# 361 The Breach Be Upon You

The Book of Genesis

Day 361

Ge 38:27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.  28 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."  29 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.  30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

What a surprise! Tamar is not only pregnant, but she is pregnant with twins! And what an interesting birth process! Tamar goes into labor and out pops a hand. We aren’t told why, but the midwife decides to tie a scarlet thread on the hand. She probably just wanted to keep track of who was who and the order in which they come out of the womb. As we shall see, the birth of these twins was very similar to the birth of Esau and Jacob, where the second one out of the womb supplanted the first.

Now stay with me here, as I think there is another lesson for us here and it involves the color of the thread. Why is it important that we know this is a red thread? I think it’s because the color red symbolizes blood, and these twins in the womb of Tamar represent Law and Grace. One of them must take precedence over the other.

Zerah represents the Law, and the Law is identified with the shedding of blood, hence the scarlet thread. The Law seeks to be first and it demands the shedding of blood. Then the hand of Zerah is withdrawn and his brother Perez (who represents grace) pops out unexpectedly! The midwife is amazed! “How did you break through ? This breach be upon you.”  The midwife was surprised by grace!

Now, listen to the dictionary definition of “breach, ” and I think you’ll get a better idea of the significance of Perez overtaking Zerah and being the first born. Breach is defined as “violation of the Law, a broken, ruptured, or torn condition, a gap as in a wall.” So the midwife was saying to Perez,  “May the violation of the Law, the broken condition of mankind, the gap between God and man be upon you!”

Pretty heavy load on one little child, but in being the first born, it is Perez who is included in the lineage of Jesus Christ, and it is Jesus who repaired the gap between God and man! It was Jesus who satisfied the shedding of blood that the law demands! It is Jesus who surprises us with grace and allows us to escape the tyranny of “I must do,” to the freedom of Jesus has done! The breach is upon Him!