Genesis: Lesson 13
Overview
A Family Fractured, A Promise Preserved: Genesis 37–38
Genesis does not soften the harsh realities of human sin, and the opening chapters of the Joseph narrative make this abundantly clear. As we enter Genesis 37, Jacob has settled in the land of Canaan—the very land repeatedly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob himself (Genesis 12:1-7; Genesis 26:24; Genesis 28:13). God has kept His word concerning the land, but the family He is forming into a nation is fractured by a bitter struggle over status and favor.
Joseph, seventeen years old, brings a bad report about his brothers, wears the ornate long-sleeved robe Jacob gave him as a daily mark of preferred status, and shares dreams that elevate him above his family. The brothers' response is hatred turned to violence: they strip him of the robe, throw him into a pit, and sell him to traders headed for Egypt—then deceive their grieving father into believing Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Scripture diagnoses what is happening beneath the surface. Hebrews 12:15 warns of a "root of bitterness" that defiles many; Proverbs 14:30 describes envy as something that "makes the bones rot"; and James 1:14-15 traces the path from desire to sin to death. The antidote to jealousy is gratitude—thankfulness for who God has made us to be in Christ, where we are fully forgiven and being shaped into the image of His Son.
Genesis 38 interrupts the Joseph story with another sordid episode: Judah marries a Canaanite, his sons die under God's judgment, he fails to keep his promise to his daughter-in-law Tamar, and Tamar deceives him into fathering twins by her. Sin upon sin, with no whitewashing. Yet here is the astonishing thing—when we open Matthew 1 and trace the genealogy of Jesus through Perez (Ruth 4:18-22; Luke 3:23-38), we find Judah and Tamar named in the messianic line. The folly of sin does not sever God's lifeline to the world.
This is the pastoral heart of these chapters. God does not abandon a violent, sinful world, and He does not abandon sinful families—including ours. Where bitterness, favoritism, deception, and broken promises threaten to unravel everything, God's covenant faithfulness holds firm. The same gracious presence that sustained Jacob's fractured household sustains us, proven finally in the birth of God's sinless Son into a family line full of sinners, that He might keep the law for us and bear our guilt. It is, from beginning to end, all God's grace.
Transcript
Lord, we thank you so much. 3s
We thank you for this day. 5s
We thank you for your word, the word of truth, 6s
the word of love, the word of hope. 10s
Lord, we thank you that through these messy lives 12s
that we read about in Genesis, 17s
that we also read about your love and your mercy. 21s
And we know that your victory and your grace 24s
triumphs overall. 29s
Lord, guide us in this time of study together. 31s
Let your word work on us and transform us 34s
according to your love and your purpose and your will. 37s
This we ask in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 40s
Okay, so last week, we studied chapters 34 through 35. 44s
And you'll remember how Pastor Ibel pointed out, 52s
there is no softening of the harsh realities 56s
that are in Genesis. 60s
Last week, those are heavy chapters. 63s
It talked about, it told of rape, a treacherous plan, 67s
a citywide massacre, lots of violence, 71s
and it didn't hold back. 74s
That's something that I think is amazing 77s
as we read God's word. 80s
As good Christian people, we want things to be soft. 82s
And nice and comforting and pure. 86s
But in God's word, we see the world 90s
and we see the graphic nature of sin. 93s
And the violence that came with that, 97s
but God does not abandon such a world. 101s
And he doesn't abandon the world today. 105s
We still see violence and graphic sin all around us, 108s
but he doesn't abandon us. 113s
We also studied last week how Jacob's return to Bethel 115s
marked a spiritual high point as he recommitted himself 119s
and his family to the true God. 124s
He came full circle. 126s
He came full circle back to Hebrew, and he joined Issa 128s
in burying Isaac, their father. 132s
He was done with his flight, his flight is over, 135s
he's back in his own land. 138s
So chapters 35 and 36 are this little roller coaster, 141s
not even a little roller coaster, 145s
big roller coaster of spiritual nature. 146s
So a spiritual roller coaster today, 151s
we're gonna begin the final section of the book of Genesis 154s
and we're gonna see how Israel came to be a nation 157s
in Egypt, who came to be a nation who ended up in Egypt. 161s
And we're gonna start to spend some time with a man 167s
that's probably familiar to you. 172s
His name is Joseph, not Joseph Jesus' dad, but Joseph. 174s
Well, it doesn't actually say technicolor dream coat. 182s
But that one, yes, yes. 191s
So a little story for you. 194s
In the fall of 1878, Randolph McCoy visited 197s
his wife's brother-in-law Floyd Hatfield. 200s
While he was there, Randolph spotted a familiar looking pig 204s
and accused Floyd of theft. 207s
Eventually the two faced off in court, 211s
the justice of the peace who presided over the truth. 213s
The trial was Captain William Anderson Hatfield. 216s
The jury was comprised of six McCoy's and six Hatfield's. 220s
At the end of the trial, Floyd was acquitted, 226s
but the battle between the two families was far from being over. 229s
During the next 13 years, the Hatfields and McCoy's 234s
were at war with one another 13 people died. 238s
Over a pig. 244s
In June of 2000, descendants of the Hatfields 247s
and the McCoys came together on Hatfield's property. 251s
Now the Hatfield and McCoy reunion festival 255s
is an annual event. 258s
The rivalry that was, the resentment that was, is no longer. 261s
The Bible tells us of a hateful rivalry 268s
that existed amongst some brothers. 271s
If you'll open, please with me to Genesis, 273s
chapter 37, we're all familiar with Genesis, 276s
where it is in the scripture, right? 279s
I'm thinking. 283s
We might be okay with this one. 285s
So let's look at verses one and two. 288s
Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived 292s
as an alien, the land of Canaan. 294s
This is the story of the family of Jacob. 296s
Joseph being 17 years old was shepherding the flock 301s
with his brothers. 305s
He was a helper to the sons of Bilhan Zilpa, 306s
his father's wives. 309s
And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 311s
Let's keep our hand here, 317s
but let's turn over to Genesis 12. 319s
Genesis 12, where we see, again, 324s
that the land had been a part of the promise to Abram. 329s
Genesis chapter 12 verses one through three. 333s
Now the Lord said to Abram, 338s
go from your country and your kindred 340s
and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 341s
I will make of you a great nation 345s
and I will bless you and make your name great 346s
so that you will be a blessing. 349s
I will bless those who bless you 351s
and the one who curses you, I will curse. 353s
And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed, 355s
jumping down to verse seven. 360s
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 362s
to your offspring, I will give this land. 364s
So he built there an altar to the Lord 367s
who had appeared to him. 368s
So this land was part of a promise 371s
that the Lord had made to Abram. 373s
Let's go over to 26. 377s
Genesis 26, he had promised Abram 379s
that this would be the land for Abram for his offspring. 384s
Looking at chapter 26, going to verse 24, 387s
and that very night the Lord appeared to him 394s
and said, I am the God of your father, Abraham. 396s
He's appearing to Isaac. 398s
Do not be afraid for I am with you and will bless you 400s
and make your offspring numerous for my servant, 403s
And let's go over to chapter 28, verse 13. 408s
And this is a place where he's making a promise to Jacob, 415s
the Lord, at verse 12 of chapter 28. 423s
And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on earth, 427s
the top of it reaching to heaven 430s
and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 431s
And the Lord stood beside him and said, 435s
I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, 437s
and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, 440s
I will give to you and to your offspring. 443s
So this is now, this is the land that was promised 448s
to Abraham or Abraham and his offspring, 452s
Isaac, who is the offspring of Abraham or Abraham, 456s
at that point, it is promised to him, his offspring, 459s
it is also promised to Jacob, who is Isaac's offspring. 462s
So we see this and he's promising it to be Jacob's 468s
and Jacob's offspring's land. 471s
So this is now where we find ourselves in chapter 37, 475s
we're back in that land, God has kept his promises, 480s
but Jacob's family is torn by a problem of the pecking order 485s
or by the problem of a pecking order. 491s
Let's look at verse two of 37 again. 493s
Joseph being 17 years old was shepherding the flock 498s
with his brothers. 501s
He was a helper to the sons of Billa and Zilpa, 502s
his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report 505s
of them to their father. 508s
He brings a bad report of his brother's behavior 511s
to their dad. 516s
Taddle, taddle, taddle. 520s
Tension is brought forth. 523s
We continue in verse three where we see the tension 525s
is further heightened. 527s
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children 529s
because he was the son of his old age 533s
and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 536s
So he loved Joseph. 541s
He was not shy about sharing that he loved Joseph 544s
he pampered Joseph. 548s
He gave Joseph this coat or this robe 550s
with these long sleeves. 553s
So this tension between brothers, 556s
not only is Joseph going and taddling on his brothers, 560s
but now it's also a matter of he is the favored one 564s
of his brothers and he's not the oldest. 569s
He is not the oldest brother. 572s
So there's this great tension that is between the brothers. 574s
Jacob's love, Israel's greater love for Joseph 580s
shows itself in this richly ornamented robe. 583s
In the ancient near east, the main robe was worn 588s
constantly every single day. 590s
The brothers would see Joseph in his superior robe. 595s
Every single day they would see that he had 601s
the better garment. 604s
The main robe denoted status. 606s
One could determine pecking order at a glance 609s
and the costliest garment meant the most prominent person. 611s
So here is their younger brother taddling on them, 615s
parading each day in the more luxurious or superior garment. 619s
He has been established as having a higher status 625s
and we can see that the result is very predictable. 630s
Let's turn to verse four. 635s
But when the brothers, when his brothers saw 638s
that their father loved him more than all his brothers, 640s
they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 644s
Once Joseph had a dream and when he told it to his brothers, 648s
they hated him even more. 651s
He said to them, 654s
listen to this dream that I dreamed. 655s
There we were, binding sheaves in the field. 658s
Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright. 660s
Then your sheaves gathered around it 663s
and bowed down to my sheaf. 666s
His brothers said to him, 668s
are you indeed terrain over us? 669s
Are you indeed to have dominion over us? 672s
So they hated him even more because of his dreams 676s
and his words. 680s
So little aside, in Genesis, 683s
God uses these dreams to reveal his will. 685s
But today we have God's will for us in scripture, 690s
in his holy word. 695s
He recorded it for us in the Bible. 697s
Luther wrote, 700s
I too at times have dreams that move me somewhat, 701s
but I despise them and I have come to this understanding 705s
with my Lord God that I will believe Moses and the prophets. 708s
So now we're going back to this story. 714s
So Joseph had this dream. 716s
He tells it, wearing his superior garment, 718s
tells it to his brothers. 722s
And for some reason, they don't like it. 724s
They hate it. 727s
They were jealous. 729s
Keep your hand here. 730s
We're gonna talk about jealousy for a second. 731s
What causes jealousy? 733s
Let's go over to Hebrews. 735s
This is in the New Testament. 736s
It's after the Gospels, after the letters of Paul. 740s
Once you get through the letters of Paul, 744s
you'll find yourself at Hebrews. 746s
And we're gonna go to Hebrews 12, 749s
Hebrews 12, verse 15. 753s
Hebrews 12, 15. 759s
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. 762s
That no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble 767s
and through it many become defiled. 771s
Jealousy is from the root of bitterness. 776s
When bitterness takes hold, we can't think of anything else. 780s
And it just turns in the very gut of our personhood. 787s
And so this root of bitterness takes hold. 793s
This jealousy comes out. 797s
Let's go back to Proverbs. 799s
This is basically in the center of the Bible. 801s
If you go to the center of the Bible and you're in Psalms, 805s
then go to the right. 808s
If you go to the center of the Bible and you're in Isaiah, 809s
go to the left. 812s
So we're in Proverbs 14, Proverbs 14, 814s
and verse 30. 822s
A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, 827s
but passion makes the bones rot. 830s
Passion is understood here as rotting envy. 834s
The anecdote to jealousy is gratefulness. 839s
It's thanking God for what He has given. 842s
Supremely thankfulness for what God has made us to be in Christ. 846s
Because we are all in Christ, 852s
we have nothing but thankfulness and praise to give. 856s
The envy, the root of that bitterness, 862s
that envy is when we spy our brother or sister 865s
and we turn our attention to what he or she has is does. 869s
But in Christ, we are all who He has created us to be. 878s
And for that, we are thankful because we are a completely 883s
forgiven people. 888s
We are now part of God's own people 889s
and we're destined for eternal life with Christ, 892s
people who He's shaping even now to be more 895s
and more like His Son. 898s
So let's go back to the Genesis reading, Genesis 37. 901s
And we're gonna see the jealousy of the brothers 904s
and how it expressed itself. 906s
Chapter 37 looking at verse, 910s
or beginning in verse 18. 912s
So Joseph has shared this dream, 915s
his brothers are not pleased, 919s
they are jealous of him 921s
and then they're back out in the fields. 923s
Verse 18, they saw him coming from a 926s
distance and before he came near to them, 928s
they conspired to kill him. 930s
They said to one another, 933s
here comes this dreamer. 935s
Come on, now let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. 938s
Then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him 942s
and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 945s
But when Rubin heard it, he delivered him out of their hands 949s
saying, let us not take his life. 952s
Rubin said to them, shed no blood. 956s
Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness 958s
but lay no hand on him 960s
that he might rescue him out of their hand 963s
and restore him to his father. 965s
So when Joseph came to his brothers, 968s
they stripped him of his robe, 970s
the long robe with sleeves that he wore 971s
and they took him and threw him into a pit. 975s
The pit was empty, there was no water in it. 979s
Then they sat down to eat 983s
and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites 985s
coming from Giliad with their camels carrying gum, 987s
balm and resin on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 991s
Then Judah said to his brothers, 994s
what profit is it if we kill our brother 996s
and conceal his blood? 999s
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites 1001s
and not lay our hands on him for he is our brother, 1003s
our own flesh. 1007s
That's nice. 1009s
Trying to tag on that nice sentiment. 1011s
And his brothers agreed, 1014s
when some Midianite traders passed by, 1016s
they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit 1018s
and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver 1021s
and they took Joseph to Egypt. 1024s
When Rubin returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not 1027s
in the pit, he tore his clothes. 1030s
He returned to his brothers and said, 1033s
the boy is gone and where can I find him 1035s
or where can I turn? 1040s
So the action of the brothers demonstrate 1043s
the truth that is recorded in James. 1046s
If we keep our hand here and go to James, 1049s
that is also in the New Testament. 1051s
If you go nearly to the end, it's just past Hebrews. 1053s
So you're gonna go past Hebrews 1060s
and you'll find yourself at James. 1061s
We're going to look at James 1 versus 14 and 15. 1064s
Where we see exactly what took place with these brothers. 1073s
One is tempted by one's own desire, 1079s
being Lord and enticed by it. 1082s
Then when that desire has conceived, 1084s
it gives birth to sin. 1087s
And that sin when it is fully grown gives birth to death. 1089s
Sin begins in the heart. 1096s
It begins in the heart and it grows. 1099s
It grows into sinful words. 1101s
It grows into sinful actions. 1103s
The brothers knew, they knew how much Israel loved Joseph 1106s
and they knew that his loss or the loss of him 1111s
would absolutely devastate their father. 1114s
It's not that they wanted to devastate their father. 1120s
They couldn't handle Joseph. 1123s
They couldn't handle his existence any longer. 1128s
And so they hated him so much that they didn't care 1134s
what their actions would do to their father. 1140s
They didn't care. 1145s
And then worse than that, they allowed Jacob, 1146s
they allowed Israel to believe that Joseph indeed had been 1152s
killed that he was dead and that plunged Jacob, 1157s
that plunged Israel into grief. 1163s
Let's go back to chapter 37 of Genesis, 1165s
chapter 37 looking at verses 34 or beginning in verse 34. 1171s
So they bring this robe back to Jacob 1179s
with some animal blood on it. 1183s
And they say this is certainly a wild animal, God him. 1185s
They hated Joseph so much that they were willing to allow 1190s
for Jacob to think that he was dead. 1193s
Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins 1196s
and mourned for his son many days. 1199s
All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him, 1203s
but he refused to be comforted and said, 1207s
no, I shall go down to shale to my son morning. 1210s
Thus his father bewailed him. 1214s
He is in absolute grief in the depths of his mourning. 1216s
In the depths of sorrow, we continue in verse 36. 1224s
Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him, 1229s
sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, 1232s
one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. 1236s
So this summary sentence reminds us, 1241s
as we're reading it, reminds us that Joseph is still alive. 1244s
We're following up and to that point, 1249s
we're following and knowing this grief that Jacob is experiencing. 1251s
He thinks that his favorite child has been devoured 1257s
by a wild animal. 1261s
And so we're grieving with Jacob while we still know 1264s
that this is all out of the root of jealousy, of bitterness. 1267s
And this nice summarizing sentence reminds us 1273s
that Joseph is still alive. 1276s
He is still alive, and this also prepares us 1279s
for the coming chapters in Joseph's life. 1283s
The talent like it is approach of Genesis, 1288s
it continues right through into chapter 38. 1291s
Have you ever said of someone's actions, 1297s
why did he do that? 1301s
Why did she say that? 1304s
Or maybe we've said it about ourselves, 1306s
why did I do that? 1309s
Why did I say that? 1311s
Such a question is certainly applicable 1314s
to the story in chapter 38. 1316s
Chapter 38 tells of Judah, 1319s
that's one of Jacob's sons, Israel's sons, 1322s
Judah marrying a Canaanite woman by the name of Shua, 1324s
the concerns of Abraham and Isaac, 1328s
that their sons not marry Canaanite women 1330s
is noticeably absent. 1332s
It's amazing how often that happens. 1335s
God's word is ignored. 1338s
The concern is that God's people could vanish 1341s
by absorption into the surrounding peoples. 1344s
So it's not that Judah is going outside 1348s
of God's law. 1353s
It is that their offspring, 1355s
Israel's offspring might be absorbed 1358s
into these other peoples and won't be its own nation. 1360s
Judah and Shua have three sons, 1367s
Er, Onan and Shila. 1370s
Er married Tamar. 1373s
Er was wicked and the Lord put him to death. 1376s
In ancient day, there was the practice of the Levi practice 1380s
that the brother-in-law, 1387s
or the brother-in-law marriage, 1389s
where if one brother died, 1390s
then his brother needed to marry that woman 1393s
and have a son for his name to carry on. 1396s
We've seen this in a lot of our classes, 1400s
really in the recent past, 1403s
we've talked about this a few times. 1404s
If the brother had not begotten children, 1407s
that living brother then was to begot children 1409s
in his name by his sister-in-law 1411s
and the offspring was legally to be considered 1414s
that dead brother's offspring. 1417s
I don't know. 1423s
So, Onan refused to do this. 1425s
So Er's brother, Er was wicked. 1429s
He was put to death by the Lord. 1431s
Onan should have been the one to marry Tamar 1434s
or to have a child for Er's name's sake. 1438s
Onan refused to do this. 1442s
He was put to death by God. 1444s
Then we come to chapter 38 verse 11. 1446s
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law, Tamar, 1452s
remain a widow in your father's house 1455s
until my son Sheila grows up. 1457s
For he feared that he too would die like his brothers. 1459s
So Tamar went to live in her father's house. 1463s
So the youngest son is not old enough to begot 1467s
some offspring. 1473s
So Judah says to Tamar, go be a widow. 1474s
We're gonna let this little guy grow up. 1478s
We're gonna then bring him to you 1480s
and you will have this son for Er. 1482s
But he doesn't follow through on his promise. 1487s
He doesn't make that happen. 1491s
And so Tamar devises her own plan. 1493s
Let's look at verse 12. 1497s
In course of time, the wife of Judah, she was daughter died. 1498s
When Judah's time of mourning was over, 1502s
he went up to Timna to his sheep's shears. 1504s
He and his friend, Hira, the Edulamite. 1507s
When Tamar was told your father-in-law is going up to Timna 1510s
to share his sheep, she put off her widow's garments, 1513s
put on a veil, wrapped herself up and sat down 1517s
at the entrance to Inam, 1520s
which is on the road to Timna. 1523s
She saw that Shiloh was grown up, 1525s
yet she had not been given to him in marriage. 1526s
When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, 1530s
for she had covered her face. 1533s
He went over to her at the roadside and said, 1535s
come, let me come into you, 1538s
for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. 1540s
She said, what will you give me that you may come into me? 1543s
He answered, I will send you a kid from the flock 1547s
and she said, only if you give me a pledge until you send it. 1550s
He said, what pledge shall I give you? 1554s
She replied, your signate and your cord 1557s
and the staff that is in your hand. 1560s
So he gave them to her and went into her 1563s
and she conceived by him. 1565s
Then she got up and went away and taking her veil, 1567s
she put on the garments of her widowhood. 1570s
She requests his seal, his cord and his staff. 1575s
These were unmistakable marks of his identity. 1582s
Hold on, okay, we're good on time. 1587s
These were unmistakable marks of his identity. 1588s
The seal was used to mark items. 1591s
The staff was a personal item. 1595s
Both would have been recognized as Judas. 1597s
They would not have been anyone else's, 1600s
so anyone who saw those would know these belong to Judah. 1602s
We continue going down to verse 24. 1608s
About three months later, Judah was told, 1612s
your daughter-in-law, Tamar, has played the whore. 1615s
Moreover, she is pregnant as a result of hordeum. 1618s
And Judah said, bring her out and let her be burned. 1622s
As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law. 1626s
It was the owner of these who made me pregnant. 1630s
And she said, take note, please, whose these are, 1635s
the signate and the cord and the staff. 1639s
Then Judah acknowledged them and said, 1643s
she is more in the right than I, 1645s
since I did not give her to my son, Sheila, 1647s
and he did not lie with her again. 1650s
Tamar failed to trust God, 1654s
and she sinned against God. 1658s
Judah refused to keep his promise to Tamar 1661s
and did not give her his third son, Sheila, as a husband. 1665s
Judah committed adultery with Tamar 1670s
because he thought she was a prostitute. 1673s
So the whole thing is this big goblet guk 1675s
of situational sin. 1678s
It's all sinful. 1680s
Let's go over to Matthew. 1684s
The Gospel of Matthew, the first chapter, 1688s
it's the very first book in the New Testament. 1691s
If you're using a Pew edition of the Bible, 1694s
you'll find it on page one of the New Testament. 1696s
The Gospel of Matthew chapter one, starting in verse one, 1704s
an account of the genealogy of Jesus, 1710s
the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. 1713s
Abraham was the father of Isaac, 1718s
and Isaac the father of Jacob, 1721s
and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 1724s
and Judah the father of Paris, and Zera by Tamar, 1728s
and Paris the father of Hezran, 1732s
and Hezran the father of Aram. 1734s
Do you notice how the ancestry of the Messiah 1737s
includes this ancestral union between Judah and Tamar? 1740s
The sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ took on our human nature 1746s
to keep God's law for us, 1750s
and to suffer the guilt and the punishment 1754s
for sins such as the ones made by His ancestors. 1757s
Let's go to Ruth. 1765s
Back to Ruth. 1767s
Well, don't lose Matthew though. 1768s
Let's go back to Ruth. 1771s
Ruth is right after we have the Pentateuch, 1776s
then we have judges, 1778s
or not judges, sorry, we have Joshua, 1780s
then we have judges, then we have Ruth. 1783s
So Ruth, chapter four, okay, 1785s
if you have your hand in Genesis, 1790s
you don't have to keep it there anymore. 1792s
I'm looking ahead here. 1794s
We're good on Genesis right now. 1795s
Okay, so Ruth, chapter four, 1797s
in verse 18. 1801s
Now these are the descendants of Perez. 1806s
Perez became the father of Hezran, 1808s
Hezran of Ram, Ram of Aminadab, 1810s
Aminadab of Nation, 1814s
Nation of Salman, Salman of Boaz, 1816s
Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, 1818s
So let's go back to Matthew. 1824s
We see that Perez faths, 1827s
fathers the leading clan in Judah, 1829s
and he becomes the ancestor of David, 1831s
an account we're back in Matthew, 1834s
an account of the genealogy of Jesus, 1836s
the Messiah, the son of David, 1838s
Abraham was the father of Isaac, 1842s
Isaac the father of Jacob, 1844s
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 1845s
and Judah the father of Perez and Zera by Tamar, 1848s
and Perez the father of Hezran, 1851s
and Hezran the father of Aram, 1853s
and Aram the father of Aminadab, 1854s
and Aminadab the father of Nation, 1857s
and Nation of the father of Salman, 1860s
and Salman the father of Boaz by Rahab, 1861s
and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, 1864s
and Obed the father of Jesse, 1867s
and Jesse the father of King David. 1869s
Notice where all of this then ends up 1876s
when we go down to verse 16, 1879s
and Jacob the father of Joseph, 1882s
the husband of Mary, 1885s
of whom Jesus was born, 1886s
who is called the Messiah. 1888s
You know, there's always a kind of a joke of so-and-so, 1891s
be got so-and-so, be got so-and-so, 1893s
and we kind of want to tune out, 1895s
but if you read through, 1898s
you can see exactly who is connected 1900s
and how this lineage leads us directly to Christ 1904s
from Abraham through the offspring directly to the Messiah, 1908s
directly to Jesus Christ. 1914s
Let's go over to Luke chapter three. 1917s
Luke chapter three. 1923s
Again, we have some ancestry. 1926s
Jesus was a, oh, this is verse 23. 1930s
Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His work. 1932s
He was the son, as was thought of, 1935s
Joseph, son of Heli, son of Mathet, son of Levi, 1938s
son of Melchai, son of Jainai, son of Joseph. 1942s
Let's jump down to 33, son of Aminidab, son of Admin, 1947s
son of Arnie, son of Hezran, son of Perez, son of Judah, 1952s
and then jump down to 38, son of Eno, son of Seth, 1956s
son of Adam, son of God. 1960s
So this worked its way backward, 1962s
all the way to Jesus' father, God, the father, right? 1965s
So we see the fullness of Jesus, the full humanity, 1973s
the full divinity, and the folly of sin 1980s
does not disconnect or cut that messianic line. 1983s
It's God's lifeline to this world. 1988s
The faults of Judah and Tamar were evident, 1992s
but God's gracious presence remained. 1994s
The gracious presence proven by the birth of His son 1997s
into a family line that includes sinners like Judah 2002s
and Tamar. 2006s
God's gracious presence is in the lives of us sinners, 2008s
and it is all God's grace, all God's grace. 2012s
Next week, Joseph is going to be back in the picture. 2017s
Pastor Eibel will examine the stark difference 2022s
between Joseph and Judah, 2024s
and then we're going to focus on temptation in particular, 2026s
in particular, the temptation to seek revenge 2031s
for past injustices, 2035s
and we're going to see how blessings can come 2038s
in the midst of trials. 2041s
Should be good. 2044s