The Divisiveness of Sin

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once said, “Sin is in itself separation from the good.” He captured one of the consequences of sin: It separates us from God and often from others as well.

Our Scripture passage focuses on Judah. As we will see throughout this month, the lives of the two brothers—Joseph and Judah—are closely intertwined. At the end of Genesis 37, Judah callously suggested selling Joseph into slavery (37:27). In the opening verse of today’s passage, we are told that Judah had left his father and brothers and gone to live with a Canaanite (v. 1). Like Joseph, Judah also is separated from his family and living among a foreign people. Some have speculated that Judah’s secret of what had been done to Joseph made him want to leave his family. Scripture doesn’t tell us Judah’s motives, but it is true that sin often has a way of alienating us from loved ones.

Judah did not seem to change much. When his first two sons died, the text makes no mention of his grief, in contrast to his father’s mourning of Joseph (37:35). He treated Tamar with deceit. Custom (and later Mosaic Law) required that when a family member died leaving behind a widow without children, the brother of the deceased was to marry the widow and provide children in his brother’s name (Deut. 25:5–10). This was a way to provide for vulnerable widows as well as preserving the name and inheritance of a deceased family member.

After Judah’s second son died, Judah strung Tamar along, allowing her to think that he would provide his youngest son for her—all the while never intending to actually follow through. His deceit and treachery would have condemned Tamar to a life of childlessness and shame.

Pray with Us

In conclusion of our prayer time for the Admissions department, please add Lucas Manning, Randle Bishop, Reichert Zalameda, and Ryan Heinsch to your prayer list. May they always honor God as they help students follow God’s calling for their lives.

BY Ryan Cook

Dr. Ryan Cook has taught at Moody Bible Institute since 2012. He earned his bachelor of arts in Bible and Theology from Moody and his master of arts in Old Testament from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He has worked in Christian education and served as a pastor in Michigan for seven years. During his time as a professor at Moody, he earned his doctorate from Asbury Theological Seminary. He now lives with his wife, Ashley, and their three children in the Chicagoland area.