Judah's Stumble: Genesis 38:12-20
God’s ability to forgive and supply good to our life is incredible. We are neither deserving nor responsible for God’s love. He loves us as a gift. When we were least worthy, He came to us and embraced us in His love.
Judah’s wife dies. After mourning, he heads off to see some of his Adullamite friends. These were his wife’s people; Judah continued to relate to them after he married into them.
Tamar hears about Judah’s trip and follows. She dresses herself up as a cult prostitute. This is a significant distinction to make. Tamar is dressed as a cult prostitute, not simply a prostitute.
In the ancient world, cult prostitutes performed fertility acts for the people. They could be male or female. The cult prostitutes were an avatar of their god – frequently a fertility god. As an avatar of a god, having sex with a cult prostitute was an act of worship. Particularly pleasurable sex might be an indication of a fertile growing season. Conception might be an indication that one’s herds or family will increase. The cause-and-effect nature of the arrangement, act, and omen produced would depend upon the god being worshipped.
When Judah returns with a goat – essentially his tithe to the cult prostitute to gain the blessing of the god – Judah can no longer find the woman he had sex with. The people in the town do not even remember a cult prostitute. Judah knows he’s been had. He doesn’t want to keep searching for an unknown cult prostitute because the people of the town would know he messed up.
Eventually, Tamar proves to be pregnant. To avoid judgment, she brings out Judah’s items and demonstrates that Judah is the person who was behaving immorally with her. At this point, forgiveness – or perhaps acceptance - comes. Judah realizes he is the father.
Judah has messed up significantly. He did not give Tamar to his son as a wife as he promised. He voluntarily wanted sex with a cult prostitute to earn the blessing of a foreign god. He has acted immorally against God. Moreover, his negligence to Tamar unwittingly drew her into his immoral behavior. He separated himself from people who could hold him accountable and is paying the price for it.
This is a strange story rooted in strange customs of other cultures. It is a story told because it highlights the danger of isolating ourselves from people who can hold us accountable. It reminds us how easily we forget our duty to uphold purity in others. It demonstrates how imperfect the patriarchs were. It uplifts the righteousness of God, who can use a line of murdering, power-mongering, and sexually impure people who seek blessings from foreign gods to bring forth His redeemer. God’s ability to forgive and supply good to our life is incredible.
