Intro: Going down the Rabbit Hole means entering an unknown, confusing world. It comes from Alice in Wonderland. You see, Alice sees a white rabbit with a pocket watch, taking it itself, scampering into a hole in the ground, and she gets up, curiously follows it: “The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.” On the other end was a strange world that starts out funny with a crazy tea party but gradually turns into a nightmare. In a similar fashion right around Genesis 38 three members of a family are about to go down their own personal rabbit holes: Jacob “All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, “No!” He said, “In mourning I will go down to the grave to my son.” (Gen 37:35) Joseph “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.” (Gen 39:1) and Judah-Gen 38:1 “Around that time, Judah left his brothers and went down ...” (Gen 38:1) Jacob slips into depression, Joseph faces challenges, Judah is just breaking bad in Genesis 38.
Body: But let’s start at the ending to raise the question for tonight. Gathered around Jacob’s deathbed, the Double Portion goes to his favorite son Joseph - and you know what? Nobody cares, they all owe their survival to him. But the Ultimate blessing--the Messianic seed, through whom the whole world is to be blessed- is granted to---- Judah! Gen 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.”
Now, wait a minute- Judah is a paradox:
a. It is Judah who convinces the others to sell Joseph as a slave. Gen 37:26, “What will we gain if kill our brother and over up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” They got twenty shekels of silver for it, about $8,000 in today’s relative value. Then they deceive their dad with Joseph’s coat dipped in goat’s blood.
b. But later, Judah offers himself to save Benjamin from being a slave. . . Gen 44: 33-34 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father!”
What happened to Judah that changed him from a child trafficker to a child rescuer? Something-- happened in Genesis 38 that changed him forever.
1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down and lived near a certain Adullamite named Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He took her and went into her; she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. And yet again she conceived and gave birth to a son and she named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. He [Judah] was at Kezib when she gave birth to him.6 Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of the Lord; so the Lord caused him to die.8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he wasted his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the eyes of the Lord; so the Lord caused him to die also. 11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “Perhaps he may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
Notice: When did the rabbit hole swallow Judah? Around the time that Judah sold Joseph and Dad sank into a deep depression. Judah- left the ranch, left the church and went down geographically and spiritually near a man from Adullam named Hirah. There, he marries a Canaanite girl, whose name we are not given, but we are told her father’s name- Shua, (going down, a pit, a depression). Remember how the brothers got all worked up because Dinah was raped by a Canaanite and required them all to be circumcised because “We cannot let our sister marry a man who is not circumcised; that would be a disgrace for us!” (Gen 34:14) Well, Judah just did. So Why? Why is Judah doing all this?
Hint: When someone has done something they are deeply ashamed of, the guilt leads to self-punishment that is harder than anyone else can inflict upon them- by isolate themselves from their community- and destroy everything that they cared about. Going bad can mask a self-incriminating shame buried under a hard surface.
Well, he gets three sons in a row but by the time the third son is born, he’s not even there - but tellingly at a city named Kezib. A name that means “deceitful”- was that because Shelah was going to part of a deceitful plan in the story, or was Judah fooling around on his wife? Where do you think Tamar got the idea this guy would even consider using a prostitute?
Judah gets a wife for his son Er but he dies in such a remarkable way- it’s clear that it was an act of God. Judah tells Onan to do the levirate duty of giving Tamar a son. But you gotta understand this- with Er dead- Onan gets the double portion and leadership rights as the next son. If, however, he gives a son to Tamar, that kid will inherit the firstborn birthright instead of him, so what’s a guy going to do? Onan chooses the worst option- He doesn’t refuse to marry her but uses her without impregnating her. Tamar is denied any legitimate status in the family, or sustenance, or social security- by having a son. Since this marriage is -no longer levirate duty but incestuous abuse- evil in the eyes of God, Onan dies too. Now, Tamar is getting a reputation as a “black widow.” A black widow is a woman who kills multiple husbands or lovers. Is she a black widow? No, she is a victim of evil men with God as the only avenger of her rights.
So, Judah’s thinking, I gotta keep Shelah away from this cursed woman! He tells her to go back home, stay a widow until his son gets old enough to marry her. But he had no intention of letting that happen.
1. Did you know that the levirate laws said if there were no brothers, the father-in-law was supposed to do the job? That’s what the Hittite laws of that time reveal to us. So, what is Judah saying? I’m not going to do it.
2. When a woman got married, she belonged to her husband’s family legally for protection and sustenance. Judah tells her to go back to her own father’s house – he isn’t going to provide any financial support, she is returned merchandise.
3. And He orders her to remain a widow- there will be no second chances at love in her life with another Canaanite fellow. She is ordered to live in permanent limbo, widowed and legally engaged to Selah.
She obeys.
12 After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up (did you catch that? The story’s turning) to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him. 13 When Tamar was told, “Behold,your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he turned aside and went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.17 “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said. “Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?”“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 And she arose and went away, took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.
20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back his pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 He asked the men of the place, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. Look, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”
She is forgotten for a long time, Selah is grown, Judah’s wife dies. Judah gets over his mourning period and has resumed- normal activities of daily living. Sheep shearing is a time of great feasting and revelry. Meanwhile, Tamar isn’t getting any younger- her biological clock is running out of time- She springs into action with 5 verbs in a row- she quickly takes off, covers with a veil, wraps herself, sits down and waits. The place chosen is the entrance to Enaim, which means two eyes- Judah, however is blind to who is sitting there before his eyes.
Irony upon irony- Judah, who deceived his father with a piece of clothing dipped in goat’s blood- is now deceived by a woman’s clothing and offers a goat from the flock for sex. She is no dummy, for a pledge, she demands his seal, his cord, and his staff.
1. Now, His seal and cord is the equivalent of all his credit cards and his driver's license- a seal was the imprint of his identity on any legal documents for trade or property. They would wear a seal on a cord around their neck. His staff was a unique stick that he used to travel with, to protect himself with, and to corral herds with. Showing up at the sheep shearing without his staff and seal will certainly be noticed- I can hear his friends saying- Hey! Judah! What happened to your staff? Wait, where’s your cord and seal? Somebody robbed you? No? You gave it away as a pledge to a call girl?
2. So, as quickly as possible, since Tamar has all the goodies on him- Judah sends his friend (too embarrassed to be seen doing this himself) to pay off the prostitute and get his pledge back. But notice what Hirah is supposedly looking for- “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” Not ordinary whore- “zonah” in Hebrew, but a religious prostitute- “qedeshah”. That’s like pretending- it was an escort service Judah used. What does this tell you about Judah- he can’t even honest with his best friend!
3. When they can’t find her, Judah says- forget it. Why? We don’t want to be laughed at. The only thing he cares about is His honor. What honor?
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar, Your daughter-in-law was a prostitute, and even more, look! she is now pregnant by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “Please recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.” 26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.
Three months later, end of first trimester, she’s just starting to show. Judah hears about it and believes she’s gone against his explicit order to remain a widow, by prostituting – “zantah” a female whore, a child by harlotry “zenunim”. And Judah acts self-righteously indignant! He says only two words in the Hebrew, “hotzi’uha vetisaref! Get her out, Let her burn!” And in the middle of being dragged to the stake, she sent his credit cards, I mean, his seal, cord and staff to him, “By the man these belong to, I am pregnant. Please, identify whose these are, the seal, and cord and staff.”
1. “Please, identify?” Wait, why did this continually abused, victimized, neglected, trashed alien not out her “John” in public? She could have screamed- “Judah! It’s Judah! That rotten, self-righteous, privileged pig is the one who did everything to me!” But she doesn’t. She presents unequivocal evidence with a grace- through an indirect question. It’s a huge risk, he can ignore it, destroy the evidence, or even claim that she stole those things from him. “Please identify it.” The Hebrew word for identity, examine is “nakar.” Judah with his brothers had used the exact same root word to their dad, “Examine it, is it your son’s tunic or not?” Will he recognize it?
2. Do you recognize it? This same situation comes up two thousand year later -for Joseph to whom Mary was legally engaged. She shows up after being away with Elizabeth- three months pregnant. Obviously, Mary got pregnant from someone besides her fiance’ but notice the stark contrast between Joseph and Judah. “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” Matthew 1:19.
3. Will Judah keep going down the hole or turn around? He recognized in the evidence- but more than just the objects, the significance of those objects= the monster he had become and the undeserved mercy Tamar was offering. He owned up publicly to all that he had done- all the way back to not giving her his son Selah so many years ago. And he took her under his protection, did not use her sexually, but got, from her, a second chance to be a father in helping her raise her twins boys– Perez and Zerah, who later turn out to be so wonderful that their names become a proverbial blessing. Years later, when Ruth gets with Boaz, the Israelites bless her with this blessing, “and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman” Ruth 4:12.
Conclusion: Now, I ask you, who is the Christ figure in this story? It is Tamar. Tamar, who, on the way to her unjust death prefigured Jesus Christ who while dying softly breathed grace upon his tormentors, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” If Jesus is the Lion of Judah and Judah is the Lion of the tribes of Israel, it is Tamar the lioness that turned him around. It is that potent mix of truth and grace that melted a heart seared with shame and allowed Judah to turn to God to restore it.
Application: You guys are headed to graduate school. Let me tell you, Law school can be a rabbit hole, medical school is a rabbit hole, any graduate school can turn into a rabbit hole- it is an unknown, confusing, disorienting, alternate universe of hard, hard work, long hours, tense relationships, and frankly, for some, an imbalanced life. You may find yourself trudging through it in a completely numbed state- like Jacob. You may find yourself struggling with incredible ups and downs, things beyond your control, but grounding your anchor in Jesus like Joseph did. And you may find yourself spiraling farther and farther away from everything you now hold dear and true- like Judah did, a hole with no seeming end. You may be in a rabbit hole even now! But the Bible assures us that there’s hope at the end of every tunnel.
For all of us are already in the black hole of the moral universe, though it wasn’t a talking white rabbit that led us down the rabbit hole, it was a talking snake. But Jesus came down to be with us in our rabbit hole, and enveloped us in truth, grace, love, and mercy. Yes, and worse than Judah we were, because we killed him for that. But when he hung on the cross- he revealed the truth of who we were- all murderers and haters of God and he revealed the beauty undeserved love- God self-sacrificing Himself to save us. Do you, like Judah, recognize this evidence? Will you let it sink in, convict and transform you, over and over, like it did to Judah? The love of Jesus’ offers the way back home to who we really want to be. As Judah did with Tamar, as Joseph did with Mary, take Jesus into your heart and treasure Him forever, for you will never find anything more true, gracious and authentic in the this dark and evil world. Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
