The Connection of Judah, Tamar, Joseph, and Jesus Christ

Genesis 38

• The lineage of Jesus Christ continues through Judah and Tamar under Joseph.
• Jesus Christ left His “brothers” to marry non-Jews.
• The lineage of Jesus Christ came near to extinction.
• Judah and Tamar represent the covenant God made with sinners through Jesus Christ.
• As sinners, we deserve to burn eternally but through the covenant we are given life.
• New life is breathed into the lineage of Jesus Christ

God’s promise to Abraham,
“And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Genesis 17:2

The lineage of Jesus Christ continues through Judah and Tamar under Joseph. Chapter 38 seems to be an interruption in the story of Jospeh, which leaves off in chapter 37 and picks up again in 39. This chapter is not an interruption between the story of Joseph, it fills in the pieces. The children of Judah and Tamar relates to the continuation of the lineage of Jesus Christ, and Christ’s departure from the Jewish nation to bring Salvation to the Gentiles. As seen in the family tree given in Matthew 1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram…” Perez represents the Jewish nation, and Zerah represents Christianity and the blood Christ shed to atone for sin. Judah, Tamar, Perez, and Zerah were among the seventy people who moved to Egypt, with Jacob, when Joseph was a powerful government leader for the Egyptians. “All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.” Genesis 46:26-27 In Egypt, those seventy people grew exponentially in number to give rise to a massive Jewish population. Within the multitudes of the Jewish people was the tribe of Judah, which grew exponentially as well. Through the survival of the lineage of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ was born.

Jesus Christ left His “brothers” to marry non-Jews. In order to give birth to Christianity, Jesus Christ left his Jewish “brothers” who also included the Pharisees and Sadducees. His “brothers” plotted to kill Him for marrying Himself to non-Jews which gave birth to Christianity. The Holy Spirit represents that through Judah, and Jesus is from the lineage of Judah, “It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.  And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went into her. 38:1-21 Judah left his Jewish brothers who plotted against Joseph, and he married a daughter of a Canaanite.

The lineage of Jesus Christ comes near to extinction. Without the lineage from the tribe of Judah, the birth of Jesus Christ could not have taken place according to Bible prophecy. It came near to extinction. Judah’s wife had three sons, which would have kept the lineage alive which gave birth to Jesus. “So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. “And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah…” Genesis 38:3-5 Tamar enters the picture when the sons grow, as Judah chose her to be his oldest son’s wife. However, they did not have any children because he was evil in the sight of God, and he was killed. The second son did something that was evil in the sight of God, and he was killed. He was supposed to have children with Tamar, as Judah ordered, but instead of impregnating her he emitted on the ground. “Judah found a wife for Er who was Tamar, he was wicked in the sight of the Lord and Lord killed Him, Onan told to go into Tamar to raise up heir to his brother, but knew the heir wouldn’t be his and emitted on the ground, that was evil in the sight of lord so the Lord killed him.” Genesis 38:6-10 Satan did all he could to prevent the lineage of Jesus Christ from populating. The only son left to continue the lineage of Judah was promised to Tamar when he was grown, but that didn’t happen, “…for (Tamar) saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.” Genesis 38:14. In time, Judah’s only daughter had died also, which made the continuation of the family tree look even more dismal.

Judah and Tamar represent the covenant God made with sinners through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring Salvation to the whosoever as stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In the process of fulfilling that covenant, Jesus was accused of being a glutton, drunkard, associating with bad characters, eating with sinners, associating with tax-collectors, and even engaging with harlots etc. He interacted with a sexually immoral Samaritan woman at the well, and also forgave the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. In the minds of the Pharisees and Sadducees, He was engaging in blasphemy and having children through harlotry when He brought God to the whoever. Some would say that Christianity is the illegitimate child born of a harlot. That is the story of Judah and Tamar. “When Judah saw (Tamar), he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come into you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come into me?” Genesis 38:15-16

Tamar pretended to be a prostitute and Judah made a promise to give her something in exchange for coming into her, “And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went into her, and she conceived by him.” Genesis 38:17-18. The promise of the goat represents God’s promise to send Jesus Christ who would be the sacrifice made for the atonement of sin. The signet is a personal seal, which represents God’s oath and personal promise to atone for sin through Jesus Christ. The cord is the scarlet thread that runs through the Bible to signify Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world. The cord is also the umbilical cord that is the lifeline of God’s people connected to Jesus Christ. The staff represents the power and authority of God to fulfill His promise. From that covenant, children were conceived who are the children of God born by the blood of Jesus Christ. This is the same covenant made with Abraham when God promised to make his lineage as numerous as the stars in the sky.

As sinners, we deserve to burn eternally but through the covenant we are given life. As sinners, we all face the day of judgment and deserve to burn eternally in the lake of fire, “And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry. So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” Genesis 38:24 Because of the covenant God made with us through Jesus Christ, life is given to those who hold to the promise. We have the signet, the cord, and the staff, which was given to us by God, and when we are brought out to the judgment we will be redeemed. As Christians, we are born by the inception of Jesus Christ, “When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff. So Judah acknowledged them,,,” Genesis 38:25-26a

New life is breathed into the lineage of Jesus Christ. Tamar gave birth to twins which represents the two children given birth by God. The first child is the Jewish people before the coming of Jesus Christ, they are God’s original people (Perez). The second child represents Christianity who is adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ (Zerah). “Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.” Genesis 38:27. A scarlet thread represents the blood of Jesus Christ, who is the second Adam, and the first Adam is the very first born of God, “And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” Genesis 38:28 Because of sin, the first Adam drew back, and sin-plagued humanity came out, as represented by Perez, whose name means “Breach,” “Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.” Genesis 38:29 Perez represents the Jewish people. After that, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, came out who gave life to Christianity by the atonement made for sin. “Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.” Genesis 38:30. Zerah means “Sunrise”. The birth of Perez and Zerah breathed new life into the lineage of Judah to enable them to greatly multiply in number. And that multiplication happened in Egypt under the rule of Joseph.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11