God Almighty Chose Judah as the Patriarch for Jesus bloodline, but why? After all he was the fourth son. He also some of his most grievous sins written down in history. Reading Genesis 38, we again question really, why Judah? .
God called out Abraham to establish a covenant nation through whom the Messiah would be born. That nation was established through Isaac’s son Jacob, later renamed by God as Israel. He had twelve sons. His oldest son Reuben lost his birthright because he slept with his father’s concubine. Joseph’s two sons were grafted in to establish the twelve tribes of Israel with no tribe being named for Reuben.
There was not a tribe named Joseph either. However, his line lived on with Ephraim and Manasseh being named as tribes. Their mother was Egyptian. God always did reach out to the Gentiles who would believe. Thus, Joseph received a double portion. Judah was Leah’s fourth son. Remember she was the wife living always in her sister’s shadow, feeling unloved by Jacob.
After all, it was Judah who saw the caravan in the distance and recommended they sell Joseph into slavery. It was also Judah who then left the family to live with those who practiced pagan worship in Canaan. He took to wife a Canaanite woman and had three sons. So, let us pick up the story in Genesis 38 NABRE
Judah’s Fall into Pagan Worship
About that time Judah went down, away from his brothers, and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite named Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua; he married her…
6 Judah got a wife named Tamar for his firstborn, Er. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, greatly offended the Lord; so, the Lord took his life. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have intercourse with your brother’s wife, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother’s line.” 9 Onan, however, knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid giving offspring to his brother.
Notice the words “whenever he had intercourse.” So, he was more than willing to be with her sexually, just not have a child to carry his brother’s inheritance. He wanted all the inheritance but was willing to fulfill his own sexual desires with her.
10 What he did greatly offended the Lord, and the Lord took his life too. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he feared that Shelah also might die like his brothers. So, Tamar went to live in her father’s house. Genesis 38 (NASB)
Notice that Judah begins to believe as was the pagan beliefs that his son’s deaths are due to Tamar. Never considering that his sons failed to worship God. Judah also becomes more en-cultured with the society where he lived. Instead of clinging to God, he became more pagan each day. The customary practice was to seek temple prostitutes to prosper in business.
God Almighty Chose Judah, Inspite of All This?
Time passed, and the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died. After Judah completed the period of mourning, he went up to Timnah, to those who were shearing his sheep, in company with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Then Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a shawl, and having wrapped herself sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she was aware that, although Shelah was now grown up, she had not been given to him in marriage.
Notice, very properly Tamar had remained in her mourning garments until now. Also, to consider Tamar’s position, it was a practice in Hittite inheritance practices that the father-in law was to fulfill the duty of fathering the child in the absence of sons to do so.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, since she had covered her face. 16 So he went over to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me have intercourse with you,” for he did not realize that she was his daughter-in-law. She replied, “What will you pay me for letting you have intercourse with me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” “Very well,” she said, “provided you leave me a pledge until you send it.”
18 Judah asked, “What pledge should I leave you?” She answered, “Your seal and cord, and the staff in your hand.” So, he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. 19 After she got up and went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow’s garments again.
Well, as the story goes on
Judah tries to send the goat as promised, but no prostitute could be found at that location to give the goat to.
24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has acted like a harlot and now she is pregnant from her harlotry.” Judah said, “Bring her out; let her be burned.”
Sounds a lot like Judah’s descendant King David when Nathan came to tell him the story of a rich man who took another’s only pet lamb and David wanted him to be killed until Nathan said, “that man is you.”
25 But as she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It is by the man to whom these things belong that I am pregnant.” Then she said, “See whose seal and cord and staff these are.” 26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is in the right rather than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” He had no further sexual relations with her.
She gave birth to twins and the younger pushed his hand out first, was tagged as first and then his brother was born before him. The second son was named Zerah.
So, God Almighty Chose Judah, why?
Well, it was then that Judah repented and by God’s Grace he was transformed. We are not told about his return to live with his brothers, but we know he was there when the famine came as he went with them to Egypt.
1 When Jacob learned that grain rations were for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons: “Why do you keep looking at one another?” 2 He went on, “I hear that grain is for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, that we may stay alive and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought some disaster might befall him. 5 And so the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since there was famine in the land of Canaan. Genesis 42
We also know that in Genesis 46:12, Tamar and her sons were in those who went to Egypt as part of the family.
Still was there something else demonstrating Judah’s change of heart. Could that be why God Almighty chose Judah as the bloodline to Jesus?
Judah’s Willing Sacrifice of Himself
When they had gone down to Egypt to buy grain the second time and took Benjamin with them, Benjamin was accused of stealing from Joseph and stood condemned. However, because of his love for his father, he offered to take the place of Benjamin and pay the price.
30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, whose very life is bound up with his, he will die as soon as he sees that the boy is missing; 31 and your servants will thus send the white head of your servant our father down to Sheol in grief.
32 Besides, I, your servant, have guaranteed the boy’s safety for my father by saying, ‘If I fail to bring him back to you, father, I will bear the blame before you forever.’ 33 So now let me, your servant, remain in place of the boy as the slave of my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34 How could I go back to my father if the boy were not with me? I could not bear to see the anguish that would overcome my father.” Genesis 44
God Almighty Chose Judah as a Foreshadowing of Jesus
In this, with a transformed heart of compassion and love, Judah is a picture foreshadowing Jesus who would be willing to lay down his life in both paying our penalty of sin and pleasing the Father.
11 I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. 13 This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep[g] that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” John 10
Furthermore
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1
Another Reason God Almighty Chose Judah for the Blood line of Jesus
Grace and grace alone is our offer of salvation. Nothing I can do would justify me before a righteous and holy God. Were it not for grace I could never stand before His holy throne. And yet, His grace has saved me. Jesus came to save sinners and all we like sheep have gone astray.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [d]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. Isaiah 53 (NKJV)
And though He has cast my sin as far as the east is from the west never for Him to remember it anymore, let me never forget the depths of my own transgressions, lest I forget the depths of His Gracious love that saved me. Only then can my heart be filled with love and mercy for those who are around me.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2024
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