Vayeshev
Genesis 37:1-40:23
T=
he very
beginning of the Torah portion for this week says, (Genesis 37:2) These are the records of the generations of Jacob. The following chapters tell he story of Joseph and =
his
brothers. Contained within this narrative is a story about Judah, the fourth
son of Jacob. In this narrative we learn that Judah marries a Canaanite wom=
an.
Even though the Torah had not yet been received by the Jewish people, the w=
ays
of God were somehow known to the patriarchs. (see Gen.
26:5). The result of this marriage was three sons named Er,
Onan and Shelah. Er bec=
omes
married to Tamar (most likely a Canaanite) but he dies at a young age becau=
se
he was evil. Onan, the second son, sins by not
properly impregnating his sister-in-law according the rule of levirate
marriage. He consequently dies. The third son, Shelah<=
/span>
is too young to fulfill this role. As a result Tamar is left childless. The
text seems to indicate that Judah did not intend to give Shelah
to Tamar because we read, that Judah says to Tamar, (Genesis 38:11) Remain a widow in your father's hou=
se
until my son Shelah grows up"; for he thou=
ght,
"I am afraid that he too m=
ay die
like his brothers." Many=
years
pass without Shelah marrying Tamar. As a result=
she takes
matters into her own hands and entices Judah who does not recognize her. Several months later, Judah is informed that Tamar =
has
“played the harlot” and is pregnant.. Judah d=
emands
that she be burned. When Tamar is brought out to him she produces evidence =
that
Judah
is the father of the child. When Judah sees the evidence he
immediately confesses that Tamar is more righteous that he. At the end of t=
he
narrative we read that there were twins in her womb. <=
span
class=3DGramE>Zerah and Perez.
<=
o:p>
<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> There are several
important lessons to learn here. We see again that the seed of Abraham once
again fails to walk in the ways of the Lord. Judah marries a Canaanite. Hi=
s sons
refuse to fulfill their duties. Judah
commits incest (although unknowingly).&nbs=
p;
According to the Torah, both Judah and Tamar could have been stoned
(regardless of the motives of Tamar). We see the grace of God in action. Judah confesses and declares =
that
Tamar is the victim in this act. They both live and each one has a destiny =
that
is related to the coming of the Messiah!!&=
nbsp;
<=
o:p>
A=
nother
lesson in this narrative is that children of illicit relationships can be u=
sed
mightily of the Lord. No matter the circumstances, no child should ever be
considered a mistake. Sometim=
es it
is hard to understand the ways of God. In this case, we read in the first
chapter of Matthew that Tamar is in the line of Messiah through Perez. Perh=
aps
this chapter is in the Bible to show us how the unfolding of the history of=
the
Messiah. A third lesson in this narrative is that once again we see that God
uses imperfect people in his plan. Judah, we learn later, will b=
e the
tribe from which the Messiah will come. How can this be? It would be more
reasonable to have the Messiah descended from Joseph who is the hero of the
larger story. As we read in the new Covenant 1 Corinthians 1:27 God has chosen the weak thi=
ngs of
the world to shame the things which are strong, Also, 2 Corinthians 12:10 for when I am weak, then I am
strong. Through people such as
Judah and Tamar, we see the grace of God, the mercy of God, the lovingkindess of God.
Our Haftorah comes from the book of Amos
2:6-3:8. Here God says that he will judge <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Israel because of their sin. =
He
reminds them of all that He has done. We also need to be reminded of what G=
od
has done for us – the mercy and grace he has shown us. The result sho=
uld
be a heart of Thanksgiving. God loves us so much that he entered into this
world in the person of Yeshua and died the death of a criminal. He did so in
order that our sins could be atoned for once and for all. May we ever be
thankful for all He has done.<=
/p>
S=
habbat
Shalom
=