Tag: Judah

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Genesis Devotions

Finding God’s healing for your broken life

God's healing for broken lives

At that time Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah. (Genesis 38:1)

I have read that verse hundreds of times, but today, for the first time, I asked myself a question: “Why?”

Why did Judah leave his family? Why did he leave his responsibilities?

It can be argued that with his three older brothers Reuben, Simeon, and Levi fallen into disfavor with their father Jacob (Genesis 49:3-7), Jacob was counting on Judah to lead the family after he died.

But Judah left. Why?

I don’t know, but I’m guessing that his conscience was deeply bothering him for what he had done to Joseph. And perhaps seeing his mourning father every day was more than Judah could bear. (Genesis 37:26-28, 34-35)

And so he left.

He tried to start a new life.

But he couldn’t escape himself. He couldn’t escape his sinful heart.

And as he faced himself at the end of chapter 38, Judah didn’t like what he saw.

Not only was Joseph whom he had betrayed more righteous than he was, this Canaanite girl Tamar who didn’t even know God was more righteous than he was.

And perhaps at that point, he looked in the mirror and said, “Something has to change. I can’t keep living like this. I have to stop running.”

His first step? Taking responsibility for Tamar and their two sons.

And then somewhere along the line, it seems he returned home a different person.

You see that in his actions in chapters 43-44.

The change probably didn’t happen overnight. But it started with that single step, and he took it. And as God led him, day by day Judah kept taking those steps forward.

In doing so, he found healing in his broken life.

Joseph forgave him. (Genesis 45)

His father forgave him. (Genesis 49:8-12)

And of course, God forgave him.

What do you see in the mirror? Do you like what you see?

Change…and healing starts with a single step. What is God asking you to do?

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12 Days of Christmas Devotionals

Twelfth day of Christmas

cross

And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. (Genesis 29:35)

Judah’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for “praise.”

Yes, I know, Judah was the fourth of Jacob’s 12 sons. But considering that it was through Judah that Jesus came, it seems appropriate to end this way.

With the birth of Judah, for a short time anyway, Leah took her eyes off her misery and stopped trying to fill the hole in her heart with Jacob. Instead, she turned her heart to God in worship.

So this year, let us do Leah did. Not just for a day, or a week, or a month. But every day, let’s lead our hearts, taking our eyes off of ourselves and our troubles and instead look to Jesus, saying each and every morning, “Today, today, I choose to praise the Lord.”

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Genesis Devotions

How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves?

Genesis

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity.” (Genesis 44:16)

Aren’t those words representative of us all? When we stand before God, and God opens up the books that show our entire lives, there will be nothing we can say. No defense we can give.

Judah’s words to his father Jacob in verse 32 also strike me.

If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father. (32)

It seems to me there was a double meaning there, although Jacob didn’t see it at the time.

It was Judah who had suggested selling Joseph as a slave. (Genesis 37:26-27)

And we see in this chapter how heavily he wore the weight of that guilt.

He had sinned against his father by selling Joseph. There was nothing he could do to change it. And I think he was trying to atone for his sin by guaranteeing Benjamin’s safety.

I think his hidden message to his father was, “If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you by selling Joseph.”

But the truth is, even if he had brought Benjamin back safely, it would not have truly paid for his sin.

How often do we try to do what Judah did? We try to “make up” for the wrong we did.

But nothing we do can take our sin away. God exposes our iniquity and there is no way to justify ourselves.

But the good news is that Jesus lifted the weight of our sin, put it on himself, and paid for our sin at the cross.

All we have to do is trust and rest in what Jesus did for us.

And so Paul tells us,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

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Genesis Devotions

Why all the ugliness?

Genesis

Why does the Bible tell such ugly stories sometimes?

Have you ever wondered that? The story with Judah and Tamar certainly is a horrible story. And there are other horrible stories recorded in the Bible too.

The short answer is: it’s human history. And human history is filled with ugly stories.

The Bible doesn’t show us an idealized humanity. It shows humanity in all its sinfulness.

But it also shows a God who is able to redeem humanity, no matter its ugly sinfulness.

As ugly as this story is, ultimately, our Savior himself came through the line Judah and Tamar produced. (See Matthew 1).

You may see a lot of ugliness in this world. You may see a lot of ugliness in your life.

But there is no person or situation that God cannot redeem, if we’ll just put our trust in him.

As Paul wrote,   

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… (Romans 1:16)