Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him." Genesis 38:1-5
Now, I don’t know too many families today who don’t have problems, especially when children are involved. And when children grow up into adulthood, they can be more problematic than they were when they were younger. It was the same way back in Old Testament times. Different culture…different era…but surprisingly similar problems when compared to today.
Consider Jacob’s family…and definitely consider him if you consider your family to be dysfunctional. We know Jacob had 12 sons and a daughter. As they grew into adulthood, here’s a few things that Jacob had to deal with:
1. Simeon and Levi, Jacob’s second and third born sons, slaughtered all the men who resided in Shechem because the ruler’s son had raped their sister, Dinah. This murderous rampage came after they duped the city’s males to be circumcised so they would be incapacitated and vulnerable to attack.
2. Reuben, the eldest son who was entitled to the birthright, subsequently threw it all away when he decided to sleep with his father’s wife. His adulterous actions couldn’t have been more devastating.
3. The first eleven sons of Jacob got together and decided to kill their younger brother Joseph out of jealousy and hatred for him. Not able to bring themselves to murder him and have his blood on their hands, they instead decide to sell their own brother…their own flesh and blood…into slavery.
So in three distinct incidents, Jacob’s sons had been a disappointment and disgrace to him…and more importantly to God. In fact, Reuben’s actions angered him so much that he transferred the birthright to Joseph. Surely there would be no more dysfunction in this family. After all, isn’t three major problems enough?
It wasn’t. In our scripture today, we see Judah, the fourth born son, decides to break away from his Israelite kin and associate with the Canaanites. This in itself was a problem because of the sinful nature of the Canaanites due to their polytheistic religious practices. Notice where there is so little credit given in God’s word to the Canaanite woman that Judah marries. We never even know her name. Rather, she is only identified as the daughter of Shua. God’s word does give us the names of the sons that she gave birth to. We will see what happens with the sons as we study them in a future devotional. We can almost predict that things are not going to go well for them. Why? It’s a matter of God’s favor and we’re going to see where parents can make decisions that will ultimately impact the lives of their children.
In this case, Judah, a man of God…the one and only true God…decides to marry and bear children with a woman who is not of the one and only true God but of many gods (emphasis on the small "g"). The union of holiness with ungodliness results in children who are not of God because God cannot coexist with sin. So Judah forfeited God’s divine intervention and blessing on his children by partnering with his immoral Canaanite wife. His children subsequently would grow up and live in ways that did not lease the Lord. After all, a polytheistic culture disrespects God…and we know that God will never stand for that…no more evident that His words at the front of the Ten Commandments:
"You shall have no other gods before me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…" Exodus 20:3-5
Question: As a parent or parents, how are you living your life? Is God first in everything, fully receiving all your worship? Or do you and those you're associated with worship false idols like money, possessions, success, or other people?
Please heed the lesson today as we look at Judah. Do not stray away from God in your marital relationship and don’t worship anything else but Him. Jesus will come to say in His Sermon on the Mount, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If God looks into your heart, will He find that He is your treasure? If so, you will be blessed and so will your family. If He isn’t, then you may heading down the road that Judah took…finding your self guilty of willful disobedience and adversely effected by an ungodly association that will only lead to disaster.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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