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Tamar and Judah - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying,
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  Speaker 1: By the man whose these are am I with child.
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  Speaker 1: And he said, Discern, I pray thee, whose these are,
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  Speaker 1: the signet and bracelets and staff. Genesis 38.25 Heavenly Father,
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  Speaker 1: as I move closer and closer to my destiny, I
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  Speaker 1: will not sign away my integrity for moments of pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: I will stand strong. even when the temptations of monetary
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  Speaker 1: pleasure try to lure me off my God-given assignment. I
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  Speaker 1: will not make the mistakes you made and give away
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  Speaker 1: the gifts in my life that validate my identity, for
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  Speaker 1: I know that I can only walk in my power
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  Speaker 1: when I am unapologetically me. So, God, today I choose
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  Speaker 1: to tap into your unlimited power, that gives me the
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  Speaker 1: ability to conquer the mistakes of my past and step
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  Speaker 1: into the glorious future you have for me. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: for redeeming my life and giving me hope for brighter days.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these daily prayers strengthens
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  Speaker 1: your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by
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  Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Tamar and Judah. Before this story, we learned how Joseph
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  Speaker 2: was Israel's favorite son and was given a coat of
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  Speaker 2: many colors by his father. While Joseph was clothed with
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  Speaker 2: his father's favor, the other brothers were clothed with jealousy
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  Speaker 2: and hatred towards Joseph. Contemptibly, they sold Joseph into slavery
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  Speaker 2: and lied to their father about his death. Now we
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  Speaker 2: will learn about the fourth brother, Judah, and his father's
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  Speaker 2: descent into dysfunction and God's faithfulness in it. Inspired by
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  Speaker 2: the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In our previous reading, we saw how
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  Speaker 3: Joseph was the favorite son of Israel, his father, and
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  Speaker 3: how this favoritism and Joseph's own ego and arrogance had
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  Speaker 3: caused hatred to grow in the hearts of his brothers.
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  Speaker 3: The brothers conspired against him, first intending to kill him,
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  Speaker 3: but then selling him into slavery to a traveling band
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  Speaker 3: that carried Joseph off to Egypt. But as to the brothers,
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  Speaker 3: any thought of their troubles going away with Joseph was naive.
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  Speaker 3: And in today's reading, we'll hear the story of one
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  Speaker 3: of those brothers, Judah. He was the ringleader in the
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  Speaker 3: evil plan, and now he'll set off to make a
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  Speaker 3: life for himself away from his family. What will unfold
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  Speaker 3: is a story of impatience, deception, and impulsive, indulgent actions
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  Speaker 3: that will leave a trail of hurt and death. But
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  Speaker 3: through it all, God will continue to work, despite the
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  Speaker 3: sins of those involved, God will enact His beautiful plan
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  Speaker 3: of redemption. In today's story, you will see God's justice
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  Speaker 3: and judgment come upon those who displease Him and disobey Him.
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  Speaker 3: It is a powerful reminder that while God is slow
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  Speaker 3: to anger, there are times when He responds swiftly to
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  Speaker 3: those who sin against Him. We'll also see God extending
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  Speaker 3: grace and mercy to Judah so that through Him God
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  Speaker 3: can bring into the world the one who will absorb
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  Speaker 3: God's righteous wrath and judgment once and for all. So
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  Speaker 3: now let's listen to this reading from the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 2: Judah, the brother who had devised the plan to sell
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  Speaker 2: Joseph into slavery, was determined to make a name for himself.
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  Speaker 2: He turned from his brothers and looked towards the Canaanites.
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  Speaker 2: There he had an Adulamite friend whose name was Hira.
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  Speaker 2: While he dwelled there, he met a daughter of Shur,
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  Speaker 2: a beautiful Canaanite woman. Judah took her for himself, and
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  Speaker 2: the two bore three sons, Ur, Onan, and Shelah. When
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  Speaker 2: Ur was of age, Judah found a wife for him, Tamar. However,
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  Speaker 2: he was not a man worthy of a wife or
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  Speaker 2: any sort of blessing. Almost like a disease, Ur grew
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  Speaker 2: up with a wickedness in his heart. It plagued him,
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  Speaker 2: and an evil shadow was cast wherever he went. The
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  Speaker 2: Lord had allowed Ur to experience an early death, leaving
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  Speaker 2: Tamar a widow. Judah looked to his second-born son, Onan.
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  Speaker 2: Go into your brother's wife. Make love and have many offspring,
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  Speaker 2: for such is your duty as a brother-in-law. However, Onan
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  Speaker 2: knew in his heart that he would be having children
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  Speaker 2: for his dead brother Ur. Yet the pleasure of Tamar's
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  Speaker 2: bedroom was too enticing for him to pass up. He
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  Speaker 2: had sex with her, but pulled out so they would
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  Speaker 2: not have children. He used her, and it was wicked
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  Speaker 2: in the sight of the Lord. Onan too fell to
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  Speaker 2: an early death, allowed by the hand of God. Tamar
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  Speaker 2: was now twice widowed and without children. She was forced
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  Speaker 2: to remain in her father's house until Judah's third son, Shelah,
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  Speaker 2: was old enough to marry her. However, Shelah was fearful
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  Speaker 2: to marry Tamar, for he had seen what happened to
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  Speaker 2: his older brothers. Time had passed, and Judah's family was
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  Speaker 2: plagued with yet another death. As the Tower of Babel
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  Speaker 2: in ancient times, the hope he had to build his
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  Speaker 2: own kingdom was slowly crumbling. Judah's wife had passed away,
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  Speaker 2: and he was left alone with his son, Shelah. Judah
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  Speaker 2: went to Timnah with his friend Hira to shear his sheep.
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  Speaker 2: Taking a trip with his friend would comfort him in
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  Speaker 2: his grief. Tamar, still childless, brooded and schemed alone. Shelah
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  Speaker 2: was grown up, yet would not marry her. Bitterness and
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  Speaker 2: loneliness overcame her, a dangerous pairing. She had heard Judah
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  Speaker 2: was traveling to Timnah to shear his sheep, so she
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  Speaker 2: took her widow's garments off and covered herself with a
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  Speaker 2: veil and wrapped herself up to look like a prostitute.
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  Speaker 2: She sat at the entrance of Anahim, attempting to cross
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  Speaker 2: paths with Judah. He saw her from a distance, having
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  Speaker 2: no idea who she really was. At the roadside, Judah
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  Speaker 2: gestured towards her and said,' Come now, let me come
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  Speaker 2: in to you.'' What will you give me if I
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  Speaker 2: say yes?' Tamar said, in her most seductive and mysterious voice.'
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  Speaker 2: I can send you a young goat from my flock,'
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  Speaker 2: Judah replied anxiously.' I see no goats with you. What
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  Speaker 2: will you give me as a deposit until it arrives?'
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  Speaker 2: Tamar negotiated, for she knew exactly what she wanted from him.
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  Speaker 2: Give me your signet ring, your cord, and your staff,
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  Speaker 2: things that can only be identified as yours. So the
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  Speaker 2: two agreed, and Judah unknowingly laid with his daughter-in-law. For
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  Speaker 2: momentary pleasure, Judah signed away his integrity. Tamar conceived that
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  Speaker 2: day and left with Judah's possessions. Later that night, she
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  Speaker 2: put her widow's clothes back on and awaited Judah's return.
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  Speaker 2: Judah sent the young goat to where he had met Tamar.
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  Speaker 2: Confused when he didn't find her, he asked the men
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  Speaker 2: of the city where he could find her. Where can
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  Speaker 2: I find the cult prostitute who stood at the gate
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  Speaker 2: of Anahim? he asked the men. There is no cult
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  Speaker 2: prostitute at the gate of Anahim, they said with a
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  Speaker 2: slight grin, knowing he had probably been tricked. Judah returned empty-handed,
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  Speaker 2: irked and embarrassed. Three months had passed, and Tamar began
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  Speaker 2: to show she was pregnant. Word spread to Judah. People
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  Speaker 2: of the town had assumed she had been unfaithful and
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  Speaker 2: became pregnant apart from his sons. Judah's blood boiled at
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  Speaker 2: the news. Fuming, he sent men to retrieve her. Let
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  Speaker 2: her be burned, he shouted. Judah had lost nearly everything,
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  Speaker 2: and he would not allow his name to be tarnished
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  Speaker 2: even more. As she was being brought back out, she
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  Speaker 2: sent word back to Judah along with his signet ring, cord,
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  Speaker 2: and staff. She said, I am pregnant by whoever these
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  Speaker 2: belong to. Do you know who owns these? Judah saw
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  Speaker 2: that they were his and conceded that he had been tricked. Truly,
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  Speaker 2: she is more righteous than I, Judah said with a sigh.
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  Speaker 2: I did not give shenanigans. to be her husband, and
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  Speaker 2: now I am.
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  Speaker 1: Paying for it.
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  Speaker 2: Judah left Tamar alone after that, and allowed her to
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  Speaker 2: live her life in peace. When the time had come,
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  Speaker 2: Tamar had twins, Perez and Zerah. Perez had a scarlet
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  Speaker 2: cord in his hand, Little did Tamar or Judah know
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  Speaker 2: that God would be active in redeeming their family's wickedness, trickery,
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  Speaker 2: and dysfunction. From Perez, the promise of Abraham would continue,
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  Speaker 2: for he would be an ancestor of Christ himself.
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  Speaker 3: It was Judah who devised the plan to sell Joseph
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  Speaker 3: into slavery. And as we begin today's story, we see
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  Speaker 3: he has moved on, seemingly unaffected and unrepentant of his
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  Speaker 3: treachery and cruelty towards his own brother, but also towards
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  Speaker 3: his father Jacob. Judah decides to leave his family and
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  Speaker 3: go find a wife among the Canaanites, and he is
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  Speaker 3: successful in doing so. He finds a wife who gives
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  Speaker 3: him three sons. But just as Abraham and Sarah struggled
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  Speaker 3: to conceive did not indicate an absence of God's favor
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  Speaker 3: toward them, The arrival of these three sons does not
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  Speaker 3: signal God's acceptance of Judah's choice to leave his community
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  Speaker 3: and marry a foreign woman. This is a very important lesson,
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  Speaker 3: not only in the danger of straying from the place
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  Speaker 3: where God wants you to be, it is also a
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  Speaker 3: reminder that temporary success or achievements are not necessarily a
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  Speaker 3: sign that we are in the will of God. Judah
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  Speaker 3: is intent on growing his family and indeed his own kingdom.
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  Speaker 3: So when his eldest son, Ur, is of age, he
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  Speaker 3: finds a wife for her, a woman named Tamar. However,
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  Speaker 3: we are told that Ur is evil in God's eyes,
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  Speaker 3: and for this reason, God takes his life. God's patience
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  Speaker 3: of our sins, God's forbearance of our sins is not
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  Speaker 3: always guaranteed. And as a holy and perfect God who
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  Speaker 3: created us, our life can be taken by him in
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  Speaker 3: his judgment at any time. This is what happened to Ur.
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  Speaker 3: If we can think honestly about it, it is a
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  Speaker 3: fate we all deserve. We all deserve judgment because of
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  Speaker 3: our sin. How blessed and thankful we are for the
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  Speaker 3: grace and mercy of God that he is slow to
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  Speaker 3: anger and to punish. Judah is still intent on growing
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  Speaker 3: his family and making a name for himself, and he
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  Speaker 3: tells his second son, Onan, to take Tamar and make
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  Speaker 3: babies with her. But Onan is not interested in starting
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  Speaker 3: a family with this woman. He is interested only in
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  Speaker 3: the physical gratification of sexual pleasure. Onan uses Tamar and
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  Speaker 3: deceives her so that they cannot bear children from his seed.
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  Speaker 3: And for this deception, God once again enacts swift and
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  Speaker 3: ultimate judgment, sending Onan to an early grave. Now, this
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  Speaker 3: passage is a sordid passage in many ways, but it
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  Speaker 3: is not a condemnation of sex for pleasure. This is
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  Speaker 3: one of the beautiful purposes for which God created and
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  Speaker 3: gave the gift of sex between a husband and a
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  Speaker 3: wife within the covenant of marriage. Now Judah is left
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  Speaker 3: with only one son, his youngest, Shelah. Afraid that his
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  Speaker 3: son too will die, he sends Tamar to her father's home.
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  Speaker 3: He promises to let his son Shelah marry her when
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  Speaker 3: he grows older, but he never does. He simply abandons
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  Speaker 3: this widow in her sad state. When Judah's own wife dies,
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  Speaker 3: Tamar sees an opportunity to secure a future for herself.
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  Speaker 3: Showing poor judgment and even weaker character, Judah sleeps with Tamar,
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  Speaker 3: who was deceptively posing as a prostitute. She goes away
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  Speaker 3: with a baby conceived in her womb, but more importantly,
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  Speaker 3: with exactly what she needs to trap Judah, his symbols
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  Speaker 3: of authority. When her pregnancy is discovered, Judah, who does
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  Speaker 3: not know it was her he slept with, wants to
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  Speaker 3: have her burned for her transgression. But when Tamar produces
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  Speaker 3: his personal items, he knows he's caught, and he confesses.
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  Speaker 3: Judah recognized that he did not act as a man
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  Speaker 3: of his word, for he should have had his son
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  Speaker 3: Shelah marry Tamar as he had promised. Tamar's life is spared,
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  Speaker 3: and she gives birth to twin boys. And out of
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  Speaker 3: this terrible situation, this shortage situation, God would bring good
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  Speaker 3: that nobody could imagine. For one of these sons, Perez,
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  Speaker 3: will be one of our Lord's ancestors. Once again, we
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  Speaker 3: see how God is working always for His good and
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  Speaker 3: for His purposes, that He is faithful even when we
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  Speaker 3: are unfaithful to Him. His promises cannot and will not
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  Speaker 3: be broken, and Judah's life is a powerful reminder of
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  Speaker 3: this unchanging eternal truth. Dear God, Thank you for showing
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  Speaker 3: us the danger of straying from the path of your will.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, God, that when we sin, when we do
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  Speaker 3: not obey, when we do not act with integrity and sincerity,
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  Speaker 3: you can even bring good out of our situation because
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  Speaker 3: you can redeem and restore what is broken and lost.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for always being a good God, a faithful God,
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  Speaker 3: a holy God. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack
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  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go, I want
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  Speaker 3: you to know that I would love to send you
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  Speaker 3: my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every single day.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org.