"For it is evident that our
Lord arose from Judah."
Hebrews 7:14
Some chapters in the Bible shock us because they are
raw and graphic. God does not hesitate to
show us the
ugliness of sin or the damage inflicted by
foolish lack of
obedience. Genesis 38 is an example, tells
us the story
of Judah, the son of Jacob, who married
the Canaanite
woman, then inadvertently slept with his
daughter-in-law,
thinking she was a harlot. It is a shocking contrast to the
story of Joseph, who, in the next chapter, refused to sleep
with his master’s wife.
Yet to our astonishment, Judah helped reunite his family
(Genesis 44:18-34) and became the father of the tribe of
Israel through whom our Messiah came (Genesis 49:10).
We see some of the despicable names in Genesis 38
show up again in Matthew 1 in the genealogy of
Christ.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the
“Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).
This shows that God can turn any family’s shame
into a great future. God’s grace can mend a broken
situation, redeem a broken person, answer our for-
bearing prayers, and turn losses into a
legacy.
Don’t give up on yourself or a loved one.
It is no secret what God can do.
"He doles out mercy with individual kindness.
He bestows grace upon grace upon grace, not
just for everybody, but for each and every one."
Andrew Greer and Ginny Owens
