Second, Judah’s story is a wonderful contrast to Joseph’s early years in Egypt.
Joseph had received two dreams from God, telling him that he would become the head of the family. Yet he found himself a slave in the house of Potiphar. A partial indication of the dreams’ truth is found in God blessing Joseph and making him ruler of Potiphar’s house. God was using calamity to prepare Joseph for future rule—just as He does for us today. As Dr. Radmacher loved to say, “This life is training time for reigning time.”
Whereas Judah sought out relations with what he thought was a harlot, Joseph was seduced by Potiphar’s wife. Not just once, but day after day, she seduced him. Unlike his brother, he did not give in to carnal lusts. He fled youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:22). His reward? He was cast into a dungeon prison!
Did Joseph lose faith in God’s promise of future rulership when he was a slave and then a prisoner in a dungeon? Genesis 39 does not hint at it. While in prison, Yahweh was with him, and he rose to rule the prison.
Hamilton observes:
Of the seven uses of the tetragrammaton [YHWH] in chapter 39 (vv. 2, 3 [twice], 5 [twice], 21, 23), four of them occur in the phrase “Yahweh was with Joseph” (vv. 2, 3, 21, 23). The presence of Yahweh uniquely in chapter 39 is not to be explained by appeal to the presence of variant literary traditions. Rather, the name Yahweh occurs here at what is the most uncertain moment in the life of Joseph. His future hangs in the balance. He is alone in Egypt, separated from family, vulnerable, with a cloud over his future. Or is he alone? Only the narrator, never any of the characters, uses the name Yahweh. Thus, it is the narrator who tells us, no less than five times, that in a very precarious situation, Joseph is not really alone. Yahweh is with him (Genesis 18-50, p. 459).
We all face tests: cancer, inflation, job loss, death of loved ones, and conflicts with family and friends. We may not be sold into slavery and sent to prison for something we did not do. But we face hardships. And God is with us as well if we are walking in fellowship with Him.ii
“If we endure, we shall reign with Him” (2 Tim 2:12). Everlasting life is a free gift received when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for it (John 3:16). Eternal rewards are earned by faithfulness. “It is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor 4:2). Keep grace in focus.
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Bob Wilkin is Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society. He and Sharon live in Highland Village, TX. He has racewalked twelve marathons.
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i While Moses wrote over 400 years before David, the Holy Spirit intended this connection between the accounts of Judah and David. Here, we see how the Divine author intended more than the human author.
ii The expression “Yahweh was with Joseph” referred to God continuing to prosper and bless him, in spite of the evil circumstances. While God is with all believers in the sense of the Holy Spirit indwelling us, He is with us in the sense of blessing only when we, like Joseph, are walking in fellowship with Him. See the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-24.
