Big Picture: “God promised Jacob that he would become “a nation, and a community of nations” (35:11), but at this point the chosen family is coming apart at the seams. Reuben, the eldest, has disqualified himself from leadership by having sex with his father’s concubine, as have Simeon and Levi, through their massacre of the Shechamites. Joseph has been sold into Egypt as a slave; no one expects to see him again. Now Judah - the fourth son in line after Reuben, Simeon, and Levi - abandons his family to go and live among the Canaanites. There he marries a Canaanite woman, through whom he produces three sons. However, it appears that his line will come to a halt in the next generation due to the wickedness of two of those sons and his unwillingness to risk the life of the youngest. Yet through his daughter-in-law Tamar’s bold decision to dress up as a prostitute and sleep with Judah, his line is preserved. Not only so, but the Line of Promise will ultimately descend through the fruit of this sexual encounter, resulting in Tamar’s becoming one of four women of questionable origins or character referenced in the genealogy of
Jesus. The one who comes to save his people from their sins is himself descended from a long line of sinners, both male and female. Moreover, Genesis 38 is absolutely necessary to the wider storyline in providing the explanation for the profound change in Judah’s character, from the man willing to sell his brother for the price of a slave and sleep with a prostitute, to the man willing to offer himself as a slave in his brother’s place (44:18–34). Without this chapter, the wider narrative would be incoherent. The events of chapter 38 cover almost exactly the same time period as Genesis 37–44, and Judah’s experience of sin and grace in this chapter leave a profound impact on his heart, accounting for his dramatically different persona later in the story.” (Duguid)

Genesis 38:1-30

• Judah’s sins (1-11)
• Tamar’s bold plan (12-19)
• Tamar’s triumph (20-26)
• Tamar perpetuates the tribe of Judah

Ruth 4:13-22

• A son is born to Ruth and Boaz
• Naomi is restored to life and fullness
• The line of David

Matthew 1

• Four women: Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Mary
• “He is not ashamed to call us brothers.”