Okay, so Genesis 38 now and last week in Genesis 37 we started the story of Joseph who was
17 years old and basically a prophet of God and there's, you know, with the dreams and
stuff he's being revealed things by God and it's a good reminder if you're young out there
and you think well I'll wait till I'm an adult to start doing things with God, well you don't
need to wait. Joseph, well already, was turning into a great man of God at 17 years old and
look, you know, God can use you whatever age you are. If you're saved, God wants to use
you, right? And he was loved more than the others by Jacob which resulted in the other
sons hating him and especially when he was relaying his dreams so then basically they
also hated him for God's word which was a point there, a standout point, which was that
he would eventually reign over them and then a second one if you remember there was a second
dream which included his father and mother making a basis to him. This one was a clear
giveaway that he was also a Christ figure picturing the Lord Jesus Christ which was
the start of many pictures in that chapter alone and we're going to see more as we go
through the final chapters in Genesis. Now I'm not going to go through them all again
now, you can look at that sermon if you want to kind of look at those again. We did see
that they envied him, his brothers didn't, how powerful that emotion is and how when
Joseph went to check on them for his father they conspired to kill him. Reuben seemed
to deliver him from being murdered on the spot there but instead had him thrown in a
pit so he could be the hero. However instead they sold him some Ishmaelites, also known
as Midianites, and then dipped his coat in blood and sent it to Jacob for it to look
like he had been killed. Verse 33 in Genesis 37 said, and he knew it and said it is my
son's coat. An evil beast had devoured him, Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces, and
Jacob rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins and mourned for his son many days.
And all his sons and his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted
and he said, for I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept
for him and the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaohs and
captain of the god. And in Genesis 38 we're going to have a kind of change of story here,
or at least you know a change of subject, and it says in verse 1, it came to pass at
that time that Judah went down from his brethren and turned into a certain Adulamite whose
name was Hera. I'm going to pray and then we're going to get started with this. Father
thank you for your word, thank you for this chapter of the Bible Lord and the subjects
here that maybe you know always aren't necessarily the most comfortable listening helped me to
do it in a sensitive way, Lord, in a way that people just listen to your word and pay
attention to what your word is saying, Lord, not preconceived ideas. Help me to just preach
this just clearly and accurately, Lord, and full of your spirit please, Lord, and everyone
to just have a tent of ears to what your word is saying. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
So this is a brief interlude in the story of Joseph where we now focus on Judah for
likely most of the period that Joseph was in Egypt. So this chapter here is kind of
in a way side by side for the period that Joseph is in Egypt. And this is just for this
chapter and then we're going to go back. So everything in the Bible isn't chronological
in case you wondered. So it's not, well this must have all happened and then we continue
with Joseph. No, because we kind of get to take, you know, 30 odd years for Joseph to
get to Egypt or however long this story is, which is approximately that. And it says in
verse 1, it came to pass at that time that Judah went down from his brethren and turned
into a certain Adulamite whose name was Hera. So this is a friend of Judah's as we see described
in verse 12 as a friend. He's from the city of Adulam, which is a royal Canaanite city
it seems. Now is this a good type of friend, this Hera the Adulamite? Well you can be the
judge of this shortly as we go through this story, okay. So we're going to be looking
at that subject shortly but we're going to keep going first. Verse 2 says, And Judah
saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shewa, and he took her and
went in unto her. So described as a Canaanite, so her father Shewa, by the way wasn't Abraham
son by Keturah of the same name, okay. This is a Canaanite, the father is Shewa by the
way. But what is Judah doing here? So he's just taken a Canaanite and you can kind of
say it's not clear whether he's married her or not at this point. He does eventually.
Verse 12 says, And in the process of time the daughter of Shewa, Judah's wife, died.
So eventually she's described as his wife and Judah was comforted and went up unto his
sheep Shewa's to Timnath. He and his friend, like I said, he is called his friend Hera
the Adulamite. But what is he doing? Why is he, you know, why is he married this this
Canaanite woman again? We're going to look at that shortly as well. Let's keep going
though. It says, And she conceived and bare a son and he called his name Ur. And she conceived
again and bare a son and she called his name Onan. You feel like with the first son they
just couldn't think of a name, you know. Verse five, And she yet again conceived and bare
a son and called his name Sheila. Definitely they weren't Australians by the way. And he
was at Kizib. I'm going to start with a bad joke. And he was at Kizib when she bare him.
So Kizib being a town in Canaan, apparently not far from Hebron it seems where it was.
And Judah took a wife at Ur, his firstborn whose name was Tamar. And Ur, Judah's firstborn,
was wicked in the sight of the Lord and the Lord slew him. So Judah gets married to this
worldly Canaanite. Remember, by the way, that both Abraham and Isaac didn't want their sons
with the daughters of the Canaanites, okay. So this isn't, well I just didn't know any
better. No, clearly, look, this wasn't a good thing, okay. He's married this Canaanite woman.
They went to great lengths, in fact, to get wives for their sons that weren't
Canaanitish. Judah's just gone into this woman. Now what was the result? The firstborn son
being so wicked that God killed him. So the result of this union, the result of this marriage
to this Canaanite woman. Now when I say the result, I'm not saying that's the whole reason
that that happened, but straight away we don't see a good result basically, okay. He's got
married to this Canaanitish woman. The firstborn is so wicked that God ends up killing him.
And by the way, 1 Chronicles 12, you know, 2, 3, you don't have to turn there, confirms
that it's due to him being bad. He's a bad guy. It said the sons of Judah, Ur, and Onan
is talking about, it's just talking about the genealogy here, and Shelah, which three
were born unto him of the daughter of Shewa the Canaanites, and Ur, the firstborn of Judah,
was evil in the sight of the Lord and he slew him. So this guy's got to be pretty bad, right,
okay. Forgot to just end him early to just wipe him out. This is a bad guy. So this is
not a good example, this is definitely not a good advertisement for marrying off basically
into, and what we see here is the daughters of the land are ultimately the unsaved, okay.
And he's gone off, he's just got to marry someone that's not one of God's people and,
you know, at whatever point afterwards his son ends up being killed, okay. What about
son number two? Verse 8 says, And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife and
marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 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. And the thing which he did displeased
the Lord, wherefore he slew him also. Wow, so Judah's sons haven't turned out too well,
have they? Okay, so straight away now we've got son number two gets killed by God as well,
clear disobedience here as well. And I know that Judah and his brothers were pretty bad
already, okay, but his sons are so bad that God is slaying them. So they were bad enough
already, I mean, we've just read the chapter before about them plotting to kill Joseph.
It's pretty horrendous, wasn't it? But now his sons are getting slayed, so it's not looking
good for him. Now what is it that's happened here with Onan? Well, we'll turn to Deuteronomy
25. The idea as we see later in the law, so obviously this is pre the law being given,
but the idea is for a brother to continue that line of his deceased brother. Okay, lines
and people's, you know, and the name being kept was an important thing for people and
I suppose it is less so now, but maybe some people do think about that and think, well,
what's, where's my name going to be in this long, you know, in generations to come? And
this is an important thing for these people. Obviously at this point as well, we're still
kind of in a way still nation building really, aren't we, as well. Deuteronomy 25 and verse
25. Deuteronomy 25, 5 says, if brethren dwell together and one of them die and have no child,
the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger. Her husband's brother shall
go in unto her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of an husband's brother
unto her. And it shall be that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name
of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. So for, so for one
it would help the poor wife who would have been left a widow and also, like I said, the
guy's name doesn't then cease to exist. His name continues, okay, and when you go, well,
well, wouldn't it, does it matter, because don't the sons have the same name, because
this is before surnames really. Sometimes you'd be known by who your father is as well,
but your name was important, you are the son of whoever, okay. But I suppose that also
that inheritance would continue to go somewhere too with the wife not being left desolate
either. So there would then be, I think, the inheritance would be passed down as well there.
And here in in Genesis 38, long before the law, Judah told his second son to do just
this. He said, and Judah said unto Onan, in verse 8, go in unto thy brother's wife and
marry her and raise up seed to thy brother. 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. So Onan didn't want to impregnate
her and avoided doing so. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew
him also. Now, some believe, and you might have heard this story maybe, you know, from
different different sorts of people about this, some believe that this story teaches
that all forms of birth control are wicked and leave God angry enough to kill. Now I'm
going to explain my beliefs here to you, okay, what I believe about this story. Firstly,
I believe, and separate to this story, I do believe that most, most forms of birth control
are wicked. Okay, most forms of birth control are wicked. Various pills, okay, which just
mess people up internally for one, various pills. And by the way, I thought the pill
was wicked long before I understood the backup mechanism of silent abortions with it, okay,
of basically preventing that, you know, if it didn't work and stop them getting pregnant
that there's a backup mechanism where it will stop that fertilised egg implanting,
okay. And that's like, I mean, that's murder, okay, and we're going to look at that in a
minute. Okay, but regardless of that, I mean, what on earth are you, like, hormone controlling
pills? I mean, what on earth? People, I mean, it's crazy, isn't it, that you can have a
nation of not just women, but men just going, yeah, yeah, just take a pill, take a pill
and stop you getting pregnant. What could be the problem? It's nuts, isn't it? Absolutely
crazy what people will put in their bodies and not even question and ask, what are the
actual effects of this? What are the long-term effects? What are the short-term effects of
just taking some drug to stop you getting pregnant? Okay, crazy. Turn to Isaiah chapter
7. And by the way, the morning after pill is even worse. That's just like, well, if
I did get pregnant, let's kill that egg. Let's kill that fertilised egg, okay, basically.
And I say all that in case you're going, what's he talking about, you know, killing
a fern? Isn't it just a fetus? It's just a bundle of cells, isn't it? Well, the Bible
calls someone who's conceived as being with child, because it's a child from conception.
Okay, there is no, there's no magic line, there's no magic age where it stops being
a fetus and bundle of cells and being a child. And some people are trying to come up with
a magic line because they don't want to accept that it's a child. They don't want to accept
that life begins at conception, so what they try and do is go, oh no, no, well it must
be at this age, it must be at that age, well when they start looking more like a child.
Some have even claimed it's only at birth. I mean, do me a favour. So what about all
those premature babies? They're not actually alive apparently. I mean, it's crazy, right?
But again, that's because people go to the world instead of just going to the Word of
God. And what does the Word of God say? Well, Isaiah 7 and 14, you're in Isaiah 7 verse
14, prophesying of the Lord Jesus Christ, says, Therefore the Lord himself shall give
you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.
So in Isaiah 7 and verse 14, it talks about a virgin conceived. It says a virgin shall
conceive. It's talking about the point of conception, agreed? Keep a finger there and
turn to Matthew chapter 1, where this verse is referenced and see how it's worded. Now
in Matthew 1, Joseph was visited by the angel of the Lord and the narrator, the Holy Spirit,
says this. Matthew 1 and verse 22, Matthew 1 and 22 says, Now all this was done that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a
virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth the son and they shall call his name
Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. So here in Matthew 1, he's referencing
Isaiah 14, where it said, Behold, a virgin shall conceive. And here it says a virgin
shall be with child because it's the same thing. Because they're with child the second
they conceive. That is now a life. It's a child. There, like I said, there's no magic
age when they suddenly stop being and when I say age in the womb, when they stop being
a fetus and go into trouble. No, they're a life. They're a child. Okay. And Exodus
20, 13, you have to turn and it says, Thou shalt not kill. That's a life. If you're
killing it, that's murder. Okay. Pure and simple, right? Now that's pretty clear. However,
what about birth control that doesn't involve, involve murder then? Okay. Turn to Genesis
chapter 9. For example, being aware of fertility times. If you think, oh, what's he talking
about? Abstaining during those times is a form of birth control or even for a period
of time doing similar to Onan, for example. Well, firstly, let's not forget, okay, that
children are a positive thing. Contrary to popular belief nowadays, children are a good
thing. Okay. And that's something that people have to get their head around in the first
place. Okay. Because nowadays we live in a world where there seem to be more of a hindrance
or maybe one or two just about to kind of deal with those cravings to bring forth a
child and to reproduce and after that it's like, what on earth, what on earth would you
have more than one or two children? You must be crazy. You must be nuts and everything
else. And part of the reason is because they don't raise them biblically. So they do end
up being an absolute nightmare for all these parents, don't they? They're running around
tearing the place apart and they just can't work out what to do with them. Because spanking
a bottom is off limits to them. Because anything else, because saying no to a child reprove
you or rebuke your child seems to be off limits to half of this nation. However, they are
a blessing. Okay. They are a great thing. Psalm 127 5, comparing them to the arrows
of a warrior says, happy is a man that had this quiver full of them. So that means having
a lot of children makes for a happy person. Okay. That it's a great thing to have a lot
of children. Here in Genesis 9, God repeated the pre-flood command of Genesis 1 28. He
says in Genesis 9 1, and God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them, be fruitful
and multiply and replenish the earth. And I would say that that particularly applies
to believers, to God's children. Okay. Because look, you know, one way that the, the, the,
the basically one way that our church will grow is by having children. Do you know one
way that some of the most wicked false religions grow? It's just kids. Do you think the Muslims
are converting that many people? Yeah. They're threatening some people in prison and there's
a few imbeciles and there's a few weak women that, that do some form of conversion to,
because they, they, they want to marry some Muslim guy. But do you know what the majority
of the growth of Muslims are? It's through having children. And because they're so scared
of leaving it, because they get ostracized and kicked out of the family and sometimes
even worse, if they ever leave the religion, that's how it grows through having children.
However, that's, that's the bad types, right? But for us as well, if you can raise your
children properly, raise them in the things of God, that's how Bible believing Christians
will grow in one way. And obviously as well is getting people saved and getting them to
serve God and get other people saved. However, okay, so look, don't get me wrong. Having
children, replenishing the earth with believers is a great thing that we should be doing.
It's a blessing. Okay. A large family is a great thing. However, has anyone seen a command
in the Bible to have the maximum kids that is physically possible? Is there a command?
Now there isn't. And I say that because there's also not a command not to, by the way. So
if you can and want to, then great, as long as you're going to raise them properly. So
it's no good going and having 10, 20, whatever kids, whatever I can, maximum kids, and you
don't raise them, as you should, according to the Word of God, right? Okay, that's like,
what's that about? So obviously, obviously, look, it's a great thing if you can have lots
of kids. Brilliant. But did anyone see a command to put no thought at all into family planning?
Is there a command? Is there a clear verse in the Bible that says no to family planning?
Because people will go here and go, well, that solved it, right? For example, a popular
way that some people family plan is co-sleeping and then breastfeeding on demand, which reduces
the chance of getting pregnant. That's family planning. People do that. And there's nothing
wrong with that. Anyone think that's wrong and wicked and evil? Of course it's not. So
one of the reasons that people do that and women will go, well, I'm going to keep co-sleeping
and breastfeeding on demand, because they know that if they stop, they're going to suddenly
become more fertile and more likely to get pregnant. Because some people, look, it's
one of a few natural ways of family planning to space out children to a manageable gap.
Because a year apart is tough. Nine, ten months apart, eleven, twelve, whatever it is, is
tough. Very tough. It can be very tough on a lady's body. It can be very tough on a family
and everything else. Some people do that, right? And they can do that. And if they choose
to do that, that's their choice as well. But ultimately, you have a choice with that.
For some, the co-sleeping, the on-demand feeding, maybe the feeding itself is a problem. You
know there are people that can't, for whatever reason, breastfeed? I'm sure people are aware
of that. Is it Irish twins all the way or they're wicked? Is that what people think?
And if you're wondering what Irish twins are, that's basically just like one baby after
another, right? Like a year apart or even less. Are those people that can't breastfeed
wicked? Are those people that, for whatever reason, can't just breastfeed on demand and
other things like that, are they wicked? Of course not. Okay? There are reasons why, look,
there are many reasons why people won't and can't just have baby after baby after baby.
How about those with recurrent miscarriages? Other health issues? Chronic illness? Danger
of death in subsequent births? Because there are people that have severe problems, okay?
And I say all that because, look, this is a thing, okay? For good reason, many people
here will have heard preaching about, look, have children. And for good reason, because
the world teaches something completely the opposite. So that stuff needs preaching hard.
Because the default position for most people who first start reading the Bible is, you
know, they're already coming from a point where children are a hindrance, you know,
take all sorts of weird drugs and everything else, stop you having kids, murder them if
the drugs fail and everything else, and it's like a couple of kids and that's it. So for
that reason, a lot of people hear some hard preaching on that, and for good reason, right?
People need to get right and understand, no, children are a blessing and they're not a
problem and everything else. However, some people hear that and then go all the way over
here where it's like anyone, you know, if you even think about how to plan to have a
family or anything else, you're wicked, it should all be in God's hands, you just crack
on and just go, God, you deal with it. But there's no verse in the Bible that says that.
And then they'll go to this and go, well, this proves it. And then we have people at
our church who were coming out with this stuff to people in our church. That apparently it's
wicked to even think or plan or have any thought about what gap you want in your family. That's
completely extreme. It's ridiculous. Is everyone wicked for using some form of family
parenting? Because if you're wicked for abstaining or for using whatever, you know, like I said,
as long as it's not murder, right, then you'd have to be wicked then for going, right, well,
I'm going to do whatever else, which, oh, well, that's okay, it's just nonsense, okay?
Because there is no verse. If there was a clear command in the Bible, then sure, but
there isn't. And back in Genesis 38, it was more, there was more to this story than family
planning. Okay, I mean, it's clear as day, verse 8 says, And Judah said unto Onan, Go
in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 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. And
the thing which he did to his wife, because that was one of the things he did, the spilling,
or the not giving seed to his brother, it was a whole lot. The thing that he did, the
event, that was the thing which displeased the Lord, the whole event, what he did. He
wasn't just displeased because of the contraceptive part, it was a whole lot. But would he have
been fine had he just married her and never lay with her? Or had he just refused to marry
her? Now, some would say, well, it's the first and only time this sort of thing is
mentioned in the Bible, because that's what I've heard people saying. We had, like I said,
we had some people at a church trying to say, well, first time, you know, that's why it's,
that's why we only see it there. The only time this sort of thing's made all contraception,
wicked, you're wicked if you try, if you have any sort of family planning or anything else.
Well, I disagree that it's the first time this sort of thing, we see this, the result
of this sort of thing. Go back to Genesis 30, where Leah and Rachel start giving their
handmaids to Jacob to wife. And verse nine in Genesis 30 says, when Leah saw that she
had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her Jacob to wife. Why had she left
bearing? Well, we're going to see in a minute. Verse 10 says, and Zilpah Leah's maid bare
Jacob a son, and Leah said, a troop cometh, and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's
maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me
blessed. And she called his name Asher. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and
found mandrakes in the field and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to
Leah, give me I pray thee of thy son's mandrakes. Now, like we talked before, these are some
sort of aphrodisiacs it seems. Rachel is asking for these. And she said unto her, is it a
small matter that thou hast taken my husband? Okay, so at this point, do you remember it
said that Leah had when she when Leah saw that she had left bearing, she says here that
you've taken my husband and would take away my son's mandrakes also Rachel said, Therefore,
he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field
in the evening and Leah went out to meet him and said, Thou must come in unto me, for surely
I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened
unto Leah and she conceived and bare Jacob the fifth son. What was the difference between
verse nine and 17? Between two verses, verse nine and verse 17. It was verse 16. He lay
with her that night. That was the difference. She had left bearing because he wasn't lying
with her. Leah didn't have a problem bearing. It was that Jacob wasn't lying with her. That
was the problem. And Leah said in verse 18, God has given me my higher because I've given
my maiden to my husband and she called his name Iskar. Leah conceived again and bare
Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God had endued me with a good dowry. Now will my husband
dwell with me? Because I've borne him six sons, she called his name Zebulun. And after
she bare her daughter and called her name Dina. Now I know this was a bizarre harem
situation okay. But was Jacob completely wicked for not lying with his wife? Because we're
never told he is. Now according to 1 Corinthians 7-5 he was definitely in the wrong wasn't
he? Okay. However messed up this situation was. Basically like, you know, if you go by
1 Corinthians 7-5 which says, To fraud ye not one the other, except to be with consent
for time, that ye may give yourselves to farce in prayer, and come together again to Satan
temp ye not for your incontinency. Obviously multiple wives makes that a lot more difficult
right. However God didn't kill him for it because the issue was that Onan was refusing
to raise up seed to his brother. Okay that was the point. Because you could argue that
was another form of basically contraception family planning that he just wasn't going
in and lying with his wife. It was what he did. It was because he was refusing to raise
up seed to his brother. You could also add that he was also mistreating this poor widow.
Who's been saved for him and then he's basically not even, he's not even doing what he's meant
to do. And raise up seed for his brother with her. He would have been better to have just
not agreed to it in the first place. Basically. If he didn't want to do it he should have
just said no. That's what the story's about. He said, And the thing which he did displeased
the Lord wherefore he slew him also. Last point on that. If you want to and are able
to have big families then great. Honestly great. And I mean it. Yeah? And if you're
able to and you and your wife and you have this, you know, and when I say able I don't
mean like be like this worldly lot. We just can't afford it right now because then we'd
have to cut back on the five holidays and you know and the three cars and everything
else. That's not what I'm talking about. But if you're able to have children physically
and everything else and you're able to have many children great. Do. Right? As long as
you raise them in the Lord and do things the right way with them. And like I said there's
been great preaching on that for good reason. But you can't take you can't take that and
then take this this passage and go that means that any form of family planning and any form
of you know whatever natural contraception and stuff is wrong. That's not what this passage
is saying. Otherwise there's going to be a clear verse in the Bible that says that. Right.
OK. But there is. And you know what. God wants us to be fruitful and multiply. OK. He does.
So please be fruitful. Don't come away from this going right. OK. That's it. You know
let's go to like the one child and that's it. However he gives us enough wisdom and
understanding to be able to do it sensibly. And I say that because people will get their
heads turned by stuff like that and then just start. It's like Irish twins all the way and
then like everything's just hard. It's stressful. It could be damaging to a woman's body and
stuff like that because they because they're not just like that's a big life decision.
A big life decision is based on biblical principles and biblical values. You need to
study the Bible for it. Right. And not just kind of well some some extremist somewhere
you know who kind of took one part of a good pastors preaching and ran with it and then
starts running around telling everyone in a church that if anything other than basically
just children on demand as and when you know is wicked like that's that's craziness. Because
and again like I said then how do you then what happens with all the people that have
massive health issues and health concerns and other problems with that. I mean it's
not exactly rocket science fertility calendars and things like that. Okay. And we have that
wisdom where we are and it's your choice at the end of the day. Ultimately that's what
it comes down to. It's your choice. I would encourage you to have lots of children. Right.
But ultimately it's your choice as a couple with that for married couples. Verse 11 says
then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law remain a widow at my father's house till she
loved my son be grown for he said less peradventure die also as his brethren did and Tamar went
and dwelt in her father's house. So he's saying well you better go back to your father's house
in case Sheila dies before he's able to marry you. That's what he's saying. Now you could
say poor Judah here. His sons have died and then his wife dies. It says in verse 12 and
in process of time the daughter of Shua Judah's wife died and Judah was comforted and went
up unto his sheep shearers to Timnath he and his friend Hera the Edulamite. There's
this Hera again. Okay. This is his good buddy. Okay. It said in verse 13 it was told Tamar
saying behold thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep and she put a widow's
garments off from her and covered her with a veil and wrapped herself and sat in an open
place which is by the way to Timnath for she saw that Sheila was grown and she was not
given unto him to wife. So the agreement hadn't been fulfilled. When Judah saw her
he thought her to be a harlot because she had covered her face. Why didn't harlot cover
her face? Because it's such a shame. Because it's such a shame to be a harlot. And I say
that because nowadays people are proud of that sort of behaviour. Nowadays it's the
opposite. It's like it's something to boast about for many and many circles in our world
and being a harlot was something to be proud of. This isn't, by the way, these harlots
are not all like, you know, believers. That's just, that was kind of normal that it was
a shameful thing and now we're in such a bizarre situation where people don't seem to be at
all ashamed of being a harlot and behaving like a harlot. Do you know what would be more
shameful? Would be a harlot who doesn't do it to earn money and put money and put bread
on the table. That's even more shameful. I mean, do you know what I mean? I'm not trying
to justify that sort of, don't get this the wrong way. Yeah, well it sounds like a fairly
good job prospect. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that if you're a harlot and
you ain't even getting paid for it, that's even more shameful. What is that about? I
mean that's just disgust, it's even more disgusting. But here they're covering their face because
it's so shameful, this job. Okay, I mean really that is a disgusting job, isn't it? And that's
something, look, people need to remember that, how filthy and disgusting that is, because
the world tries to okay it and everything else. I mean, just like the disease and the
just, you can think of a hundred reasons why that is vile, okay? Verse 16, 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 will thou give me that thou mayest
come in unto me? So it just goes from bad to worse for Tudor here, doesn't it? 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? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? 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. So he gives her these things as security until he pays her. Verse
19 says, And she arose and went away and laid by her veil from her and put on the garments
of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adulamite to
receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he found her not.
Right, now it's time to talk about old Hera the Adulamite, okay? There are three mentions
of him so far. First in verse one, where it says, And it came to pass at that time that
Judah went down from his brethren and turned into a certain Adulamite, whose name was Hera.
What was the result of him turning in, of him hanging out with this guy? Verse two,
And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shewa, and he took
her and went in unto her. He ends up eventually, at least, marrying this Canaanite woman on
the back of hanging out with Hera. So that's the first mention of him. Verse one, he goes
and hangs around with this worldly guy, you know, Hera the Adulamite, and like I said
Adulam being basically a Canaanite-ish city. Then he marries this Canaanite woman. Look
at verse 12, And in process of time the daughter of Shewa Judah's wife died, and Judah was
comforted and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hera the Adulamite.
So he's hanging around with Hera again and ends up getting what he thinks is a harlot.
Hanging around with Hera, next thing you know he's getting a harlot, or what he thinks is
a harlot, or at least she's behaving as a harlot. Then when it comes to paying the harlot,
who does he entrust with his dirty little secret? Look at verse 20, And Judah sent the
kid by the hand of his friend the Adulamite to receive his pledge from the woman's hand,
but he found her not. It's old Hera the Adulamite again. I only mentioned three times in the
Bible and all three times is around some pretty questionable behaviour by Judah. And let me
tell you something, who you choose to spend time with will massively affect your life.
It will massively affect your life. Who you choose to spend your time with, and by the
way this includes kids now, all the way through to adults of an old age, who you spend time
with will affect your life in massive ways as well.
No, Hera the Adulamite's mentioned three times for a reason. Okay? Would a man like Joseph,
for example, or at least a man that Joseph became, have been party to all of this, do
you think? Do you think, had Joseph been his buddy, would he have been going, oh Joseph,
can you just go and pay this harlot for me? Oh, he's hanging around with Joseph, oh yeah,
just... Joseph literally legged it the other way from Potiphar's wife. Because what worldly
friends often do is they at least make your sin more acceptable, at the least. So what
happens is when we hang around with very worldly people, or even slightly worldly people, just
worldly people in general, okay, when we hang around with people like that, what happens
is our sin just becomes a little bit more acceptable because usually they're pushing
it as well, right? They're sinning in this way and that way. Look, we're all sinners,
okay? But there's standards, aren't there? Let's be honest, most of the country would
be kicked out of our church if they were saved and they were here and wanted to be enjoying
our church. That's the reality. So that's what I'm talking about here. I'm not saying
we're sinless, but I'm talking about wicked sins where God says he doesn't even want those
people in the church. Most of this town, we'd have to kick him out. And that's the reality,
and by the way, that's a thought for many people, because I know like, one of the attacks
that we get and people wanted, because there's different angles, is, well where are all the
saved people? You know, where are the people who got saved, why aren't they in church?
Let me tell you something, God builds a church, yeah, and most of those people you got saved
are either fornicating, boozing, in drugs, or sometimes some of the other things on that
1 Corinthians 5 list. Now, the issue with that is, is they don't suddenly just get right
because they're saved. So it's no good for them to be pulled into church, for God, okay,
everyone that's got saved, I'm going to find a way of getting them in. That's why, if you
notice I'll pray for the right timing, the right time for God, because you get some boozing
fornicate to walk into this church, and we give them a couple of weeks grace, and then
we go, look, you need to get right in that. That might be the last time they walk into
a church. And what they'll be going, they're so judgmental. It's just, you know, it's such
a judgmental place and everything else, because that's what these people do, don't they?
But because they're not at that point in life where they're ready to do that. Now, they
might bring someone in who's into that, and God might bring someone in when they're at
the right point in their life, where maybe, look, I think we could get through to that
person and get them to go, yeah, is it really worth it when I could be serving God and everything
else? But most of the people you get saved, I think that would probably be the last time
they step foot in a church once we tell them, look, you need to get right if you want to
be a part of our church. And look, there's timing for people, isn't there? And obviously
they need the preaching to be convicted of that. But again, some people, as you know,
preaching, they go the other way, don't they? A lot of people can't deal with preaching.
They just can't deal with being told stuff. It's something to think about. But anyway,
the point here is that those same people, if you're hanging around with those same people,
what happens? You go, well, at least I'm not doing what they're doing. This isn't so bad.
That's one way people act, don't they? Well, I'm not as bad as that one. And it happens
with Christians as well. They're going, well, brother, so and so, sister, so and so do that.
So it can't be that bad. So doing this isn't so bad, because at least it's not as bad as
them. And we often do that, don't we? You look to someone and go, well, they do this
and that, so this isn't so bad now. Turn to Proverbs 13. And whatever the sin is, when
you're hanging around with people that are regularly doing it, you will get desensitized.
Whatever it is. If you're hanging around with people that are in some sort of sin, whatever
the sin is, you will become desensitized to the sin. That's just life. That's what happens.
It may take years, but it will trip away at you. It might take years. You might be kind
of hanging around with someone and you're like, oh, I'll never do that, I'll never
do that, I'll never do that. And then slowly and slowly you're just seeing it and seeing
it and seeing it and seeing it. Eventually it can become a temptation. Proverbs 13 and
verse 20 says this. Proverbs 13, 20. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a
companion of fools shall be destroyed. And without salvation, is there wisdom? There
is no wisdom. It's the beginning of wisdom. So without someone being saved, should they
be our companion? Should they be someone that we're hanging around with, seeking their fellowship,
their company, to be like good friends with them and everything else? No. No, you don't
have to cut off everyone out of your life. Again, you preach like this, then people go
on extremes. I wouldn't even talk to someone who was unsaved. Well, how are you going to
get people saved then? You don't have to cut people off, you don't have to be a bad testimony,
but you shouldn't be seeking their fellowship, okay? You're walking with wise, and walking
is basically spending your time, isn't it? If you're doing your Christian walk with a
load of unwise people, if you're a companion of fools, you shall be destroyed. But here's
another thing to think about. Salvation doesn't automatically mean that someone's wise. It's
the beginning of wisdom. There's a lot of very unwise saved people. And you start hanging
around with, oh well, they're saved. Do me a favour. There are a lot of saved people
that are into a lot of bad sins. And that doesn't suddenly mean they're okay because
they're saved. And it's one of the angles of attack that we have to look out for, by
the way. So one of the angles, and one of the ways of weakening you, is by people trying
to buddy up and yoke up and fellowship with you, who are just going to lead you astray.
And whether it's the old family, the old friends, whoever it is, you know, people in your life
that try and start to get their hooks into you and your family in one way or another,
it's not just them. Because it can also be people, sometimes who are saved, sometimes
people who are pretending to be saved. And that's another way that they weaken you. And
obviously we had a big core of that in this church where so much of the behaviour, and
it was subtle, but so much of it was just straight wrong. And people around that start
to think, well this is okay, and they start to get encouraged at the covetousness, and
just the boasting, and the deceit, and the lying, and all this weird stuff. And the more
you're with people like that, the more you'll start to justify and be desensitised to that
sort of behaviour, especially when they're claiming to be saved.
However, it's, and by the way, that's one of the reasons, by the way, why the book of
Proverbs we've been going through, for example, we just did Proverbs chapter 12, it's just
giving us a contrast. It's like people serving God, like the righteous saved, as in the people
trying to live right and everything else, not just Christ's righteousness, and then
the wicked people. And it's like contrast, contrast, contrast, because we have to have
an eye out for that. Because that's just the life, that's the Christian life. It's those
people who try and come in, pretend to be like us, and just pull us aside, astray one
way or another. It's not just false doctrine. It's also trying to just pervert our ways
in many ways. However, it's not just who we're hanging around. You could only walk
with wise people. You go, no, I've got this right. Yeah, I've got it right. I only, like,
I walk with wise people. Yeah, I'm around the unsaved, I preach the Gospel to them,
I'm in the workplace, obviously, you know, for the men, for the women maybe, you know,
I still like, I try and not just cut off my old family, friends, I want to still have
that relationship, so I'm getting saved in the future, but my companionship is with the
saved, right? Okay, my walk is with the wise people. And then you could spend every single
day immersed in some of the biggest fools in this world. And how is that? Through TV,
through the media, through social media, through the internet, through all of that stuff. There
are people that, there are Christians out there that, no, no, they don't fellowship
with other people, it's church, you know, church, soul winning, everything else, and
then they spend literally hours each day looking at movies, Netflix, where they're literally
being influenced daily by some of the most wicked people in the world, by the people
making it, and then these actors and actresses, and a lot of them are just sodomites, freaks,
different forms of reprobates, narcissists, you know, just all different versions, variants
of ultimately psychopaths, just promoting and pushing the most disgusting stuff, filth
in your face, wickedness in your face at every angle, and they're just watching that stuff
day in, day out. Oh, but I'm not walking with them. Yeah, you are. In fact, you're more
influenced by them than anyone in the past maybe was. Series, social media, in various
ways, false prophets, in various ways, you go, oh, well, we know about it, we don't,
we won't listen to false prophets, it's all about morons like Andrew Tate. How many Christians
are there out there that thought it was okay to listen to some complete wicked moron, 99%
sure he's a sodomite, people like Andrew Tate? He's so manly. Manly? Looks like a queer.
It does look like a queer. It does sound like a queer. I shall mark him down as definitely
a probable queer. Because, look, look, and that's just one, there's so many of these
guys, aren't there, that people are like, oh, well, you know, they're all right, this
guy like Jordan Peterson was, oh, he's just so intelligent, and he kind of goes against
the status quo. He's a false prophet. He claims to teach the Bible. The guy ain't saved. And
they're immersed in this stuff, and they're like, oh, I can't wait to listen to Jordan
Peterson, he's so intellectual. Let's see what he's got to say about feminism. Let's
see what the Bible's got to say about feminism. Jordan Peterson is just another false prophet.
And these guys are everywhere. People immerse themselves in these people, and all they're
going to do is just end up getting destroyed in the end. You want to companion up with
these people through your social media, through your Facebook or your YouTube or anything
else. However, before that, and it's just something I want to mention now and again.
Before being influenced, of course they were. How were they being influenced? Literature.
And it is something we have to be a little bit aware of, I think, as parents as well.
And obviously, you know, as adults, we need to be responsible as well. Is it just because
something's written down in a book, it doesn't mean it's suddenly OK? Because you can spend
hours, days, weeks immersed in books, and you can be basically a companion of fools
in it. You can be immersed in just constantly reading subtle brainwash, just having it push
it. And look, I'm not saying suddenly write that's it, all books are banned for the kids
and everything else, because there's some good stuff out there. There's some nice stuff,
you know, some good old novels, especially some of the old stuff's pretty cool stuff
and pretty clean stuff and everything else. Can you imagine what they're writing now?
Do you know that David Walliams was writing books? We had one given to us for one of our
kids and it was a family member who meant well, you know, and it was like, oh, thanks
very much. I mean, that guy's full on wicked, right? But that's the sort of stuff kids are
reading. Now, you go, well, that's just now. Do you think that the influence wasn't through
that form of media in the old days? Of course it was in the old days. And so we have to
be a bit aware of that stuff as well, because it's the same thing. But oh, well, I don't
hang around with anyone, but I just read like whoever, David Walliams or the equivalent
of all day, every day, every evening, I'm just spending three hours with this novel.
You know, it's what are you really getting influenced by? Well, here we have Judah messing
up his life whilst being accompanied every step by this Adulamite. Okay. It seems to
be like the big issues here, the big problems. The Adulamite is with him alongside Judah
with all of this. It says in verse 20, and Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend
the Adulamite to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he found a nut. So as expected,
it didn't work out either. Verse 21, then he asked the men of that place saying, where
is the harlot that was openly by the wayside? And they said there was no harlot in this
place. 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. And Judah said, let her take it to
her lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this kid and now has not found her. So I think
he's saying, well, she could keep the pledge. I think is what he's saying. The signets,
the bracelet and the staff. It's going to be embarrassing trying to find her, I think
is what he's saying. Okay. Lest we be shamed. You know, if we start putting the word out
everywhere, anyone seen that harlot anywhere? Because I owe her some money, basically, you
know. That's a shame, isn't it? Yeah. Not embarrassed around old Hera though, is he?
Not a problem for old Hera, his old Oedulomite buddy. And by the way, this is an old buddy
as well, because right at this point, we've already got to the point where his son Ur
has married her and died, where Onan has married her and died. And the Oedulomite was the one
that he was with when he met his wife in the first place, the mother of these two young
men. So this is an old, old buddy who he's still knocking about with, who he's not embarrassed
about harlots and everything else with. And there's a good reminder there, isn't there?
Just because it's your old friend, just because it's your old buddy and it's a bit awkward
to kind of move on from and they keep trying to chase you up and want to still see you.
You might tell yourself, well, maybe I'll get him saved in the future. You know, even
though, let's be honest, they've never wanted to hear the gospel, they still don't want
to hear it. You know, they mock it, they scorn it and everything else. Do you really want
to be hanging around with that person? Because a lot of the time they're just, you're just
going to justify sin around them more. I'm not saying the odd meeting now and again,
seeing if maybe, you know, catching up for old time's sake, trying to get him saved,
but you're hanging around with them like he is with his Hera, you're going to have problems,
right? Verse 24 says 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 Hordom. And Judah said, bring her forth and let her be burnt. Now, sorry, last point
on the Hera bit is just remember, that's Hera, the Edulamite, his buddy, but is it much different
when it's family and friends? Because often will justify then the old sibling, the brother
or sister, that every time we lie, if we're hanging around with them, it's still, well,
my sister's still my best friend, my brother's still my best buddy, they just happen to be
unsaved and completely away from the things of God. The reality of it is, it's the same
situation really, isn't it? And the more time you're with them, and again, you don't have
to cut them off, don't read this the wrong way, don't cut them off, unless they're like
a sodomite or something and then do cut them off, don't cut them off if they're just a
regular unsaved person. However, you don't want to be a companion of them, you don't
want to just be hanging around, you don't want to be yoked up with them, you don't want
to be your best buddy and everything else, because what happens is, you'll just be desensitized
more to the sin, to all that stuff that, like I said, a lot of these people just wouldn't
even be able to be in a church like this if they were saved. Now, he said, bring her forth
and let her be burnt. Now, since when did harlots get burnt with fire? Well, Leviticus
21.9, you have to turn this, says, and the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself
by playing the whore, she profaneth her husband, she shall be burnt with fire. But this was
500 years later and there was no evidence that her father was a priest, anyhow, okay?
So for me, this is just Judah just going, right, let's burn her, burn her, okay? What
a hypocrite. Oh, it's unbelievable, this is three months later, he's just laid with a
harlot three months before, who knows if there's another one since, but at least we know that,
or at least what he thought was a harlot, and now he's saying, burn her, burn her for
playing the whore, or playing the harlot, it's said here. What a hypocrite. And sometimes,
they're not always gay, because people like to go, they must be, you know, if you preach
gay sodomites, you must be a closet sodomite, okay? That's ridiculous, okay? However, sometimes
there are people who have real extreme reactions with things, when it's, because this is an
extreme reaction, this isn't just going, yeah, sodomites are disgusting, this is an extreme
reaction to something, he's completely wrong as well, you know, at this point, why should
she be burnt with fire? I mean, what on earth? I'm assuming he's meaning live as well, yeah?
Burn her at the stake. And that's an extreme reaction, a lot of the time when people do
that, it's due to hypocrisy, isn't it? It's like they overdo it. You get these people
sometimes, you know, you sometimes get these wicked people, and sometimes you will get
them, like the ones who just, I absolutely hate these types of, ah, kill the sods, kill
the sods, and it's like, a little bit queer, aren't they? You get that, don't you? You
get the people that are like that with the false prophets, ah, I just can't stand these
false prophets, and it's like, actually, you seem to be a false prophet, you know? So there
is obviously that, but again, that's not a rule, so be careful with that stuff, okay?
Verse 25, it says, 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. And Judah acknowledged them and said, she
hath been more righteous than I, because I gave her not to Sheila my son, and he knew
her again no more. So his only saving grace here is that he did acknowledge being in the
wrong. Some people would just dig their hills in and dig their hills in, at least at the
end here he's like, okay, no, she's right, you know, it seems he was convicted at this
point, right? And it came to pass in time of her travail that behold, twins were in
her womb. 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. And it came to
pass he drew back his hand, and behold, his brother came out. She said, how has thou broken
forth this breach be upon thee? Therefore his name was called Phares. And afterward
came out his brother that had the scarlet thread upon his hand, and his name was called
Zara. So the midwife thought that Zara was coming out first, but Phares came out, which
means breach, okay, that's why they named him Phares. So, really, I mean, this whole
thing, yeah, it's a pretty rough story, isn't it? You know, of all the stories in the
book, I mean, we had a pretty, pretty rough one a couple of chapters before, didn't we,
with Dina. And now we've got this one, and you've got to think that Jerry Springer and
Jeremy Carr would have probably palmed this off as a fake, wouldn't they? They probably
would, right, they would have been like, what? Like, yeah, all right, yeah, whatever, because
the whole thing just sounds, what, so the first one died, then you married the brother
and he died, and then they never gave you the third brother, and then you had to pretend
to be a harlot, and he didn't even realise, and then everything else. But, look, this
100% happened, right? Again, obviously the face covering helped with that part as well,
obviously, and whatnot. I reckon they would have bought out the lie detector. So I'm like,
you know, you know, we're talking the real business when they bring out the lie detector,
right? Who's child is this? But I reckon they would have bought out the lie detector here,
and because it's such a, it's just such a crazy story, but it's a true story, isn't
it? And we know that this happened, obviously. And the point being that it's so bad, it's
so rough, yeah, it's so, like, disgusting, really. The whole thing is just, like, what
on earth, right? It makes hard reading sometimes. However, when you get to the end here, here's
an interesting thing. The scarlet thread wasn't an accident, okay? So this scarlet thread
put on the wrist, they didn't just go scarlet thread just for a bit of fun, you know? We
just mentioned it was scarlet as well. The result of it all was, was at Fares. Oh, the
result of it all was Fares, sorry, who's the key person here, the baby here, the twin,
from whom came King David and eventually the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's so bizarre that
Fares, this whole story, this whole thing happened, and then Fares ends up being in
the line to King David and eventually the Lord. Now, in Joshua 2, you don't have to
turn there, the scarlet thread is a picture of the blood of Christ redeeming Rahab and
the household from destruction. If you remember, they hang this thread from the window and
that's to basically show that they're ultimately redeemed. It's like a picture, for example,
like the blood on the doorpost of the house, right, and a picture of salvation. And here
it's the firstborn who later was offered, should have been offered to the Lord, being
redeemed by his brother, okay? So the firstborn usually was offered, if you remember, and
then they would often redeem the firstborn, so they would give something as an offering
because the firstborn was meant to be the Lord's, yeah? So everything that came forth
of the womb was of the first, that came forth of the matrix was the Lord's, but what they
would then do is they would then offer like a sacrifice to then redeem that firstborn,
and that was a picture of Christ. Well, here it's the firstborn being redeemed because
he's meant to be the firstborn by his brother who's in the line of Christ, so the scarlet
thread being a picture of his redemption. So he's about to come out and he's redeemed
by the other one who comes out, who eventually becomes, you know, is in the line that where
Jesus Christ comes from, the scarlet thread being tied to the second baby that was originally
the first baby that's basically redeemed and no longer that first child doesn't need redemption
because of what comes from Phares. What an end to such a grim story, right? You end up
with Phares coming out. It wasn't, by the way, just that Phares, well, just happens
to be some kind of off-key person in the line, like it ends up being like a great family
as well, like a great leader comes from there and a few down the line. Boaz came from Phares
as well, like these are like some great people came from that line eventually, obviously
Jesse and David. And what an end, right? Because, and the point being is this, is that whatever
your past, okay, and this is a key point here, whatever has happened in the past can still
be used for the glory of God. So even this just, you know, I know like I've heard Americans
use this word and I like this word for this, a gnarly story like this, okay? This is gnarly,
okay? I don't mean like gnarly, dude. I don't mean in a good way, okay? This is gnarly,
isn't it? This is pretty grim stuff, pretty grim reading, but even everything that happened
here could be used eventually for the line that came to Christ. I mean, that's pretty
amazing. Turn to Romans chapter 8, and I look, I don't know about you guys, sometimes I look
back at negative things that have happened in my life. Then you've learned so much from
that, though, that you can use in the future, things can be used for good. You know, and
you might look back at times in your past and think, you know, and you could sometimes
cringe at things, you know, I can't believe I did that, you know, I did, but you can use
that for the future, can't you? And you can use that to help other people in the future,
you can use that to understand things, you can use experiences to help you understand
bad people and other things and people, you've been around this so much that it's not really
where God wanted you in doing, but you can use for good. Romans 8.28 says this, and we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. And the point being is that God can do anything with anyone.
Okay, he can. Even these twins that came from this just like crazy situation, their mother
pretending to be a harler, after two of her previous two husbands died, the third one
isn't given to her, and then her father-in-law ends up thinking she's a harler, she nearly
gets burnt with fire, she has these twins, and Fares ends up being seemingly a great
man with a great line after him, and eventually the line carries on to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And all things will work together for good eventually, right? To them that love God.
To them who are the called according to his purpose. And if you love God, whatever's happened
in the past, those things can work together for good. And not just in the past, whatever
even happens in your life, and I'm not saying okay well just feet up because all things
will work together for good, no obviously there's things God wants us to do, but if
you love God, if you love God and you're trying to serve God, then even if you're making mistakes
in your Christian life, these things can all work together for good. You can gain experience
from some of these things, you can gain faith from some of these things, you can gain many
things from bad things, from things where you've messed up, where you've slipped up,
but it all can work together for good, can't it? It can inspire you, it can motivate you,
it can help you to avoid that pitfall in the future. All things can work together for good,
right? And that's something we need to remember because sometimes we look back and we look
at things we've done in the past, whether saved or unsaved, and other things are just
saying, you know, horrendous, and it is, right? We shouldn't obviously, you know, we shouldn't
be glorifying in sin, however so much of this stuff you can get positives from it, right?
And here we see some some positive come from what is a pretty horrific chapter of the Bible,
right? And on that we're going to finish off in prayer.
Father, thank you for your word, thank you for, well, you know, the, well, sometimes
pretty, pretty raw stuff that we read in the Bible, Lord, some pretty raw situations, and,
you know, the Bible doesn't pull punches, really, here, Lord, and we, you know, thank
you that we can learn so much, though, from these things, that we can learn from stories
like this, obviously, who we fellowship with being a big one, you know, sort of the risks
that come from being around, you know, people that aren't your people, from yoking up with
them, marrying best friends, things like this, help us to learn from that, help us to also
just learn to, you know, to study scripture when it comes to important issues like families
and planning families and things like that, and just, you know, Lord, to get that balance
right between, you know, obviously not going the way of the world, but also not sort of,
not making doctrine out of not clear scripture in the Bible, Lord, help us to also just remember
that, well, you know, all things work together for good, and help us to maybe not dwell on
past mistakes, but dwell on what we can do in the future to do good, Lord, help us to
be a church which just constantly seeks to do good, Lord, and ultimately by going out
and getting people saved, Lord, and being able to find people and talk to them on a
level and not trying to lord it over people.
We know that, you know, so many of us here have, you know, had past which maybe aren't
things we're proud of, but help us to just work to being better people, to be better
people in the future, help us to get many people saved, and help us to return here,
Lord, on Sunday for a day in your house, Lord, help people who are ill and unwell and unavailable
to get ill on Sunday, Lord, and help us to just have a great end of the week as well,
in Jesus' name, for all of us.
Amen.