Genesis 126 – Breaking Through the Bottom

The word of God is found in Genesis 38:1-7.

 

“After this, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man named Hira, from Adullam.

There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he married her and cohabited with her. She became pregnant and bore a son, and he named him Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and he named him Onan. She conceived a third time and bore a son, and he named him Shelah. Judah was in Kezib when she gave birth to him. Judah got a wife for his firstborn son, Er, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.” Amen.

 

The story of Judah and Tamar

The biblical passage we'll explore today is from Genesis, primarily chapter 38. As we read, it begins with "그 후에" (after this), which implies a chronological connection to what came before. The event that preceded this was the selling of Joseph, who was 17 years old at the time.

 

The phrase "그 후에" doesn't signify a long passage of time but rather "at that time." So, around the time Joseph was sold, Judah left his family. Isn't it ironic? Joseph was forced to leave, while Judah, the main instigator in selling him, chose to leave. The stories of these two men run parallel, offering many points of comparison. While we won't go into all of them today, Judah's journey began with him leaving his family and brothers, making friends with foreigners, and eventually marrying a foreign woman.

 

Marrying a foreign woman isn't inherently a problem. The Bible's real concern is the danger of worshiping idols when marrying people who don't revere God. The respected Joseph also married an Egyptian woman. So it wasn't just Judah. The genealogy of Jesus Christ includes four women, three of whom are clearly foreign. The last one, Bathsheba, isn't explicitly identified in the Bible, but scholars believe she was likely a Hittite, given her husband was a Hittite. In the end, all four were likely foreigners.

 

The presence of foreign women in Jesus's genealogy shows that the issue wasn't their nationality but rather their attitude of not fearing God and their tendency to worship idols. In any case, Judah married a foreign woman, but her background or even her name isn't mentioned. However, the names of their children are all listed. They had three sons, the first of whom was named Er. Judah then found a wife for Er.

 

The Parallel Timelines of Judah and Joseph

Now, let's consider the timing. When Joseph was 17, Judah left his family after selling Joseph. When did Judah see Joseph again? It was 22 years later in Egypt. If you calculate it, Joseph was sold at 17, became prime minister at 30 (13 years later), and then saw his family after 9 more years. This adds up to 22 years. Judah's story unfolded during this same period. It wasn't separate from Joseph's; while Joseph was suffering, imprisoned, and becoming a prime minister, this same event was happening in Judah's family.

 

The Death of Tamar's Husband, Er

Er then took a wife. We can assume that he was in his late teens, around 17 or 18, as was common for marriage in foreign societies at that time. The Bible doesn't specify their ages, but we can infer it. So, unless there was a special reason, Tamar was also likely in her teens.

 

This young couple was married, but a shocking event occurred for Tamar. Her husband, who was healthy and strong, died that very day. The name Tamar means date palm, a symbol of beauty in Palestine and Canaan. Since the daughters-in-law in Abraham's family were consistently known as the most beautiful women of their time, it's likely that Tamar was also beautiful, hence her name.

 

But her husband died. The Bible's first book, Genesis, uses a unique phrase here: "The Lord put him to death." Even in the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, God isn't said to have directly killed people; rather, the cities were destroyed by hail, brimstone, and earthquakes. This direct statement of God killing someone is unprecedented. It shows that the Bible doesn't need to explain his entire life; it's summarized by saying, "He was a wickedly evil person, so much so that God Himself put him to death." So, because of his wickedness, Er died, and Tamar was left unexpectedly alone.

 

The Levirate Marriage and Onan's Sin

In that society, it was customary (and later became a part of the Mosaic Law) that if an older brother died without children, the younger brother would marry his sister-in-law to raise up an heir for his brother. While the child would also be his own, the firstborn son would belong to the older brother's lineage and carry on his name and legacy. So, a second marriage was arranged, and Onan married Tamar.

 

However, Onan thought, 'If I have a son through Tamar, my deceased brother's inheritance will go to him.' This is a similar situation to the one Boaz faced in the book of Ruth when redeeming the inheritance. He didn't want to give his inheritance to a nephew, so he was reluctant. When Onan tried to avoid having children, God saw his action as evil and killed him. This was due to his greed for wealth and his shaming of Tamar sexually. But more importantly, his sin was not trusting God's promise and acting against it. God had promised to make this family's descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and Onan acted against this promise. As a result, Tamar was left alone once again.

 

Judah's Blame and The Burden on Tamar

Now, only the third son remained. Judah saw his youngest son, Shelah, was still too young. Even if they were born a year apart, he was too young for marriage, so Judah told him to wait. The reason for this delay was that he thought "my two sons died because of Tamar." He believed that if he married Shelah to Tamar, Shelah would also die.

 

How strange is this mindset? We know the story. His sons died because of their own wickedness. And if we go back further, Judah himself wasn't free from sin. Despite the responsibility for his own actions and how he raised his children, he didn't consider his own or his sons' faults at all. Instead, he blamed Tamar for everything. So he thought, 'This woman shouldn't be close to us,' and shifted all the blame onto her.

 

What kind of person was Judah? He was the one who suggested selling his brother instead of killing him. He was the one who left his family and brothers and had no problem with a dangerous marriage and associating with people displeasing to God. But when his sons died, he blamed Tamar for everything. We often say, 'Yes, I've made mistakes. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but you're the one who's at fault.' This is not an admission of guilt but a way of deflecting all responsibility onto the other person. It's our nature to take some credit while giving ourselves a free pass. We often believe our pain and problems are caused by others.

 

Judah's Lowest Point and Tamar's Wounds

So, we see the very depths of Judah's character. When such a tragedy happens, one should comfort their daughter-in-law, feel sorry for their sons dying because of their sins, and treat her well. But he showed his true colors. He drove his daughter-in-law back to her father's house. This was an act of social ostracization. In that society, it was a brand that labeled her as "a cursed woman, the one who brought misfortune to our family." He told her to wait until their youngest son was grown, but he had no intention of ever giving him to her. Time passed, Shelah grew up, and yet Judah never brought up the marriage again.

 

The Pain and Agony of Tamar

How do you think Tamar felt? She lost her husband, which meant she had no one to protect her. She couldn't have children, which meant she had no one to take care of her in her old age. She was in the most difficult situation, both emotionally and financially. But perhaps the hardest part was being made to feel like a cursed woman after marrying into the family of Abraham, who was supposed to be a source of blessing.

 

The book of Genesis is filled with women who struggled to have children. Sarah gave birth at 90, and Rebekah at 60. How much did Rachel struggle because she couldn't have children? But Tamar's story is entirely different. This is about Judah deliberately banishing a woman and making her a cursed woman who couldn't even have children. This is a cruel act. It shows the depths of Judah's depravity. It's shocking and terrible that this happened in the household of Judah, a chosen man of God and a son of Jacob, the very family that was supposed to be a source of blessing. This event instantly turned their home into one of pain and suffering.

 

Sin Repaying Sin, an Endless Vicious Cycle

Then, Judah's wife died. Her death meant that Judah could no longer have children unless he remarried. Meanwhile, Shelah was engaged to Tamar, but his father wouldn't allow the marriage. The situation was such that Shelah would remain a lifelong bachelor and Tamar a lifelong maiden.

 

The most terrible aspect of Judah's sin in this situation is that, while he was trying to protect his son, he was in fact extinguishing his own lineage. He was directly acting against God's promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore. This might have been one of his greatest sins. Here, we see another low point for Judah. He was willing to ignore God's promise under the pretext of protecting his son.

 

In our own terms, this is what happens when God's words become irrelevant to us. We hear the sermon and think, 'That's a good message, that's right,' and then we forget about it. The word has no effect on our lives. We continue to live as we please and think as we please. This is practical atheism. We may sing hymns, listen to sermons, and go to church, but in reality, we are practical atheists. If we truly believed in God and His Word, we would listen intently and examine ourselves, but Judah did not. And perhaps neither do we.

 

Tamar's Revenge and Judah's Degradation

In this dire situation, Tamar devised a plan: 'Judah lied to me, so I will deceive him as well.' This plan is terrible. If she wanted to set a trap, the natural target would have been the third son, Shelah. But Tamar trapped Judah. Here, we can see two motivations. One was her desire to have children and continue the family line after marrying into this household. She wanted to prove, 'I am not a cursed woman. I could have had children.'

 

However, the text never says that Tamar understood or acted out of faith in God's promise. Instead, the second reason reveals her true intention. When she deceived Judah, she asked for "your signet, your cord, and your staff." In today's terms, this is like saying, 'Give me your ID and your driver's license. I will have proof of who you are.' In other words, she wanted revenge on Judah. She could have targeted Shelah, but she wanted to prove to Judah, 'You were wrong, I was right; it was your fault, not mine.' Her thinking wasn't entirely wrong. She was not responsible for the death of the two sons. What sin did she commit, other than marrying into this family? But the pain and suffering she endured caused her to respond to sin with the same sin and to evil with the same evil.

 

Judah, Sinking to a New Low

She laid a trap for Judah, and Judah revealed yet another low point. Though she was disguised as a prostitute, Judah fell for the temptation far too easily. He didn't act like Joseph, who said, 'This is not God's will, and I should not go down this path.' Instead, he fell into the temptation as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

 

Where is Judah's bottom? We thought his ruthless action of driving away his daughter-in-law was the lowest he could go, but it turns out there was a parking garage beneath that bottom. How could this be? But Tamar's actions were also frightening. Without knowing that her revenge would require her to lose herself, she used a terrible method to reveal the truth to Judah.

 

Sin Repaying Sin, an Endless Vicious Cycle

Until that moment, she was clearly a victim, but she suddenly became a perpetrator. A victim becomes a perpetrator, and a perpetrator becomes a victim, as sin is repaid with sin and evil is met with evil. This is the most frightening aspect of sin. This vicious cycle never ends. Where does it stop? It stops when everyone is destroyed. This isn't a story from a drama; it's a story we all experience. We think it doesn't apply to us, but we respond to one word with two, to a knife with a gun, and can't escape this cycle. Judah did, and Tamar did as well.

 

Facing One's Own Sin

This story, the uncomfortable tale between a father-in-law and his daughter-in-law, is so awkward that it makes you wonder, 'Why did they include this in the Bible? Why didn't they take it out?' The discomfort we feel from this story is often due to things like, 'How could this happen?' 'How could they go that far?' 'That's not right.' This is probably the shame or discomfort you feel. But friends, the real reason you should feel ashamed and uncomfortable isn't just because of the story of Judah and Tamar.

 

Sin More Frightening Than an Onion Peel

Friends, just when we think we've seen the lowest point of humanity, we see an even deeper one. The one we thought was a victim now becomes a perpetrator, and in meeting an enemy, they create another enemy. In this frightening progression, we learn that sin is more terrifying than an onion peel. You can peel it layer by layer, but it never ends.

 

Do you know what Judah did when he heard Tamar's story? Tamar became pregnant through their encounter. After three months, the pregnancy became obvious. People in her hometown whispered, 'Why is this woman, who's staying with her family, suddenly pregnant?' Judah heard the rumors that she had conceived through prostitution. What would you think if you heard that? Wouldn't you remember what you did? 'What did I do three months ago?' We all know what you did three months ago. But Judah had no memory of it.

 

Think about David. He deliberately killed one of his most loyal generals. He wanted to take that woman (Bathsheba), so he planned and killed the general. He sent him to the battlefield to be killed, but he still arranged for him to be sent to a place where he was sure to die. So when Bathsheba came to him, you'd think that after what he'd done, he would write a psalm like, 'Lord, from where will my help come? What should I do about this sin?' But do you know when David repented? It was a year later. After Bathsheba had given birth to a child, the prophet Nathan came and told him a story. Even then, David didn't realize it was about him, and he said, 'That man deserves to die.' That's when he realized it was himself, and he repented. He was oblivious for a whole year.

 

A Soap Opera-like Reality

This is why I am so surprised and have to plead with you. If you are listening to Judah's story and thinking, 'How could Judah do that?' then realize this man is not like an onion peel. How can he go so low, so low, so low? What's more, he says, 'Bring my daughter-in-law, drag her out and burn her to death.' Not stoning, but burning her. He has no thoughts of his own sin. He doesn't even know what he has done. He doesn't know that he is the one who fathered the child.

 

This tragic soap opera is a story we all feel lost in. Even if he didn't know what he had done, he had a past with her. Wouldn't it have been right to "quietly divorce her," as Joseph did with Mary, thinking, 'How difficult her life must have been, the poor daughter-in-law.' But he told them to drag her out and burn this daughter-in-law, who had already suffered, lost two sons, and had no hope for the future. She was dragged out from her family's house. And then she presented the evidence (the driver's license). 'This is the father of the child.' As a drama, it is the lowest of the low.

 

Realizing One Is the Perpetrator

"How could he?" Seeing the evidence, Judah finally reacted. The place where this happened was called "Enaim," which means "to open one's eyes." Judah finally opened his eyes. He saw his own sin and hypocrisy. It became so clear that his sons did not die because of Tamar. Since he was alive, Tamar was able to have his child, and he hadn't died. If it was because of Tamar, he should have died like Onan. He finally realized, "This is not Tamar's sin. God judged my sons because of their sins." He also realized how innocent Tamar was in this matter.

 

This truth exposed that his anger and condemnation toward Tamar were lies and hypocrisy. The truth that was most clearly revealed was who he was—he finally began to see his own sin. Judah, who had insisted he was right and denied his wrongdoings, realized that he was the perpetrator. 'I was the one who was killing Tamar.'

 

I Am the Perpetrator

Friends, this is a confession that you and I must make at some point in our lives, in our encounter with God. The words are simply, "I am a sinner." But "sinner" has become such a common word that it no longer has much meaning to you. So I'm going to rephrase it. "I am the perpetrator." In my life, toward my child, my spouse, my parents, or the people around me—toward this world, toward nature—I am also a perpetrator in all these things. Judah thought he was a victim, saying, 'The death of my sons is Tamar's fault.' But now he realized, 'I am the perpetrator who was causing Tamar's death. My words, my actions, even the things I believed were righteous, were not true.'

 

Repentance Leads to a Changed Life

He said, "She is more righteous than I am." In the Korean Bible, it's translated as "She is more righteous than I." It means, 'I was wrong, and I was mistaken.' He lied to Tamar, completely disregarded her shame and pain, and ignored her rights. She thought it was her right to have the youngest son as her husband, but Judah ignored her right and ultimately made her a cursed woman. But now he finally confessed, 'I am the perpetrator.' At that moment, he must have begun to see many things. His life changed dramatically, like a drama. He finally understood the meaning of leaving his brother and his father. He had left God's promise.

 

The Endless Chain of Sin

What did Tamar say when she sent the evidence (the cord, the signet, and the staff) to her father-in-law, Judah? "Please identify these. Whose are they?" But friends, these words have the same Hebrew word and structure as when Judah and his brothers brought Joseph's bloody coat to Jacob and said, "Is this your son's coat or not?"

 

When he heard these words again, Judah finally realized that he was the one who killed Joseph. Before this, neither the brothers nor anyone else had talked about, repented of, regretted, or reflected on selling Joseph. This would only happen later when they met Joseph again. But as he heard these words, he began to see who he was, like a panorama. For Judah, this moment must have been like being dragged out and burned in fire, just as he had told them to do to his daughter-in-law. His hidden self, the one who thought 'I am not that kind of person,' was finally dragged out and burned. He must have felt the heat of knowing who he truly was.

 

Am I the Perpetrator or the Victim?

I am talking about the end of this story. But the beginning is just as important. Because we all listen to Judah's story and the stories of others, and we think, 'I have never committed such a sin.' We might all be rotting inside our own shells, just like Judah. Like Judah, David was also completely unaware of his own sin. Do you know? Do you know that you are a perpetrator? Do you know that someone suffered all night because of a passing comment you made? Do you know that the words you said, believing you were right, eventually put someone in a hellish place? Do you know that you might have put a millstone around someone's neck and drowned them in the sea?

 

Even if it's not something so dramatic, what about your children? Your parents? Don't we often think the opposite? 'I have this pain and wound because of my parents,' 'My children have given me this pain, even though I tried to be good to them,' 'Will they ever listen to me? Why do they live their lives as they please without listening to my words?' Are your hearts filled with thoughts like these? 'Why is this world so unfair to me?'

 

Until We Know God's Grace

Please think one more time. Are you truly a victim, or have you also been a perpetrator? Am I still a perpetrator right now? I am telling you this for one reason alone. Until you realize that you are the perpetrator and the sinner, until you truly know that you are the one who was in that story, there is no way for you to know God's grace.

 

The depth and wonder of God's grace—'How much did He love me?' 'How is He still guiding me despite everything?' We can't truly know these things when we don't know who we are. Judah's life unfolded over 20 years, and his end was, in some ways, terrible. But when we see him finally turn back, we are amazed. Don't be too quick to think, 'Ah, God must have been guiding him this way.'

 

Then what about Tamar? Tamar used such a terrible method to prove her righteousness, but what about her? Did she also realize something about herself? Was there a change in her? While you may see this story and think, 'Judah changed,' the true end of this story is not just Judah reflecting on himself, realizing he's a sinner, and 'what a bad person I am.'

 

Perez, Who Breaks the Chain of Sin

The end of this story is something unexpected. Friends, I will read the final verse, 28. Out of sin, out of depravity, out of all that evil, out of enemies paying back enemies, a child is born.

 

"When she was in labor, one hand came out. The midwife said, 'This one came out first.' And she tied a scarlet thread around its hand. But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out."

 

Twins were being born, and one of them put his hand out first. So the midwife tied a scarlet thread around its hand because this was the firstborn. But the hand pulled back, and the other child was born instead. The younger one was born as if it were the first. So,

 

"The midwife said, 'What a breakthrough you have made for yourself!' So he was named Perez."

 

Friends, the fact that this is the end of the story, and what it shows about the entire narrative, is the most amazing and excellent point of this story.

 

Breaking Through, 'Perez'

The name "Perez" means "to break through." The heart of this story is that at the end, a breakthrough occurred, breaking through the bottom of all the sins that had been building on one another, all the evils that had been met with more evil, and the event where Tamar risked her life to get revenge on Judah. This is a breakthrough because this man, Perez, repeatedly appears in the Bible as a new genealogy. Sarna, a scholar of the Old Testament, said, "The name Perez in Genesis is a name that marks a new beginning in the book of Genesis."

 

The book of Ruth ends with this passage:

 

"Now this is the line of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron... Boaz became the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David."

 

David appears. But the story of Perez doesn't end with David; it connects to the story of David's descendant in the book of Isaiah.

 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

 

It says that a child was born as the Mighty God. To whom? To us! How frighteningly accurate are these words? This is being said to us, who can only live in an endless cycle of repaying evil with evil, sin with sin. Who came to us? A child came. And what did this child do, coming into this horrible world where perpetrators become victims and victims become perpetrators? Perez broke through that lowest point. From him came David, and from him came Jesus.

 

The Chain of Sin Ends with Love

This is a story about breaking down barriers. It's about severing the continuous cycle of hostility. It's a story that tells us there is no longer a need to sin to avoid sin. Instead of hating our enemies and sinning again to repay them, a story has finally come that ends with loving our enemies.

 

Sin no longer needs to continue in a vicious cycle. When this sin, from Perez to David, and then to Jesus Christ, who was the descendant of "Abraham and David", came to an end, this story happened to us. There is no more bottom. It is not because we are great, kind, or better than others. It's because Jesus was born. He broke through that sin and that bottom. In the depths of Judah's depravity, in the bottom where Judah and Tamar's sins were intertwined, a breakthrough happened. The bottom no longer exists, and this sin finally ends.

 

How does it end? It ends in me. What does it end with? This sin, this hatred, this animosity ends with love. It ends with patience. It ends with humility. Sin finally dies with us in Christ. The bottom was shattered because of Jesus Christ.

 

A Life Changed by Faith

Don't you wonder how Judah changed after experiencing this? We all know the story of the great Joseph, who said, "Did not God send me ahead of you to preserve you?" But do you know Judah as well? I will read what Judah said. Joseph, in a plot, frames Benjamin as a thief. Those of you who know the story are familiar with it. Joseph says, "Leave Benjamin here. You all can go back with everything else, and you'll have to pay me for all your wrongdoing." As the family was about to leave, Judah stepped forward. He said to Joseph:

 

"Please let your servant remain here as a slave to my lord, instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers."

 

He did this because of his father. He was talking about his father's favorite son. Do you not see the difference yet? Why did they hate Joseph? It was because 'our father loved only that son.' Jacob never changed. He still loved only Benjamin. He told them, "Leave Benjamin and you all can go back." But what is Judah now saying about Benjamin? "Let him go, and take me as a hostage here. No, take me as a slave. I will be your slave."

 

Living a Life of Faith Toward the Lord

How could Judah have changed so much? Do you want to change like that, too? Then the Bible is telling you so clearly what you must do. You shouldn't be thinking, 'I need to live a better life,' 'I need to be a more forgiving person,' or 'I need to get rid of my hatred.' Instead, what does the Bible say? "Believe in Jesus."

 

Christ is standing before you. Friends, what is holding you back is not failure. Not making progress isn't just because 'I'm not being diligent enough in my faith and have been distracted by the world,' though that may be part of it. What's holding you back is not your enemies. It's not your enemies' fault that your faith isn't growing or that you can't live according to God's will. It's not even your sin. Do you know what's holding you back? It's your refusal to get on the back of the One who is leaning toward you and saying, "Get on my back; together we will break through this sin and go toward the Kingdom of God." You're holding yourself back. Instead of approaching the Lord in faith, you want to do it with your own insignificant abilities.

 

Friends, have you ever felt envious of what it's like to live a life embraced by the Lord, to depend on His grace, to experience His love, and to enter into His grace? 'I wish I could be like that.' That's because we rarely see people like that around us. We are all self-centered. So there is hardly anyone who can show us what an amazing thing this is.

 

Breaking the Chain of Sin in Christ

Therefore, I am now telling you. You must be that person. Believe in the Lord. Hold onto Jesus Christ. He is the one who will hold you, break through and destroy all this sin, and take you toward the Kingdom of God. He has saved you, He is saving you, and He will surely save you. Therefore, friends, hold on to the Lord. Cling to Him. That is the beginning.

 

Just as Judah did, you, too—who started with sin and then kept adding to it, who repaid evil with evil, who was caught in that endless cycle—will finally reach the end. Without Jesus, there is no end. How can you end it when you feel so wronged? But with Him, the end becomes visible. "Hold me here. Kill me." It ends with love. Patience finally becomes the end. The fruit of the Spirit finally becomes the end. At that moment, you will know and confess more clearly that you are a child of God. So do not stop. Believe in the Lord.

 

Prayer

Lord, how amazing, yet how difficult, are the words, 'Believe in Jesus,' and 'Rely on Him.' They are the most precious and beautiful words we always hear, but believing in the Lord is so hard for us. It's because we trust ourselves too much. It's because we hold on to countless idols, and we place ourselves before God in everything.

 

Lord, we are so full of desires; we want to be masters of love, to bear the fruit of patience, to be humble, and to be people who resemble Jesus before You. But the one thing we lack is believing in Jesus. We do not believe in the Lord. Lord, please help me to realize. If Your people do not believe in You, how can we expect Your power and Your kingdom to be established within us?

 

Therefore, Lord, please help us to believe in You more than anything else. Please help us to truly believe in Jesus above all things. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.