Many preachers (and Christians!) skip chapter 38 when telling the story of Joseph, and I do not blame them. It is messy, uncomfortable, and full of sin. Whereas chapter 37 is just as sinful, it is interesting. It is dramatic, with intrigue and attempted murder, and features our hero, Joseph. Chapter 38? We would rather ignore it. But the episodes of Judah, Onan, and Tamar are crucial to the story of Joseph. Years after Judah had forsaken the promised land for a time (perhaps to put distance between himself and the Joseph debacle) and married a Canaanite, he arranged a marriage with another Canaanite woman, Tamar, for his son, Er. But things do not turn out as we would expect. Though part of the seed of Abraham and the covenant, Er turns out to be the wicked one, not his wife, and the Lord kills him. Following the Levirate custom, Judah gives Onan to Tamar. But he breaks the marriage covenant, rebels against the Levirate law, and frustrates the promises of a seed to the descendants of Abraham by not fulfilling his responsibility in the marriage bed. And the Lord kills him. Once again, the Lord rescues Tamar from a wicked husband. Tamar is now twice widowed. Not because of old age, an accident, or disease, but because God killed her two husbands. She again needs a kinsman-redeemer who will fulfill the Levirate law. Judah promises his third son to her, Shelah. But now it is Judah's turn to break the Levirate law. He does not give his son to Tamar, and she is left with no legal recourse. Hearing that Judah is on his way to shear sheep near where she has been banished, she takes action. We end by asking: why does she dress like a prostitute?
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
