In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 38, we step into the story of Judah, the fourth born son of Jacob, father of the tribes of Israel. It was prophecied over Judah that from his line, would come the promised Messiah of Israel who would save Israel and the nations.
“Judah, your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” – Genesis 49:8-10 NIV
At the beginning of the Chapter, we learn of Judah’s marriage to Shua and the birth of his three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.
The Bible tells us that after some time Judah got a wife for his firstborn Er, Tamar. Er was wicked in the sight of God, so the Lord put him to death. In Hebrew culture and later in the Torah, it was customary for the deceased’s brother to marry his brother’s widow to raise up children for his brother. Onan, the next in line obeyed this law, but when he slept with Tamar he spilled his seed on the ground because he knew the child would not be his. This displeased God and so God put him to death also.
Judah had only one son left, Shelah, who was not yet old enough to marry Tamar. Judah told her to wait in her father’s house and live as a widow until Shelah grew up. The Bible then tells us this:
“After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.” – Genesis 38:12-14 NIV
She was angry with Judah for keeping her a widow and denying her a rightful husband and also children. She disguised herself with a veil and Judah mistook her for a prostitute. She purposefully slept with him as such and in return for sleeping with her, she took his staff, seal and cord as a pledge until he would pay her the goat he promised.
Afterwards, she went back to her father’s house and put back on her widow’s clothes. Judah tried to send the goat to the woman he slept with but was told that there was no prostitute who worked in that place. He let it go and told his servant to let her keep the staff, cord and seal for herself. He was concerned that he would become a laughing stock if it were found out that he had committed this act.
The Bible then tells us this:
“About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”
25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.” – Genesis 38:24-26 NIV
She took the staff, cord and seal he gave her as a pledge and skillfully, she used them to save her life. She didn’t have a marital relationship with Judah after that but the family line of Judah was now sealed and preserved. When it was time for her to give birth, she had twin boys in her womb. the first one to come out pushed his brother out of the way to come out, so she named Perez, which means “Burst forth”. The Chapter mysteriously ends there and we don’t hear about them after this encounter, but many centuries later, Perez appears in the genealogy of Yeshua, the promised Messiah! The enemy Satan knew that this family would be the line of the Messianic King who would be sent to destroy him and so instantly began to wrongly influence the tribe of Judah to abort the plan of His Birth! The wickedness of Er, selfishness of Onan, and Judah’s threat of burning Tamar were all meant to stop this line from coming forth. If he would have succeeded, the world would not have been able to have our Messiah, Yeshua, who came from that family to save us from sin and death. His life, destiny and mission would have been aborted; We would all have been lost forever!
Abortion is not from God but an evil work of Satan to steal, kill and destroy the lives and destinies of mankind. It destroys not only the child in the womb, but it stops destiny from “bursting forth.” Each one of us are created by God and sent here with a purpose He planned before the foundations of the earth, your life and presence here are so important. Only God can reveal your destiny and eternal purpose, why you are here in this generation, and what you should be doing to bring your destiny to pass.
Religion has taught us that God is far away and we can know Him and worship Him the way we want to, but this is a lie that keeps people from walking closely with Him by His Spirit and in truth. He sent the Messiah Yeshua to restore all of mankind back to Himself, it is only through Yeshua that we can truly know God and know ourselves. Yeshua gave His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, to redeem us from the hand of Satan our enemy who is responsible for all the evil in our lives and hearts. When you choose to accept Yeshua and His sacrifice, you will receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life and God’s Spirit to come and live in your heart and teach you His ways. Over time, He will restore you back to your true self, the eternal Spirit God created and who you were before you came to this earth. He will lead you to your destiny and into eternity. Yeshua is the only way by which man can know God and be saved; You are loved, your children and family are loved and you have an important work to do for God while you are here. As we have learned from this story, every life matters and has a destiny that can affect others deeply, even several generations later. Please, choose life today and stand up for the lives of unborn children. Enter into a relationship with God and trust Him to provide, He will be sure to take care of both mother and child.
“I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.” – Deuteronomy 30:19 GW
SHEMA ISRAEL 
Leave a comment