Rev. David Holwick G
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
February 13, 2011
Genesis 38:6-26
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I. Exposing hypocrisy.
A. How a sleazy tabloid newspaper almost got a Pulitzer Prize.
This week I read a fascinating article by David Perel, the
former editor of the National Enquirer.
Three years ago the newspaper claimed vice-presidential
candidate John Edwards had fathered a child with a
mistress.
Edwards denied it.
The mainstream media ignored the story.
Then an aide to Edwards came forward and claimed the baby
was his.
Rather than give up, the National Enquirer decided to
press on and make Edwards confess.
They brought in a mental health expert to profile Edwards
so they could predict his behavior.
They concluded that Edwards felt he was above the law and
had a compromised conscience.
He would do anything to keep his reputation intact.
What is more, he believed in his reputation himself.
He denied his own reality and would do anything to avoid
confessing.
The National Enquirer pulled out all the stops.
They spent months tracking the targets with an army of
reporters.
They used satellite photos.
They hinted they had bugged the mistress's hotel room.
Finally, they caught Edwards at the hotel.
He ran into a public bathroom.
But they knew that this wouldn't be good enough, and they
were right.
He didn't confess.
So they let him know they had photographs.
Cunningly, they never released the photos or said what they
contained.
They wanted his guilty conscience to imagine the worst.
Edwards cracked a little, admitting to the affair but not
the baby.
Rumors floated that the Enquirer had DNA evidence.
They never confirmed it.
Finally, Edwards made a full confession.
The National Enquirer never did get the Pulitzer.
But they did gain respect for exposing one of the greatest
examples of hypocrisy in our time.
#63013
B. Hypocrisy and scandal are nothing new.
1) Today's passage has some of the same content.
2) It is infamous for its "yuck" quality.
a) Weird marriage rules.
b) Nice woman posing as a prostitute.
c) Upright patriarch patronizes the prostitute.
d) In the end, the woman gets commended.
3) One commentator calls it a "dirty, filthy story."
a) The latest issue of Newsweek reviews two recent books
on how the Bible portrays sex.
b) Genesis 38 is cited as an example of how Bible values
aren't very traditional.
It's more like, anything goes.
C. There is more to this story than sex and hypocrisy.
1) Of course, whether we admit it or not, it presents a
mirror to our modern society.
2) But the story is also a powerful testimony to God's grace
and his ability to change people.
3) Ultimately, it gives important background on Jesus himself.
II. A story with a twist.
A. The setup.
1) Judah had some issues.
a) He is Jacob's fourth son, so he is not the top dog.
b) He was the one who came up with the idea of selling
their brother Joseph as a slave.
c) Moved into Canaanite territory and took a wife there.
1> Literally it says he "saw" her and "took" her,
implying he was motivated by lust.
2> Abraham went to great lengths to make sure his
son got a proper wife. Judah did not.
d) Judah seems callous - he doesn't appear to grieve over
his sons' deaths.
e) He treats his daughter-in-law shabbily.
2) A young woman in an impossible situation.
a) Tamar was probably a Jew, not a Canaanite like Judah's
wife.
b) Her first husband, Judah's son Er, dies.
1> We don't know what he did, but God killed him so
it must have been pretty bad.
2> The Hebrew presents it as a pun.
One commentator came up with "Er erred."
c) Following the rules of that period, she married her
late husband's brother.
1> The goal is to produce an heir who can inherit the
deceased husband's property.
2> (The widow didn't qualify for inheritance back then.)
d) This man, Onan, makes sure she doesn't get pregnant.
1> He probably was selfish and didn't want to dilute
his own inheritance.
2> God kills him, too.
e) One more son of Judah is left.
1> Judah says Shelah is too young to get married.
2> In reality, Judah feels this woman is bad luck and
hopes she will disappear.
3> He is obligated to give his son to her, but he
doesn't. After all, what can she do about it?
B. The plot.
1) Tamar waits until the harvest time.
a) It is a happy time, a party time.
b) Judah is probably wasted like most other people.
2) Tamar positions herself on the road, wearing a veil.
a) This appears to be the equivalent of a "red light."
1> There is some disagreement whether she is presented
as a regular prostitute, or a cult prostitute.
2> Many women back then made vows to pagan temples and
fulfilled the vow by acting as a prostitute.
b) Judah falls for the bait.
1> They arrange terms of future payment.
2> He leaves a deposit (equivalent to credit cards).
3> They have sex.
A> Irony - he makes her wait forever to have
legitimate sex, but he himself doesn't wait
at all.
B> She gets pregnant.
3) Tamar's scarlet "A".
a) Her pregnancy soon becomes obvious.
b) Technically she is an engaged woman.
1> The law of Moses does not mention the death penalty
for prostitution.
2> It does for adultery.
c) Judah is righteously indignant.
1> He even goes overboard.
A> Most adulterers were stoned back then.
B> In later laws, only an adulterous daughter of a
priest would be burned. Lev 21:9
2> Judah is both judge and jury and there is no appeal.
A> He holds all the power.
B> He is enforcing a strict moral code that he
himself does not follow.
C. The gotcha.
1) At her execution, Tamar produces the evidence.
a) Judah is caught in hypocrisy and he knows it.
b) He acknowledges he was wrong to withhold his third son.
2) Technically, Tamar was not a prostitute.
a) Levirate marriage says that when a woman runs out of
brothers to marry, the father-in-law should fulfill
the duty.
b) Tamar is actually doing something Judah had neglected
-- keeping a pure Hebrew line for the descendants of
Abraham.
3) Was Judah still being unfair?
a) Some say if he was consistent, Judah should have
sentenced himself to death.
1> Sleeping with your daughter-in-law was definitely
a capital crime.
b) But the rule of Levirate marriage gets them both off
the hook.
III. Our issues with the passage.
A. Hypocrisy on the part of a biblical "pillar."
1) In a way, this is very realistic.
2) The Bible never portrays its heroes as perfect, except
for Jesus.
a) All the others are as human as we are.
b) But we should not use this to excuse our own sin.
3) Are you cutting any moral corners?
B. Honoring someone who breaks the rules.
1) Is it acceptable to do something wrong to bring about
something good?
a) (1996 British movie "Breaking the Waves" where the
innocent heroine saves her man by becoming a
prostitute and being cast out of society.)
b) Although Tamar was not really a prostitute, she was
guilty of deceit and subterfuge.
2) "Tamar is more righteous than I am."
a) All sin is sin, but we should recognize some sins
carry greater consequences.
b) Tamar chooses the path of shame and guilt for the sake
of a greater good, the continuance of Abraham's line.
c) In the parable of the Dishonest Manager, Jesus commends
a crook.
1> Not for being a crook.
2> He is commended for taking risks and being bold.
3> Tamar is like this. So should we.
IV. It is all part of a bigger story.
A. Judah vs. Joseph.
1) Today's passage is sandwiched by material on Joseph.
a) There is a deliberate contrast.
2) Judah represents a worldly believer.
a) He chooses to live among worldly people.
b) He takes a worldly wife.
c) His sexual morals are loose. (Charlie Sheen?)
1> Yet he cares enough about appearances that he
sends a buddy to pay the prostitute's fee.
2> He is very concerned about looking foolish.
3) Joseph is a godly believer.
a) He rejects the sexual advances of his master's wife.
b) Joseph did not surrender his marks of personal identity
like Judah did.
1> The opposite happens - Pharaoh exalts him with
same kind of markers.
4) What kind of believer are you?
B. Tamar's heritage.
1) When the Jews entered Egypt for refuge, Judah takes Tamar's
twin sons with him.
2) Tamar becomes a seventh-great-grandmother to King David.
3) She even becomes an ancestor of Jesus himself. Matt 1:3
a) Each of the four women mentioned had a shameful past.
b) Yet God's grace triumphed over their disgrace.
4) Her actions are much like the dishonest steward in Jesus'
parable.
a) You don't want to commend the way she did it, but you
should emulate the way she had a bold plan.
V. Judah's redemption.
A. The Tamar episode is a turning point in his life.
1) Judah appears again in chapter 44, pleading for Benjamin
on behalf of his father.
2) He is willing to become a slave in Benjamin's place.
3) Judah becomes a changed man.
B. Change is what it is all about.
1) This is a great theme of the book of Genesis, indeed,
of the entire Bible.
2) Judah goes from worldly callousness to love and tenderness.
3) He even becomes the leader of the band of brothers,
replacing the oldest, Reuben.
C. Have you experienced this change?
=========================================================================
SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#63013 “Why John Edwards Finally Confessed To His Affair,” by David Perel,
former Editor-In-Chief, National Enquirer, February 1, 2011,
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-Perel/john-Edwards-Affair_
b_816599.html>
This and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Sermon #16817, Rev. Scott Hoezee, “An Odd Grace”
DJ #155, Sept/Oct 2006, pp. 34-35.
I. (Elliott Spitzer)
II. The setup. Gen 38
A. First he had sold his brother as a slave.
B. Then he was exposed to a sin he could not deny.
III. Years later, when Judah goes to Egypt, he takes his grandsons
with him...
IV. Contrast with Joseph.
A. Rejects advances of his master's wife.
1) Deliberate contrast with Judah.
2) Ancient world punished women but not men.
a) Double standard.
V. Double standard on sex.
A. This is an ancient problem.
B. Biblically, the same standards should apply to both sexes.
C. This passage actually unends the double standard - a woman
gets the last laugh.
VI. Hard to break sexual temptation.
A. Charlie Sheen "People" article contrasted with
recent events. "_joy2..."
He makes 1.25 million per episode
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