City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

¹² In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴ she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰ When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. ²¹ And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” ²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” ²³ And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

Genesis 38:12-23

And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 6:13

Reflection

Judah’s story is a cautionary tale of how one unwise choice can lead to another. It’s the slippery slope. Let’s think through the timeline up to the end of this passage.

• Moves far away from His family, makes a close friend and business partner of a Canaanite
• “Sees and takes” (see Gen 3:6) a Canaanite wife
• Raises (or absconds his fatherhood) two sons that were so heinously evil, that God “put them to death”
• Allows his widowed daughter-in-law to languish, despite his duty to her
• Propositions and sleeps with a prostitute (who was his daughter-in-law in disguise). Doesn’t seem to realize that all the prostitutes in the city are “cult prostitutes.”
• Confronted with the prospect of being “laughed at,” he buries his shame

Application

This story begins with Judah doing things that might not be outright sinful – just unwise. Perhaps his brothers, his father, or even his mother could have cautioned him not to marry a Canaanite, or not to step into that temple prostitute. Because he put himself far away from the counsel of those who worship the God of his father Jacob, he left himself vulnerable to temptation.

We do not have to accept living with temptation, for Jesus would not have taught us to ask to be delivered if it were inevitable. The key is rather simple. We need to recognize the stupidity of sin. When we’re locked in with the joy and confidence of the Lord, supported by our spiritual family, and steeped in His Word, we will see sin for what it is, and realize that we have nothing to gain from any form of evil.

If you are tempted, it’s an opportunity to allow the Lord to lead you deeper into His life. Seek wisdom. Ask Him for it. Look to a trusted friend in the Lord to stand with you. Stand strong.

Logic tells us that a slippery slope is a logical fallacy. Just because one slips on a slippery slope does not mean they must slip to oblivion. Judah’s story doesn’t end here. There is redemption. Jesus is a healer. Go to Him. Resist evil. Seek wisdom.

Prayer

Father,
Let me always know how ridiculous sin and it’s effects truly are. May You put in me a love for righteousness and a humble repulsion of evil. Amen.