God is Sovereign

Genesis 38: 26-30  -  Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.  When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, "This came out first."  But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zerah.

What an absolute mess! Judah leaves the land of his father to marry a Cannanite woman …has three sons…one of which marries a woman named Tamar. Her husband Er is so evil that God takes him out of the world himself. Then Judah tells the next oldest to take her as his wife and bear the oldest son children….and he spills his seed on the ground.  This is so detestable to God that he dies too. But Judah must not have seen the evil in his sons…for he thinks that Tamar is bad luck…and is afraid to give her his last son. And as time passes and  Tamar sees that Judah has lied to her too….her desperation to conceive a son leads hers to trick Judah into thinking she is a temple prostitute…and his seed produces twins…one  of  which is named Perez.

The ironic thing about this whole mess is that God uses it….he uses this son of Jacob…Judah…this evil one who has sold his brother…this untrusting one who lied to Tamar….this one who was driven by lust.  God uses Judah and Tamar to continue his promise to Abram…to Isaac…to Jacob.   God uses this family that seems to have written the next episode of a modern day soap opera…to continue the promise.  God uses a child born of incest and lust to prove that his mercy and grace is given to all ….despite man’s resistance...despite man’s sins.

God is sovereign…God will rework any mess and turn it into a message of hope.  It is no accident that the story of Joseph….an extraordinary man of faith and strength…is interrupted by this mess of a brother Judah’s family history. There must have been something hidden deep inside this man who seemingly followed his selfishness instead of God’s will. For God saw fit to have Moses carefully record every detail of his sins….to prove to us that no matter how bad we mess up…God is still in control….and can use it somehow to his glory….just as God uses this child Perez to continue the blood line of Abram… till Mary conceives of the Holy Spirit and give the world the promised Messiah.

Father…I thank you for your sovereignty…that despite my selfishness nature…despite the many sins I have committed…that you are in control and rule in my life. I thank you that you have placed your seal upon me as your child…and nothing happens to me without your permission.  Help me to place each mistake I have made in the past…and leave it there.  Help me to hold on to your sweet love and mercy and grace…and search for how you have used my mistakes to help me become a better person. Don’t allow Satan to bring these sins back into remembrance….but help me to embrace the forgiveness you gave me …and seek your will for the future. Amen.