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41 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Sacred Texts Archive

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Chapter thirty eight. This chapter gives us an account of Judah and his family,
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and such an account it is that one would wonder that, of all
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Jacob's sons, our Lord should spring out of Judah Hebrews chapter seven, verse
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fourteen. If we were to form a character of him by this story,
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we should not say Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise Chapter
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forty nine, verse eight. But God will show that his choice is of
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grace and not of merit, and that Christ came into the world to save
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sinners, even the chief, and is not ashamed upon their repentance to be
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allied to them. Also that the worth and worthiness of Jesus Christ are personal
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of himself and not derived from his ancestors. Humbling himself to be made in
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the likeness of sinful flesh, he was pleased to descend from some that were
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infamous. How little reason had the Jews who were so called from this Judah
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to boast as they did, that they were not born of fornication. John
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chapter eight, verse forty one. We have in this chapter one Judah's marriage
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and issue and the untimely death of his two eldest sons Verses one to eleven.
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Two. Judah's incest with his daughter in law Tamar without his knowing it
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Verses twelve to twenty three. Three, his confusion when it was discovered Verses
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twenty four to twenty six. Four, the birth of his twin sons,
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in whom his family was built up Verse twenty seven, et cetera. Judah's
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profligacy b. C. Seventeen seventeen, Verses one to eleven. And it
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came to pass at that time that Judah went down from his brethren and turned
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in to a certain Adolomite whose name was Hira. And Judah saw there a
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daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, And he took her and
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went in with her, and she conceived and bear a son, and he
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called his name Er. And she conceived again and bear a son, and
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she called his name Onan. And she yet again conceived and bear a son,
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and called his name Sheilah. And he was at Chazib when she bare
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him. And Judah took a wife for Er his first born, whose name
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was Tamar. And Er Judah's first born was wicked in the sight of the
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Lord, and the Lord slew him and Judah said, unto Onan, go
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in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to
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thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his. And
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it came to pass when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he
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spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
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And the thing which he did displease the Lord, wherefore he slew him.
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Also, then said Judah to Tamar, his daughter in law, remain
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a widow at thy father's house till Sheylah, my son be grown. For
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he said, lest for adventure. He died also as his brethren did,
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and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. Here is one Judah's foolish
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friendship with a Canaanite man. He went down from his brethren and withdrew for
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a time from their society and his father's family, and got to be intimately
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acquainted with one Hira and a Dolomite Verse one. It is computed that he
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was now not much above fifteen or sixteen years of age, an easy prey
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to the tempter. Note when young people that have been well educated begin to
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change their company, they will soon change their manners and lose their good education.
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Those that go down from their brethren, that despise and forsake the society
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of the seat of Israel and pick up Canaanites for their companions, are going
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down the hill apace. It is of great consequence to young people to choose
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proper associates. For these they will imitate study, to recommend themselves too,
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and by their opinion of them, value themselves. An error in this choice
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is often fatal. Two. His foolish marriage with a Canaanite woman, a
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match made not by his father, who, it should seem, was not
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consulted, but by his new friend Hira verse two. Many have been drawn
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into marriages scandalous and pernicious to themselves and their families by keeping bad company and
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growing familiar with bad people. One wicked league entangles men in another. Let
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young people be admonished by this to take their good parents for their best friends,
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and to be advised by them, and not by flatterers who wheedle them
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to make a prey of them. Three his children by this Canaanite, and
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his disposal of them, three sons he had by her, er Onan and
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Sheila. It is probable that she embraced the worship of the God of Israel,
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at least in profession. But for aught that appears there was little of
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the fear of God in the family. Judah married too young and very He
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also married his sons too young, when they had neither wit nor grace to
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govern themselves, and the consequences were very bad. One his first born er
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was notoriously wicked. He was so in the sight of the Lord, that
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is, in defiance of God and his law. Or if perhaps he was
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not wicked in the sight of the world, he was so in the sight
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of God, to whom all men's wickedness is open. And what came of
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it? Why God cut him off presently verse seven, The Lord slew him.
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Note sometimes God makes quick work with sinners and takes them away in his
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wrath when they are but just setting out in a wicked course of life.
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Two. The next son, Onan was, according to the ancient usage,
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married to the widow to preserve the name of his deceased brother that died childless.
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Though God had taken away his life for his wickedness, yet they were
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solicitous to preserve his memory, and their disappointment therein through Onan's sin was a
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further punishment of his wickedness. The custom of marrying the brother's widow was afterwards
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made one of the laws of Modus Deuteronomy, chapter twenty five, verse five.
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Onan, though he consented to marry the widow, yet to the great
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abuse of his own body, of the wife that he had married, and
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the memory of his brother that was gone, he refused to raise up sat
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unto his brother, as he was in duty bound. This was so much
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worse because the Messiah was to descend from Judah, and had he not been
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guilty of this wickedness, he might have had the honor of being one of
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his ancestors. Note those sins that dishonor the body and defile it are very
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displeasing to God, and evidences of vile affections. Three Sheyla, the third
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son, was reserved for the widow verse eleven, yet with the design that
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he should not marry so young as his brothers had done, lest he die.
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Also, some think that Judah never intended to marry Sheila to Tamar,
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but unjustly suspected her to have been the death of her two former husbands,
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where As it was their own wickedness that slew them, and then sent her
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to her father's house with a charge to remain a widow. If so,
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it was an inexcusable piece of prevarication that he was guilty of. However,
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Tamar acquiesced for the present and waited the issue Verses twelve to twenty three.
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And in process of time, the daughter of Shuah, Judah's wife died,
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and Judah was comforted and went up into his sheep shears to Timnath he and
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his friend Hira the Adolamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, behold,
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thy father in law, goeth up to Tymnath to shear his sheep.
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And she put her widow's garments off from her and covered her with a veil,
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and wrapped herself and sat in an open place, which is by the
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way to Tymnath. For she saw that Sheila was grown, and she was
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not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her
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to be a harlot, because she covered her face. And he turned under
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her by the and said, go I pray THEE, let me come unto
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thee. For he knew not that she was his daughter. In law.
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And she said, what wilt thou give me that thou mayst come in unto
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me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock.
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And she said, wilt thou give me a pledge till thou sends it?
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And he said, what pledge shall I give thee? And she said,
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thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine
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hand. And he gave it her and came in under her, and she
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conceived by him, and she arose and went away and laid by her veil
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from her and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the
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kid by the hand of his friend, the Adolamite, to receive his pledge
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from the woman's hand, but he found her not. Then he asked the
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men of that place, saying, where is the harlot that was openly by
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the wayside, And they said there was no harlot in this place. And
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he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her. And also the
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men of the place said that there is no heartarlotte in this place. And
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Judah said, let her take it to her lest we be shamed. Behold,
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I sent this kid and thou hast not found her. It is a
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very ill favored story that is here told concerning Judah. One would not have
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expected such folly in Israel. Judah had buried his wife, and widowers have
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need to stand upon their guard with the utmost caution and resolution against all fleshly
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lusts. He was unjust to his daughter in law, either through negligence or
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design, in not giving her his surviving son, and this exposed her to
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temptation. One Tamar wickedly prostituted herself as a harlot to Judah, that if
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the son might not, the father might raise up seed to the deceased.
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Some excuse this by suggesting that though she was a Canaanite, yet she had
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embraced the true religion and believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed,
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particularly that of the Messiah, who was to descend from the loins of Judah,
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and that she was therefore thus earnestly desirous to have a child by one
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of that family, that she might have the honor or at least stand fair
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for the honor of being the mother of the Messiah. And if this was
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indeed her desire, it had its success She is one of the four women
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particularly named in the Genealogy of Christ Matthew Chapter one, verse three. Her
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sinful practice was pardoned and her good intention was accepted, which magnifies the grace
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of God, but can by no means be admitted to justify or encourage the
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like. Bishop Patrick thinks it probable that she hoped Sheilah, who was by
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right her husband, might have come along with his father, and that he
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might have been a lurd to her embraces. There was a great deal of
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plot and contrivance in Tamar's sin. One. She took an opportunity for it
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when Judah had a time of mirth and feasting with his sheep. Shearers note
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time of jollity often proved times of temptation, particularly to the sin of uncleanness.
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When men are fed to the full, the reins are apt to be
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let loose. Two. She exposed herself as a harlot in an open place
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verse fourteen. Those that are and would be chaste must be keepers at home.
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Titus chapter two, verse five. It should seem it was the custom
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of harlot's in those times to cover their faces, that though they were not
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ashamed, yet they might seem to be so, the sin of uncleanness did
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not then go so bare faced as it does now. Two Judah was taken
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in the snare, and though it was ignorantly that he was guilty of incest
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with his daughter in law, not knowing who she was, yet he was
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wilfully guilty of fornication. Whoever she was, he knew she was not his
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wife, and therefore not to be touched. Nor was his sin capable in
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the least of such a charitable excuse as some make for Tamar, that though
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the action was bad, the intention possibly might be good. Observe one judas
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sin began in the eye, verse fifteen, he saw her. Note those
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have eyes and hearts too full of adultery, as it is Second Peter,
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Chapter two, verse fourteen, that catch at every bait that presents itself to
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them, and are as tinder to every spark. We have need to make
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a covenant with our eyes, and to turn them from beholding vanity, lest
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the eye infect the heart. Two It added to the scandal that the higher
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of a harlot than which nothing is more infamous, was demanded, offered,
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and accepted a kid from the flock, a goodly price at which her chastity
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and honor were valued. Nay, had the consideration been thousands of rams and
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ten thousand rivers of oil, it had not been a valuable consideration. The
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favor of God, the purity of the soul, the peace of conscience,
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and the hope of heaven are too precious to be exposed to sail at any
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such rates. The topaz of Ethiopia could not equal them. What are those
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profited that leu use their souls to gain the world. Three It turned to
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the reproach of Judah that he left his jewels in pawn for a kid.
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Note, fleshly lust are not only brutish, but sottish and ruining to men's
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secular interests. It is plain that wortum, as well as wine and new
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wine, takes away the heart first, else it would never take away the
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signet and the bracelets. Three. He lost his jewels by the bargain he
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sent the kid according to this promise to redeem his pawn, But the supposed
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harlot could not be found. He sent it by his friend, who was
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indeed his back friend, because he was aiding and abetting in his evil deeds.
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Theodolomite, who came back without the pledge. It is a good account,
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if it be, but true of any place which they here gave.
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There was no harlot in this place, For such sinners are the scandals and
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plagues of any place. Judah sits down, content to lose the signet and
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his bracelets, and forbids his friend to make any further inquiry after them,
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giving this reason lest we be shamed Verse twenty three, either one lest his
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sin should come to be known publicly and be talked of. Fornication and uncleanness
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have ever been looked upon as scandalous things, and the reproach and shame of
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those that are convicted of them. Nothing will make those blush that are not
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ashamed of these two. Lest he should be laughed at as a fool for
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trusting a strumpet with his signet and his bracelets. He expresses no concern about
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the sin to get that pardoned, only about the shame to prevent that.
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Note there are many who are more solicitous to preserve their reputation with men than
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to secure the favor of God, and a good conscience lest we be shamed,
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goes further with them than lest we be damned. Birth of Ferris and
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Zara BC. Seventeen fourteen, verses twenty four to thirty. It came to
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pass about three months after that. It was told Judah saying, Tamar,
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thy daughter in law, hath played the harlot, and also, behold,
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she is with child Byhortam. And Judah said, bring her forth and let
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her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father
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in law, saying, by the man whose these are, I am I
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with child? And she said, discern, I pray thee who these are
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the signet bracelets and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, she
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hath been more righteous than I, because that I gave her not to Sheelah
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my son. And he knew her again no more. And it came to
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pass in time of her travail that behold, twins were in her womb.
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And it came to pass when she travailed that the one put out his hand,
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and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying
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this came out first. And it came to pass as he drew back his
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hand, that behold, his brother came out. And she said, how
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hast thou broken forth, this breach be upon thee. Therefore his name was
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called Pheres. And afterward came out his brother that had the scarlet thread upon
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his hand, and his name was called Sarah. Here is one Judah's rigor
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against Tamar. When he heard she was an adulteress. She was in the
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eye of a law Sheila's wife, and therefore her being with child by another
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was looked upon as an injury and reproach to Judah's family. Bring her forth,
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therefore, says Judah, the master of the family, and let her
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be burnt, not burnt to death, but burnt in the cheek or forehead
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stigmatized. For a harlot, this seems probable Verse twenty four. Note it
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is a common thing for men to be severe against those very sins in others
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in which yet they allowed themselves, and so in judging others they condemned themselves
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Romans, Chapter two, verse one, Chapter fourteen, verse twenty two.
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If he designed that she should be burnt to death, perhaps under pretense of
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zeal against the sin, he was contriving how to get rid of his daughter
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in law, being loath to marry Sheila to her. Note it is a
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common thing, but a very bad thing to cover malice against men's persons with
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a show of zeal against their vices. Two Judah's shame when it was made
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to appear that he was the adulterer. She produced the ring and the bracelets
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in court, which justified the fathering of the child upon Judah Verses twenty five
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and twenty six. Note the wickedness that has been most secretly committed and most
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industriously concealed, yet sometimes is strangely brought to light, to the shame and
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confusion of those who have said, no, I sees a bird of the
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air may carry the voice. However, there is a destroying day coming,
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when all will be laid open. Some of the Jewish writers observe that,
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as Judah had said to his father, see is this thy son's coat?
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Chapter thirty seven, verse thirty two, so it was now said to him,
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see are these thy signet and islets Judah, being convicted by his own
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conscience, one confesses his sin. She has been more righteous than I.
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He owns that a perpetual mark of infamy should be fastened rather upon him who
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have been so much accessory to it. Note those offenders ought to be treated
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with the greatest tenderness to whom we have in any way given occasion of offending.
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If servants purloin, and their masters, by withholding from them what is
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due, tempt them to it they ought to forgive them. Two he never
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returned to it again. He knew her again no more. Note those do
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not truly repent their sins, that do not forsake them. Three the building
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up of Judah's family hereby notwithstanding, in the birth of Pharas and Zara,
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from whom descended the most considerable families of the illustrious tribe of Judah, it
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should seem the birth was hard to the mother, by which she was corrected
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for her sin. The children, also, like Jacob and Esaus, struggled
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for the birthright, and Ferris obtained it. Who is ever named first,
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and from him Christ descended. He had his name from his breaking forth before
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his brother. This breach be upon thee which is applicable to those that so
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discord and create distance between brethren. The Jews, as Zarah, bade fair
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for the birthright, and were marked with a scarlet thread, as those that
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came out first. But the Gentiles, like Farahs, as a son of
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violence, got the start of them by that violence which the Kingdom of Heaven
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suffers, and attained to the righteousness of which the Jews came short. Yet
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when the fullness of time is come, all Israel shall be saved. Both
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these sons are named in the Genealogy of Our Savior Matthew, Chapter one,
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verse three. To perpetuate the story as an instance of the humiliation of our
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Lord Jesus. Some observed that the four eldest sons of Jacob fell under very
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foul guilt, Reuben and Judah under the guilt of incest, Simeon and Levi
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under that of murder. Yet they were patriarchs, and from Levi descended the
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priests. From Judah the kings and Messiah. Thus they became examples of repentance
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and monuments of pardoning mercy. End of Chapter thirty eight.