Chapter 36 is entirely an outline of Esau, also called Edom, and his descendants. It is also the first chapter to mention chiefs and give the chronology of the kings in Edom.
Chapter 37 starts by telling about Jacob’s son, Joseph.
3-4 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
When Joseph was 17, he had 2 dreams about his family bowing down to him. He told his family about the dreams and his brothers despised him even more. Jacob rebuked him, but “kept the matter in mind.”
One day, Jacob told Joseph to go check on his brothers and flocks near Shechem. When he arrived, someone told him they had moved on to Dothan. As Joseph approached, his brothers saw him and plotted to kill him.
19-20″Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
Reuben stepped up and told the brothers not to kill him, but just to put him in the cistern. They did so, and as they were eating, a group of Ishmaelites approached with loaded camels on the way to Egypt. Judah suggested that they sell Joseph instead, and the brothers agreed. They sold Joseph for about half a pound of silver, and the men took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned, he found that Joseph was gone. The brothers slaughtered a goat, dipped Joseph’s robe in it, and gave it to their father, saying they had found it. Jacob was heartbroken, went into mourning, and refused to be comforted. Meanwhile, Joseph was sold again to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials in Egypt.
Chapter 38 tells of Judah. He left his brothers, married a Canaanite woman, and had 3 sons. Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn.
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.
8-10 Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so he put him to death also.
After that, Judah told Tamar to go live with her father until the youngest son was old enough to be with her. He also was trying to spare his last son’s life.
Judah’s wife eventually died, and one day after he had recovered from his grief, he went out. Tamar was told about her father in law’s whereabouts. She also knew that her brother in law was now old enough to be with her, but had not been given to her. Tamar took off her widow’s clothes and put on a veil to disguise herself. She then sat at the entrance to Enaim. Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute because of her covered face.
16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”
He had no way to pay her at the time, so she asked for his seal, cord, and staff as a pledge until she got payment. He gave them to her, they slept together, and she got pregnant. After she left, she put her widow’s clothes back on again.
Judah sent a man with a goat to pay her and get his stuff back, but he couldn’t find her. When he asked around about the shrine prostitute, the people said there wasn’t one. He went back to Judah and told him these things.
23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughing stock.”
3 months later, word came to Judah that his daughter in law had become pregnant by prostitution. He demanded that she be brought out and burned to death.
As she was being brought out, she sent a message to Judah with his belongings saying whoever owned them was the father.
Tamar gave birth to twin boys- Perez and Zerah.
This chapter is definitely different. I like it though, because it’s about real life. We have a God that doesn’t pretend like our forefathers were perfect. He tells it like it is. He made sure to include the parts that Christians might now have omitted if it were written today. The Bible is honest about dishonesty and sin. It doesn’t pretend like real issues don’t exist. God meets us where we are, in the midst of ourselves, and I love that. I love Him for that. Do you know that God of the Bible? The God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Or do you know a version of Him that has been spoken about?
Today, pursue a real intimate relationship with the Creator. Come as you are. He already knows you and already loves you.
Lord, thank you for this word. Thank you for being Almighty, but still approachable. Thank you for your Word that doesn’t hide real life or pretend that people were perfect. Thank you that your word shows the difference between someone who makes dumb decisions and someone who is wicked. Help me to make better decisions. Thank you for always working for the good of those that love you. Let us walk with you today.
A Walk Through The Bible 