# 351 The Levirate Law

The Book of Genesis

Day 351

Ge 38:8 And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother."  9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.  10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

What is going on here? It’s like we are given much more information about the sex life of Onan and Tamar than we really care to know! Well let’s start with the insistence of Judah that Onan marry Tamar, (the widow of his elder brother Er)  What is that all about?

It’s about a practice that would later become codified in Law in the Book of Deuteronomy.  It is called the Law of the Levirate. We read about it in De 25:5-10, "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.  6 "And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.  7 "But if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.'  8 "Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, 'I do not want to take her,'  9 "then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, 'So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother's house.' 10 "And his name shall be called in Israel, 'The house of him who had his sandal removed.'

Definitely foreign to our culture but not to the Israelites. The purpose of the Law was to ensure a widow of the possibility of raising up a male heir. This “heir” would then inherit all things that a male first born was entitled to. The problem here is Onan resisted this “duty” because he wanted all the inheritance for himself, rather than provide it for Tamar.

This may seem silly to us, but it’s not so silly when you remember God’s promise to Eve and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob! It was from their seed that the Messiah would come, and in hindsight, we see that the womb of Tamar had a role to play in the line of Christ.

In the enforcement of the Levirate law, there was an unusual courtroom scenario played out in the gate of the city involving the removal of a sandal and “spitting” in the offender’s face. This was the God-ordained way to properly deal with the brother who would not carry out his conjugal duties. (By the way, it didn’t have to turn  ugly, and you can  read about this method again in the Book of Ruth, when Boaz was given the right to marry Ruth)

The removal of the offender’s sandal was symbolic and it was as if to say, “You have no right to walk on the land of my inheritance.” It signified a removal of any material rights and claims of the offending brother.

Obviously Tamar did not carry the Levirate Law that far, because God took care of the situation on His own.  Any previous offenders of this Law, just lost some property and got some spit on their face, Onan  wasn’t so fortunate. God killed him because the thing that he had done “displeased God.”

Much has been made of the sin of Onan by biblical commentators, and we will continue to look at his wrongdoing next time.

In the meantime, just remember that in spite of man’s efforts to thwart God’s plan, God stepped in and brought it to fruition anyway. It is far better to work WITH God than against Him, and we can learn, even today, about working with Him as we read and seek to obey His Word.

#350 Thank God For His Mercy!

The Book of Genesis

Day 350

Ge 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. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.

So, Judah “bends away” from the ways of his people. He “morally deflects” to the godless ways of the Canaanites. He marries an unbelieving Canaanite woman. She bears him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. Time passes on and Judah arranges a marriage for his firstborn, Er. But Er was wicked in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord killed him! Man! That must be some kind of wicked!

The Bible doesn’t spell out any specific acts of wickedness on Er’s part, but as we look at the Hebrew word for “wicked” here, it is synonymous with “evil.” It is an evil that permeates, in other words Er was evil through and through. The root word from which the word for evil is pulled means, “good for nothing.” It carries with it the idea of something being spoiled or ruined by being broken into pieces. Er was a clay pot fashioned by God, that went bad, and God, (the Potter) exercised His prerogative here and decided to humpty dumpty him and leave him for the street sweepers.  He slew him!

I know some people have a problem with that action on God’s part. “How can a loving God do such a thing? How dare He kill anyone? I’m not going to worship such a cruel God!”

Yet we read in De 32:39 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.” Jesus added to that thought in  Mt 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” And let us never forget the biblical picture of God being the Potter and we are the clay.

It is an utterly absurd thought that we clay pots have the right to be angry with our Maker over anything! He is God! If He chooses to take out Er, That’s His business. Who knows what might have happened to those in Er’s world, should God have allowed him to continue in his evil ways.

Rather than get angry at God, we ought to be awed and humbled, and then marvel at His grace, because truth be known, without God and His grace at work in our own lives we are all just as evil as Er, and deserve to be taken out! But God has extended mercy to each and every one of us who are still here. Praise Him for His mercy, and thank Him for His grace!

# 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!

# 348 Lie Upon Lie, Guilt Upon Guilt

The Book of Genesis

Day 348

Ge 37:31 So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.  32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?"  33 And he recognized it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces."  34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.  35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him.  36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Don’t you just wonder who the brothers found to transport the bloody tunic back to their father? What did they tell this unsuspecting courier? “Hey, we found this tunic and we think it might have belonged to our brother,   would you mind taking it back to our father’s house and showing it to him?”

Before they sent it, did they bother to tear it up a little bit to make it appear there was some mauling that took place?  Oh, the things we will do to cover our sins! Their shame and guilt in the matter is evident in that they didn’t have the courage to break the news of their lie face to face with their father, and their feigned comfort for their father is sickening to say the least.

I wonder what God the Father was thinking as He was present in the room when the family, including every hypocrite brother,  all arose one by one to comfort him? I wonder what each one said as they sought to speak comfort to their father with their double tongues?

I think God the Father was thinking, “Okay boys, keep piling on your guilt, but I will one day turn your mess into a message!” Take hope from this! Maybe you have been piling up lies in order to cover your sin and shame and guilt. God is watching! He is aware, and He is waiting for you to come to Him for forgiveness. He is waiting to lift your burden of guilt.  It took years for the brothers to have their guilt and shame removed, but God is patient and the moment you confess HE is there ready to forgive through faith in Jesus Christ.

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

One more thing. Please note the grief in Jacob’s heart over the loss of a child. Unless you have experienced the loss of a child, you have no idea what it means to mourn that loss all the way to your grave. There is nothing you can say or do to remove that grief. But you can be a listening ear and a hugging arm to walk beside the mourner, whenever the need arises.

# 347 Joseph’s Imprisonment: The Rest of the Story!

The Book of Genesis

Day 347

Ge 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  27 "Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened.  28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.  29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.  30 And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?"

I wonder what the boys blew the money on? How did they divide it up? Reuben wasn’t there for the transaction, so it looks like the brothers each picked up two shekels of silver for their deed. (that’s about a week’s wage!)

Well, it doesn’t matter, we aren’t told what they did with the money, but as we read the rest of the story, we know that they carried around the guilt of their actions for years!

I think we all need to know just how terrible Joseph’s life was as a slave. Most of us know the story about how he rose to a position of power in Potiphar’s house, then wrongly accused of raping Potiphar’s wife, he is imprisoned, and in prison he gradually rises to a man of great influence, eventually being set free by Pharaoh and put in charge of the affairs of Egypt. Quite a story of perseverance! But what about those times before he rose to positions of authority?

Let’s not sugar coat this.  Conditions in Egyptian prisons were not good, and we are given more details of his time in prison in  Ps 105:17-22! This is the equivalent of Paul Harvey’s, “The rest of the story!”

We read, “He sent a man before them-Joseph-who was sold as a slave.  18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons.  19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him.  20 The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free.  21 He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions,  22 To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom.

While Joseph waited for the Lord to work out the details of the dream he had of his brothers bowing down to him, he went through his own hell on earth! His feet chafed  by the fetters they had placed on him! Chained to his prison bed with irons! I hope the two shekels was worth it brothers!

We aren’t told of his thoughts concerning his brothers , while he was immobilized by irons and the shackles hurting his feet, but in the end we are told of his gracious forgiveness of his brothers.  They came to him and pleaded for his forgiveness and he said, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?  20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.  21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen 50 19-21)

Friends, stop and consider this, especially if you are having trouble forgiving someone. Unforgiveness is a fetter. It shackles your heart to bitterness and hatred, it immobilizes your feet and keeps you from moving in the direction that God wants you to go.  Forgive!

But wait, you say you can’t forgive? Well then ask God to help you, because no matter how bad the situation may be, He wants to turn it into something good, but your unforgiveness is holding Him back!

# 346 No Loopholes In Grace

The Book of Genesis

Day 346

Ge 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  27 "Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened.

There is a great lesson here for any of us who would seek to live Law oriented lives as opposed to lives controlled by grace. Here’s the thing about the Law, those who live under it are always seeking for loopholes. Their mantra is always “But what about?” and then they come up with absurd scenario’s to justify their actions. These, “but what abouts” show up today in matters of divorce, abortion, and even in our giving to the church.

Do you see what Judah was suggesting here to his brothers? “Let’s sell Joseph into slavery and let not our hand be upon him! That way we aren’t really guilty of any harm that may come his way, that would be on the Ishmaelites!”

It’s the same ploy David used when he ordered Joab to send Uriah the Hittite on a suicide mission. I mean come on, David didn’t actually kill Uriah, he died in the war right?

Yes “loophole livers” more often than not do grievous things to others in the mistaken belief that they are “technically” innocent of any wrongdoing.  Jesus puts that line of thinking to rest when He delivers His “Sermon on the Mount.” Read it often and see the loopholes close.  See how the actions of Joseph’s brothers match up with Mt 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.

What are you saying about the value of another human being when you sell them like a piece of property for 20 pieces of silver?

What are you calling someone when you mock them because they are different than you?

What are you calling an unborn child when you terminate a pregnancy? You are calling them, worthless, expendable creations of God! What is their crime?

You and I are also creations of God, made in His image, and to call one of His creations a fool, is to call the one who created us a fool too! Isa 45:9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?

 Oh, my friend, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus destroyed all the loopholes, and captured the true spirit of the Law. He made sure none of us can say with Judah, “let not our hand be upon him and we will be innocent.” By removing any and all loopholes, He made sure that all of us would know that we are guilty of breaking the Law.  Our only hope then for salvation and forgiveness must be found in some other place than the Law, and that’s where Jesus comes in. He DID keep the Law…..perfectly! Then went to the cross and died for us who can’t! Sinner, turn to the only One who can save you from your sins….Jesus!

A Thanksgiving Thought

One of my favorite childhood memories of Thanksgiving in our little Lutheran Church in Big Bend Wisconsin was singing Martin Rinkert’s Hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God”. I’m not sure many today are familiar with this classic, in fact I’m not sure that many churches even have a service on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a lot easier to hold the worship service on Wednesday evening or just skip it all together!

I get it, but I still miss the Thanksgiving Day service and all the Thanksgiving Hymns and Scripture readings, and then coming home to the smell of turkey cooking in the oven!  Another problem with skipping the Thanksgiving Day service is we get so busy with food preparation and serving it while it’s hot and then making sure we don’t miss one down of football….that the giving thanks to God part gets cast aside for other things.

Well, enough of the editorializing, the main reason I’m writing this is to remind you and I that we have much to be thankful to God for, and I want to use the backdrop of the Rinkert hymn to perhaps jar us into that reality.

Martin Rinkart was a Lutheran minister who came to Eilenburg, Saxony at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The walled city of Eilenburg became the refuge for political and military fugitives, but the result was overcrowding, and deadly pestilence and famine. Armies overran it three times. The Rinkart home was a refuge for the victims, even though he was often hard-pressed to provide for his own family. During the height of a severe plague in 1637, Rinkart was the only surviving pastor in Eilenburg, conducting as many as 50 funerals in a day. He performed more than 4000 funerals in that year, including that of his wife.

Let that sink in as you munch on your Thanksgiving snacks in your recliner this afternoon. “Deadly pestilence a constant companion, a lack of food, foreign soldiers occupying your city, 50 funerals a day, 4000 in one year, including the death of his spouse! In spite of all this, he was able to pen the words to this hymn:

Now thank we all our God,
with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace,
and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills,
in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns
with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God,
whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

Yes we have MUCH to be thankful for. Take the time to count your blessings today and give thanks to the giver of all gifts! Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Happy Thanksgiving!