# 349 A Moral Deflection!

The Book of Genesis

Day 349

Ge 37:36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.  38:1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.  2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.

Just a quick comment on Joseph’s destination. Think of all the places he could’ve gone to in the slave market! BUT God saw to it that he ended up in the influential house of Potiphar. It was all part of God’s plan to take a situation that the brothers meant for harm, and turn it into something good to serve His purposes.

Even the next sordid chapter of the Bible, (chapter 38, which interrupts the story of Joseph.) will serve as an example of God turning a bad situation into something good.

One could easily throw out chapter 38 and not miss a thing in the story of Joseph, but this is holy writ, and 2Ti 3:16 reminds us that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

There is profit for us in this sordid chapter of the Bible and let us see what the Holy Spirit will teach us in the days ahead.

First off we read that at about the time Joseph was sold into slavery, Judah separates himself from his brothers. He “departed” from them and visited a certain Adullamite named Hirah.  The King James says he “turned into a certain Adullamite.” A casual reading of those terms, “departed,” and “turned” sound quite innocent, but in the Hebrew, the words imply a “bending away,” a moral deflection. That should get our attention!

We have been hammering away  at the tyranny of the Law and emphasizing grace, and I think this sordid account concerning Judah is a reminder to not cheapen grace.

Cheap grace is what the Apostle Paul was accused of preaching and he responded to those concerns in  Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

I believe this is what Judah is experiencing. He is departing from his brothers, (who represent the Law)  in order to live as if there were no Law. (Cheap grace!)  His heart becomes hardened as we shall see, and sin will multiply. His “moral deflection,” will cause all sorts of problems and pain as is the case for all who would seek to ditch the Law and seek to live under cheap grace. 

Cheap grace, (living as you please with no regard to the Law of God) is fools gold. Because in the end, all will be held accountable by God!

Judah, perhaps unable to deal with the personal guilt of his suggestion to comply with the letter of the Law by selling Joseph rather than killing him, now goes off on a lawless binge. This lawless binge isn’t pretty…..it never is, yet it is a common path of those who leave the Law without rightly surrendering to grace.

Unless this counterfeit grace is stopped, it is like a snowball on it’s way to hell, and the only hope is the interference of the “real deal grace” which is divine influence on the heart, that snaps the person back to reality. It’s this grace that brings repentance and cause people like the prodigal son, (and Judah later on) to come to their senses and return to the Father, and a right view of His moral Law!