Own It

"Judah recognized them, and said, 'She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.' And he did not have relations with her again." -Genesis 38.26

Judah's caught. But rather than make excuses, or hide in embarrassment, he owns it. He doesn't flee to another city, he straight up says, "She is more righteous than I."

Men, this needs to be our response. We don't like to admit our short falls. We have a fear of being found out as phonies, and we'll do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening. But if we would be men, we need to man up and own it. We need to acknowledge our shortcomings and our failures. We need to be willing to say, "I messed up, and they are more righteous than I am."

It isn't easy to do. There are consequences that we may have to face, and costs we may have to pay, and probably some humbling that has to take place. But if we would be men, then we must own up to what we've done, or failed to do.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Your Sin Will Be Found Out

"So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, 'Here now, let me come in to you'; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, 'What will you give me, that you may come in to me?' He said, therefore, 'I will send you a young goat from the flock.' She said, moreover, 'Will you give a pledge until you send it?' He said, 'What pledge shall I give you?' And she said, 'Your seal 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... Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, 'Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.' Then Judah said, 'Bring her out and let her be burned!' It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, 'I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.' And she said, 'Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?'" -Genesis 38.16-18, 24-25

Judah's first son had a wife, Tamar, but he was evil and God took his life. Onan, the middle son, had the duty to have children for his brother, but knowing they wouldn't be his, he didn't perform his duty, and God killed him too. Now Judah had a third son, Shelah, and Tamar should have been given to him as a wife, but Judah is afraid for his youngest son's life. Instead of doing what he should do, he sends her home with the false promise of giving her to his son when he is old enough.

Judah's wife dies and he heads to the town to shear his sheep. Tamar hears about it, and knowing she hasn't been given to Shelah, disguises herself as a prostitute. Judah sleeps with her, and gives her his seal, cord and staff, to hold in trust until he sends payment. But she removes the disguise and later it is found out that she is pregnant. As they are about to hand out punishment she produces Judah's items, and he is caught. He sinned against her and God. He knew what was right and refused to do it. When the prostitute couldn't be found he figured he was in the clear, but his sin found him out.

Men, our sins will always find us out. Nothing we can do will erase them, and nothing we can do will fix them. We can move to another church, or neighborhood, hoping to leave our sins behind, but they will eventually catch us. And when they do, we will face judgment for them.

Let us live our lives free from sin. Let us flee from evil and avoid sin at all costs. Let us do what is right always, because sin will be found out. It might not be today, or next week, or even next year. But one day all things will come to light, and sin that has been hidden during life leads to the lake of fire. Your sin will be found out, flee from it, and seek God's strength to live above it.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Do What is Right

"Then Judah said to Onan, 'Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.' Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also." -Genesis 38.8-10

We come to Judah's second son, Onan. He gets a little more face time in scripture, but still we know very little about him. But what we do know has valuable lessons to teach us.

We have a duty to perform. In the Middle East during this time if a man died with no children his brother would take his wife and have children for his brother. It was the brother's duty to give children to the wife. And Onan, knowing that they would not be his children wastes his seed so that no children will be born. This act is displeasing to God. Onan knew what he was supposed to do and yet doesn't do it. And so God takes his life too.

In my Bible after this verse I have a note written that says "James 4.17", that verse says this, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." Romans 6.23a tells us "The wages of sin is death". When we know the right thing to do, and we refuse to do it, we sin. And sin results in death. This death could be physical, gradual, or eternal, as we looked at yesterday, but it all results in death.

Men, when we are presented with a choice, let us choose to do the right thing. Onan didn't and it cost him his life. When we choose to do what is wrong, or even simply not to act, the Bible says we sin. May we always choose to do what is right, it will be pleasing to God, and bring us life.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Evil Costs Life

"Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life." Genesis 38.6-7

We don't know much about Er. We are told that he is the first born son of Judah, that he had a wife named Tamar, and that he was evil in the sight of the Lord, which led to his death. We have very little information on him, but still we can learn an important lesson from his life. Evil costs life.

God hates evil, and He will destroy it. Er was an evil man, and God took his life. We can look at this in three ways. First there is the way of Er, where God literally takes physical life. How evil does a person have to be for God to just take their life because of it? The thoughts, words, and deeds of an individual are so offensive to God that He does not allow them to continue any longer.

Second, God takes the goodness of life from an evil man. I think this happens far more often. Er was unable to enjoy his marriage. He never had the chance of watching his children be born or raising them. He never got to settle down on a piece of ground and work to provide for his family. His wickedness robbed him of the goodness of life. Do your actions drive those closest to you away? Are you gradually losing everything you've worked so hard to attain? Is there evil in your life? God could be taking things from you to get your attention.

Third, God takes the life of the evil man eternally. Sometimes it seems like the worst people get to enjoy the treasures of this world the most. There seems to be no accountability or justice for their actions. They can be evil and get away with it. And it seems that God just allows it to happen. Let me assure you, judgment is coming for them. One day we will all stand before God and give an account of our lives. The evil man will be standing alone and will face the wrath of God. But the man who has sought righteousness we have Christ standing before Him, taking the judgment of God on his behalf.

Men, if you want life, then turn from evil, it brings nothing but death. It could be immediate. It could be gradual. It could be eternal. But no matter how, evil will cost you your life.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor