Message notes on a sermon by Pastor Ewings based on Genesis 38:1-27
God has always intended that our homes be a little piece of Heaven on earth. He wants our families to be a fertile ground for every good virtue as His children grow and nurture one another in their walk with the Lord. But not every family is like that. Not even believers in Christian homes can make the claim that every moment spent under our roofs has been Heavenly. In many cases, our homes have been filled with brokenness and hurt where family members have wounded one another. But Jesus changes things. He comes into our broken lives and broken homes to bring healing and restoration. Just take a look at the lives of a family from long ago!
Judah: the son of Jacob and brother of Joseph, he left his family to live by a friend of his.
Hiram: a man from Abdullam who was Judah’s best friend and companion.
Shua: Judah married the daughter of Shua and had three sons.
Tamar: She was the wife Judah found for Er.
Er: the firstborn son of Judah who was wicked so the Lord killed him.
Onan: Onan was the second born. According to custom, the deceased man’s brother was required to have children by the surviving wife if the man and the wife had not had children to carry on their line. Onan did not want to have a child by Tamar, since the child would not be his and probably because his inheritance from Judah would be lessened. So he kept Tamar from conceiving.
Shela: This was the youngest son of Judah. By custom, Judah should have given him to Tamar, but Judah didn’t because he was afraid for Shelah’s life.
This chapter contains details which probably would never have found their place in sacred Scripture had it not been to exhibit the full links of the chain that connects the genealogy of the Savior with Abraham. The final part of the story provides the significance of the whole account. God gave Tamar twins, and the line of Judah continued because of her. The very same Judah mentioned in these verses is the forefather of Jesus Christ Himself. In the disreputable character of the ancestry who figure in this passage, we have proof that Jesus made Himself nothing. Yet, He came into the world to change families like Judah’s and to change families like yours.
As we examine the character profiles of this family, we are clearly shown by this story that Judah’s role in the ancestry of the Savior didn’t come because of his personal piety and sinlessness. The fact that the Savior was willing to count such people in His line shows that He came to save sinners like us. The ancestors of the Savior were sinful and needed the same Savior we do
Lesson 1 - Genesis 38:1-27
Lesson 2 - Colossians 3:17-25
Gospel - Matthew 10:34-42
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