THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may go to the archive at the bottom of the main page and find it.
Bruce McGee, Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
GENESIS
CHAPTER 38
1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
It is important that we study this chapter; not for the sordid story,
but for the OUTCOME.
Judah is Jacob's fourth son. It is from this son that kings came, and
eventually, the Messiah came from Judah's descendents.
Judah is probably not older than 20 here, and he leaves the
closeness of his family and becomes friendly with a man of
another faith. Hirah, an Adullamite, is not a beliver in
Jehovah God as the ONLY God.
Though this was wrong for Judah to become a partner in business
with a non-believer, it proves to be a productive friendship.
Because, many years later, David will run to the cave at Adullam
when he becomes afraid of Achish (1Sam. 22:1). And often the
Bible speaks of this place (about 5 miles South of Bethshemesh).
Next, we see that Judah MARRIES a Canaanite woman.
Young people need LOTS of teaching about marriage before they
inter into it.
Through this woman, Shuah, Judah had three sons: Er, Onan,
and Shelah.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
Er was probably married at far too young an age. Of course,
we don't have any information on time passing here. But Notice
one thing in particular this passage of Scripture points out:
all our sin is "in" the SIGHT of the Lord (vs 7).
THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY! For He SEES & KNOWS our sins!
Something God saw in Er prompted his death. God will not
ALWAYS pardon sinners!
Sometimes, God knows a person will NEVER repent, and He elects
to remove their influence from the world.
Onan, Judah's second son, was now supposed to take Er's wife
and raise a child. This child would become the heir of Er's
portion of the inheritance. That, of course, meant that Onan
would receive ONLY his own portion. If Er had NO descendent
Onan would receive a GREATER portion.
And Onan took advantage of the sexual union, but wouldn't allow
the woman to conceive.
And so God took Onan's life too!
11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
Judah realized that Shelah was too young to be married. So,
he sent Tamar to her father's house to remain a widow until
Shelah was old enough.
It is not good to be married at too young an age. Rash
decisions are made (like Onan's). And some of those decisions
result in tragedy.
12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
When Judah's wife died (daughter of Shuah, his Canaanite friend), Judah
went to see Hirah - his other friend.
Now this is a perplexing story, for it mixes the sin of two people.
Tamar had probably grown anxious to have a child. When she heard that
Judah was coming by, she may have thought that Shelah would be with
him, and she could entice him. At any rate, she disguised herself
as a harlot.
Then Judah, recently widowed, and probably lonely, initiated a sexual
act with this woman. Widows and widowers must stand guard closely upon
their sexual desires!
These two BOTH sinned. And the result was tragedy.
16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. 23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Judah agreed to pawn his immediate personal possessions and to swap them for
a "kid from the flock" later. But Tamar KNEW that the other items were more valuable
because with these, she could prove the fatherhood of her child.
Judah sent Hirah to make the swap, but Tamar had left.
Note Judah's statement in vs 23 - "lest we be shamed." Judah KNEW
what he'd done was wrong.
24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. 25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
When news came about Tamar being found with child, Judah seemed awful
"holy." All too often, we are most indignant with OTHER
people's sins, but we allow those sins in our own lives.
(Note: "burnt" meant scarred in the cheek or forehead with a sign
of prostitution.)
27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
It is significant that Pharez was born first, even though Zarah's
hand appeared first. Pharez means "breach." It is THIS man's name
that is listed in the geneology of Jesus (Matt. 1:3).
Pharez had to "breach" or "forge through" in order to be born first.
Jesus had to "forge through" humanity in order to offer the price
for our salvation.
CHAPTER 39
1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
Now we come back to the story of Joseph. And we see that he was
sold to a very influential man. Potiphar was captain of Pharoah's
special body guard. Potiphar really liked Joseph and put him in
charge of all he owned.
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. 7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
Joseph was evidently a winsome man; handsome and diligent in his work.
And no doubt, Potiphar praised him highly. Maybe that's what caught the
attention of Potiphar's wife.
8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Joseph was a devoted man. The thought of her proposal was reprehensible
to him. He recognized it not only as callous disregard for his master, but also
as sin against his Lord. Joseph's integrity was based on his devotion to God.
Adultery is a sin against OTHERS, and it is sin against GOD.
10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. 13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
As Potiphar's wife persisted, Joseph continued to refuse; until one day
she began to physically force him. But Joseph realized it was far
better to lose a coat than to lose his good conscience.
Friends, it doesn't matter what others think when we are faced
with doing right in the sight of God.
A "preference" is something that we will consider changing.
A "conviction" is something we won't even consider changing!
Notice the depth of character that is displayed in Joseph.
He is rich, powerful, trusted, successful. No one is at home,
and she represents power to help in his business. But Joseph
would rather lose ALL HE HAS IN THE WORLD than to lose
what he has with GOD! THAT'S a "conviction!"
17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
The coat was left, and she used it to lie against Joseph.
Notice the statement in vs 19, "..his wrath was kindled."
Now, I believe, that if Potiphar had really believed
his wife, he would have had Joseph killed. Instead
he consigns Joseph to prison. It seems that Potiphar
KNEW the truth, and vented his anger at the easiest
point - Joseph.
Sometimes, Christians catch the "brunt" of anger, just because
it is EASIEST to pass it on to them!
21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
God just continues to pour out blessings upon blessing on Joseph.
His integrity and trustworthy lifestyle caused him to be greatly
respected.
Note: Joseph based his LIFE upon being right with God! So far,
it has cost him his family, a job, and has put him in prison!
But even in prison he remains the same!
THAT'S why God continues to BLESS him! Even though the world
is cursing him.
Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man's ways please the Lord,
He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."
Please continue to follow along in Bible study with us.