Where is God in Your Sin?
Genesis 38; Remsen Bible Fellowship; 05/17/2026
Introduction
Where is God in your sin? Is God at work through your sinful actions? If so, does that excuse your sinful actions? In a world full of sin, full of wickedness, it may not be very comfortable to think about your own sin—it’s much more comfortable to think about the sin over there. But your sin has too many consequences to ignore, and you need to know whether God can be at work in the midst of it.
So again I ask, where is God in your sin? In our text this morning, it is going to feel as if Moses, the author, takes a hard left turn. Where Kade finished up last week, at the end of chapter 37, Joseph’s brothers had just sold him into slavery. He came, at their father Jacob’s bidding, and they rejected his authority as the Father’s representative. They planned to kill him initially, until Rueben intervened. He convinced them to throw him in a pit, rather than actively shed his blood. Then the fourth oldest, Judah, came up with another plan—seeing a group of Ishmaelite traders, he suggested that they save themselves the blood guilt of murder, and add to their fortunes the profit of slave-trading—“let’s ship him off with the caravan!” And so they did.
But now Moses diverts our attention away from Joseph and his saga, and focuses our attention on that enterprising older brother—Judah. The early parts of this story are concerning, the middle is disturbing, but the conclusion has a hint of hope.
v1-5, Judah turns away
Genesis 38:1-5, 1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.
The first concerning detail we meet in this sub-story is the very first sentence—Judah went down from his brothers. We are meant, throughout this story, to see contrasts between Joseph the righteous and beloved son, and Judah. Where Joseph had gone out to his brothers in Shechem, and had followed them to Dothan, only to be rejected and sold, Judah (by contrast) voluntarily turns aside from them. He leaves, but further, he leaves and attaches himself to this man named Hirah. We know nothing about Hirah other than what we find in this chapter. What the text tells us is that he is an Adullamite, which places him as a member of the broader group of the Canannites. For Judah to turn away from the sons of Israel and align himself with the people of Canaan—who were under God’s curse, beginning in Genesis 9:25—was not a move of wisdom and obedience.
Judah further compounds this sin by taking to himself a Canaanite wife, the daughter of Shua. We never learn her name. But she bore him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Each of the three sons plays an important role in the story, but not for good reasons. Judah has turned away from God and the people of God, and the consequences for those in his household will be grave.
v6-11 Judah’s Fatherly Failure
Genesis 38:6-11, 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
In verse six we are told that Judah takes a wife for his son Er. We don’t know how long their marriage lasts, but it’s not long enough to produce any children. Then, on account of Er’s wickedness—which is unspecified, but given the things God is allowing to happen in Genesis, must but pretty darn bad—God strikes Er dead.
So then Judah gives an instruction to Onan, the middle brother, which strikes our modern ears as strange beyond belief. He is instructed to father a child with Tamar, in order to “raise up offspring for his brother.” Obviously we don’t have a structure like this today, but in the ancient near east it was a known practice, commonly referred to as “Levirate marriage.” In the book of Deuteronomy the regulations around this for Israel were codified, and I think it’s worth reading here to understand the duties involved and the purpose of this arrangement.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10, 5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
So, what we see in this passage is that Levirate marriage functioned to continue the name and legacy of the brother who had died. By taking the widowed sister into his house, the living brother would be providing for her and protecting her from being in the undesirable position of a single woman whose marriageability had been compromised. Especially if her father were no longer living, this would be vital. It also is protection of her inheritance rights. She would have married into the family knowing the birth position of her husband, and knowing what she could expect if he were to die after his own father had died, as of course would normally happen.
But if her husband died and they had no heir, she would be cut off from that inheritance. So in Tamar’s case, she had married the oldest son, Er, who would be in line to inherit a double portion of Judah’s estate. Without a male heir, though, she is cut off. So the idea of the Levirate arrangement is that Onan would father a child who would be considered as Er’s son, and would then have the inheritance rights which had belonged to Er.
This creates a conflict of interest, as you may have picked up. “He knew that the offspring would not be his” (v9). By fathering a child for his older brother, Onan would be reducing his own inheritance. This sort of scenario is imagined in Deuteronomy 25, where a brother might refuse this duty. But in those cases, what the law would prescribe is for the man to be publicly exhorted to do his duty, even if it was financially costly to him—and publicly humiliated if he still refused.
That gives us some context for understanding Onan’s sin. He did not publicly refuse to fulfill his Levirate obligation. He wanted the physical pleasure and benefits of having another wife. But he refused to provide an heir for his brother, refused to give Tamar the security she had the right to expect through having a son. He wanted the pleasures of sex without the attendant responsibility. He wanted to fulfill his lusts without experiencing any consequences. Friends, this is a great temptation in our own day. What is the promise of pornography or of AI boyfriends or girlfriends or romance novels but that of pleasure and connection satisfaction without any of the risk of rejection or heartbreak or financial provision or—God forbid—pregnancy and children?
Onan refused God’s design, he refused responsibility, he refused righteousness. And God dealt severely with him: “the Lord put him to death also” (v10). Friends, God still takes this topic just as seriously: in Revelation 21:8, we read a rather sobering list: “as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Friends, we live in a sexually loose and licentious day—and the consequences are horrific. God still judges this form of disobedience, and we dare not take it lightly.
That’s a warning Judah needed, too.
v12-23 Judah’s (ironic) Blindness
Genesis 38:12-23, 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.”
Judah had refused back in verse 11 to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar—he had an excuse “till he grows up,” but Moses tells us the real reason, “he feared that he would die, like his brothers.” And so he sent her to live back with her father.
Eventually—the text says, “in the course of time”, but doesn’t give us anything more specific—Judah’s wife dies, too. And it had become obvious to Tamar that she wouldn’t be given to Shelah, so it’s safe to assume that a number of years have gone by (v14). When she heard that Judah was heading out to his sheepshearers (v13), she devised a plan. She removed her distinctively “widow” clothes and put on the garb of a prostitute (v14). If Judah’s family wasn’t going to deal honestly with her, she would resort to her own underhanded measures. It’s telling that she is so confident that this plan will work. Judah’s sons had apparently not landed too far from their father’s tree when it came to their sexual mores. Tamar’s plan worked, and when Judah saw this woman, who he thought was a prostitute, he asked if she would let him come in and sleep with her.
She asked for payment, and he promised a goat—however, he didn’t have a goat with him. So, she was able to secure a pledge: key items that would identify him—his signet ring, his staff, and his cord. Having received these items in pledge (for the goat), she fulfilled his request—and became pregnant. Then she returned home, changed out of her disguise, and waited.
Judah, for his part, went back home and sent his friend Hirah back to pay the debt and pick up his items. Perhaps Judah thought it would be embarrassing to do this himself, perhaps Hirah was simply heading that way anyhow, and so it seemed convenient. We don’t know. It’s interesting, though, that this friend of Judah’s, this Canaanite of from Adullam, is present with Judah when he turns away from the Lord’s people, when he unknowingly solicits his daughter-in-law, and now is the agent of Judah who unsuccessfully searches for the “cult prostitute.” Judah has made his closest friendship outside of God’s people, and it’s showing in his actions. “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).
Having said that, Hirah wasn’t able to find Tamar. He asked around, “where’s that cult prostitute who was hanging out here?” The fact that he’s looking for a cult prostitute is another subtle hint at how far Judah has fallen—prostitution in the ANE was nearly always associated with pagan worship. Judah is chasing his own lusts, and he’s chasing other gods. But in v21 Hirah receives a surprising answer: “there never was a cult prostitute here.” When he takes that message back to Judah, Judah decides saving face is more important than getting his stuff back.
There’s a bit of irony here in the text, as Moses twice points out the name of this place, “Enaim” (vs14, 21), which means two springs or two eyes. We don’t know where this was, though it likely was named for literally having two springs there. But the irony, and literary purpose of naming the place in the passage, comes from the metaphorical significance of a place being called “two eyes”--a place of seeing—when Judah is so obviously blind. Blind to the moral peril of his life. Blind to the fact of who he is impregnating. Judah, in this center part of the story, is as morally blind as can be.
And that leads him to nearly seal his fate in infamy.
v24-26 Judah’s Repentance
Genesis 38:24-26, 24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.
What the ESV translates as “immorality” in v24 is literally “prostitution.” And here we see the absolute depths of Judah’s blindness and moral folly. He is indignant that she would dare to stoop to such a level. How dare she do this evil thing!
Now, let me repeat what I said earlier: God takes all sin, and especially sexual sin, very seriously. The idea of prostitution carrying with it a sentence of death actually lines up with the law in Leviticus 21:9. But the question we have as readers is obvious: who in the world does Judah think he is to be passing such a sentence? Turns out, Judah will need to ask the same question.
As Tamar is being brought out, she sends word to her father-in-law: “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff” (v25). The literary irony is deep here, too: that phrase, “please identify” is identical to the message the brothers had sent to Jacob about Joseph’s coat in chapter 37. Now Judah is on the receiving end. “Please identify.” Or, in other words, I’m handing someone your seal (that we all know is your seal) and your staff (that we all know is your staff) and your cord (that we all know is your cord) and declaring so that anyone in ear shot knows that this unidentified person (who we all know is you) is the father of the child I’m carrying.
Judah has been outsmarted, backed into a corner, and now he has two options. He could dig his heels in, maintain his moral superiority, and destroy this thorn in his side. Or he could repent.
How do you respond when you are brought face to face with your sin? We all know the right answer is to acknowledge your guilt, and to turn from your sin. But is that your usual course of action? When you are called up short, how do you react? Do you immediately run to defend yourself? To “explain” why you did what you did; how you really couldn’t have done otherwise; how the hurt in your past really puts your actions in perspective; how you did the best you could, even if it wasn’t quite right? An awful lot of people loudly defending the “rightness” of their actions are doing so from a deep and abiding knowledge that their actions are, in fact, deeply wrong and profoundly sinful.
Kids, when mom and dad point out your disobedience, how do you respond? Husbands, when your wife points out a commitment you failed to follow through on, how do you respond? Wives, when your husband points out a lie you told, how do you respond? Parents, when your children point out that you’re doing something you told them is wrong, how do you respond? Friend, when someone points out your pride, how do you respond? Christian, when the pastor preaches about something too close to home, how do you respond?
We want to defend ourselves. We want to believe we are justified in our sin. We want to believe that God should just understand, and everyone else should, too.
But friends, God’s going to judge sin. He’s going to judge your sin. And the only way to be justified is to repent, to acknowledge the depth of your need, and to cry out to God for forgiveness. Friend, if you do that, there is forgiveness. There is healing. But you can’t make excuses for your sin. Sin can’t be forgiven and excused at the same time.
We don’t see the full picture in chapter 38, but it seems pretty clear from the rest of the story that Judah hits his turning point in this passage. He does not choose excuses. He chooses repentance. His confession is simple: “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah” (v26). He doesn’t excuse her actions, either. But he does recognize that his actions put her in the position she was in, and even in her scheme she was exploiting his own unrighteousness. Like the older men in John 8, when Jesus said “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone”, Judah drops the stone—or the torch, in this case—and walks away. He did not know her again. He did, however, take responsibility for the sons who were born.
V27-30 Judah’s Sons
Genesis 38:27-30, When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
It’s in this final paragraph that we see a glimmer of hope. In the birth of these two boys, we are introduced to sons who, though scandalous in their origin, are treated as full sons by their father. Tamar’s name may have rung a bell for you if you’ve read Matthew’s gospel recently, because she is the first of five women listen in Matthew’s genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ—it is through her younger son, Perez, that the chosen line, the line of blessing and promise, will continue.
And so as we come back to our original question, where is God in your sin? The answer we can learn by implication from this story is that he is weaving, through everything that happens—including your sin—the story of redemption. That redemption does not mean the removal of all earthly consequences. The presence of these boys and Tamar in Judah’s life would be a constant reminder of the reality of his own sinfulness, and of his failures as a father and a man. But through reaching the bottom, and being confronted with the reality of his own depravity, Judah was brought by God to the place of repentance. And it is this repentance that separates him from his older brothers, Reuben and Simeon and Levi. They had acted shamefully and disqualified themselves as heirs of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judah, too, had acted in a wicked way—he sinned profoundly—but he turned from his wickedness and received God’s forgiveness. He was a changed man.
This was possible, according to Romans 3:25, because God passed over Judah’s sins when Judah repented of them. They didn’t go away, they were not excused. But God took the punishment that Judah deserved and poured it out on that greatest descendant of Perez, the Lord Jesus, on Calvary. Jesus bore Judah’s sins in his body on the tree, that Judah might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds was Judah healed.
And so for you. Will you try to ignore or seek to excuse your sin? Or will you repent of your sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness and healing and change that only he can bring?
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