Man's deception will continue to be a theme in the Bible even in the Joseph account. Joseph's brothers will deceive their father into thinking that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Potiphar's wife will deceive her servants and husband that Joseph was trying to take advantage of her. Joseph will deceive his brothers and not let them know who he is. He will also deceive them into thinking his cup was stolen. Judah will be deceived into sleeping with his daughter-in-law. Weren't there any other sins these people were guilty of? Yes. Then why is deception the only one hammered on again and again? It appears God has a serious dislike of untruthfulness. Understandably since He is the embodiment of truth.
Some interesting things as the story of Joseph begins. Rueben does not want his brother killed or sold into slavery. Ruben "tried to rescue him from their hands." And, when he returns to find Joseph sold, "he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, 'The boy isn't there? Where can I turn now?'"
Judah, too, looks for a way to keep Joseph alive. He proposes they sell Joseph to a traveling band of Ishmaelites. Ishmael will prove the savior of Joseph.
Then in Chapter 38, we have the story of Judah and Tamar. Definitely not flannel board material. It's an odd and brief side story that becomes far more important later in the story of Jesus. Judah leaves his brothers. Perhaps he is upset or ashamed by what has happened to Joseph and just wants to get away. Maybe he can't look at them without feeling the guilt of what they've done. He marries while he's away and has sons. "But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the Lord's sight; so the Lord put him to death." No more details. How does the Lord put someone to death? Was it natural causes? A quick heart attack or stroke? Or was it an accident (an act of God)? A chariot mishap? Choking on a lump of lamb caught in his throat? Or was it the result of his own wickedness? Too much wine and he dies in a bar fight or steps into the way of an oncoming camel. Or, was the Lord more obvious with Er's death so that it would be recorded that the "Lord put him to death." Was it the cliche lightning strike? Did a boulder just drop out of nowhere and crush him? Did the Earth open up and swallow him whole? I wonder.
Ok, so Er dies and Onan, his brother, has to sleep with Tamar to fulfill the law. Onan dies, too. And Judah is one of those parents who thinks his children can do no wrong and puts the blame for their death on Tamar. "Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, 'Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up.' For he thought, 'He may die too, just like his brothers.'"
But Judah has a weakness that apparently Tamar is aware of. How else does she know how to deceive him? What had she observed as his daughter-in-law? To Judah's credit, though, when he is faced with his sin, he lives up to the truth and does the right thing.
Tamar will have twins by her father-in-law -- Perez and Zerah. Again, there's a bit of a firstborn controversy with the younger child receiving all of the public glory. This happens with Jacob and Joseph and David and Israel's blessing of Ephraim instead of Manasseh. Jesus will descend through Perez, the child of incest and deception, the child of perhaps man's worst sins who will take on all of man's sins.
1 comment:
What do you think, please, of Obadiah Shoher's interpretation of the story? (here: samsonblinded.org/blog/genesis-37.htm ) He takes the text literally to prove that the brothers played a practical joke on Yosef rather than intended to murder him or sell him into slavery. His argument seems fairly strong to me, but I'd like to hear other opinions.
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