Genesis 38 Confession
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. (v.26)
What does it take to get men to confess? It took exposure in this case. Judah did not want to be shamed if he was discovered (v. 23) but here he must have been very embarrassed. You can’t hide sin for very long, it has a way of coming out of hiding. David found this out too, in the matter with Bathsheba, as he attempted to hide his sin, and even went as far as killing Uriah to justify it. This is human nature, and it is evil. Adam and Eve attempted to hide their sin with fig leaves, then they hid from God too, but their sin did find them out. Judah was exposed, his sin made public, and soon everyone knew what he did. Both of his sons died because of their wickedness, and Judah still had another son, but probably was afraid that he would die too if he married his brothers’ wife. Judah broke tradition, a “law of Israel” was broken here, and the woman, in her deception, was more righteous than He was. “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23), and it will bring with it, much consternation and trouble. Notice too, that deception was still prominent in the family! Jacob reaps what he has sown, and passes it on to his children. Tamar’s plan of rebuke worked well, she was taken into the family, and cared for from that day forth. Judah “knew her not again” in all propriety, but lived with the offspring she bore as a constant reminder of his sin.
Sin leaves its scars, we never seem to escape these scars of sin, but we can be set free from the burden of sin, of its guilt and punishment, by trusting in Christ to take our sins away. Though we can be forgiven, we may always live with a reminder of our error. Let your “scars” be a reminder of the battles won, and the battles lost, for the lesson that has been learned.
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