This teaching is our 31st session in our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Genesis by pastor Barry – given as part of our family service on 5th November 2017.
In the previous, session we noted how Satan had engineered a genetic problem with the potential to wipe out humanity (as recorded in Genesis ch6). Satan’s intention was to stop the Seed of the Woman (the Messiah) from being born, thus condemning mankind to an eternity separated from God. It was this that led to the Flood as God cleansed the world from this evil menace. However after the flood, Satan tried again (Gen 6:4), this time focussing on the land of Canaan – the very land that God had promised to Abraham as his permanent possession. It was because of this that God had called Abraham and his descendants to remain completely separate from the people inhabiting Canaan.
However, in Genesis 38 we see Judah, as a young 20 yr old, falling for that same old lie… “has God really said?”. “Does it really matter?” “Is it really that important?”. Judah then goes and takes a Canaanite wife and has three sons with her.
How many people – even Christians – fall for the same lie continually?
YES IT DOES MATTER! The details ARE important. You cannot pick and chose which parts of God’s WORD you take! You are fallible, God is not. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than yours! You do not know enough about the eternal consequences of your actions to simply ignore even the smallest detail in God’s Word!
But because God is a God of grace, He steps into the situation and Judah’s ‘corrupted’ offspring are taken out of the way.
Judah (inadvertently) then ends up having a child with his daughter-in-law, also a descendant of Shem (of the same uncorrupted family line that came down to Abraham).
Their son, Pharez, although born out of wedlock, becomes the subject of a remarkable prophecy found in the book of Ruth, which points to David as God’s choice as king of Israel, and as we know, it will later be one of David’s descendants who will not only sit on his throne, but wil be the Messiah and Saviour of the World!
…and to think, all of this hinges on the events of Genesis 38!
Just as Isaiah records: “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him”. (Isaiah 59:19)
To be continued…
You can listen to the audio on this web page, or save it for listening to later. We have also made available the Powerpoint slides (in PDF format) that outline the key points of this study.
We hope and pray this teaching will bless you and encourage you to undertake your own personal study and adventure in God’s Word!
