We are continuing the story of the shattered family, where we saw one brother kidnapped and sold last week and now Judah leaves his brothers and moved west to stay with a man named Hirah.

Judah’s marriage to a Canaanite woman, supposedly someone with whom there had to be no intermarriage and the whole reason for the murder of Shechemites as they wanted to marry into their family, seems odd.
Almost as if Judah is going out of his way to hurt his family.

Judah has three sons Er, Onan and Shelah and life was happily progressing for this family. Judah’s eldest son Er, about whom very little is known expect that he was wicked, was killed by God. To Err is human, but not in God’s view perhaps.

His second son cheated his brother’s wife with his reluctance in extending his brother’s family line. And he too was killed by God. Maybe he was really wicked.

But not as wicked as Judah who blamed Tamar for the death of his sons and sent her way on the false hope that one day he would give his youngest son to her in marriage.

More and more we read Genesis we see that it is not an account of faithful people serving God like we had been told in our Sunday school but imperfect people barely surviving only by the grace of God.

People question why did Jesus have to come in a manger? Why did God do this to His Son? This passage will be absolute shocker to them that Jesus chose this family to be born in.

Questions Discussed in this Podcast –
V1 Why did Judah leave his brothers?
V7 God does not kill every wicked person then why Er?
V14 Why did Tamar not directly approach Judah? Why the elaborate ruse?
V21 Who is a Shrine Prostitute?
V24 Isn’t there a double standard in Judah’s judgement of Tamar?
V30 What is the significance of Zerah putting his hand out first?