It’s a story that could have come out to today’s newspaper. It’s not a pretty story. Judah, a member of a powerful family, uses that position of privilege to take advantage of his daughter-in-law, Tamar.
At a critical moment in the account, Tamar confronts him with his wrong-doing. To this point the story seems depressingly familiar, but then something remarkable happens. Instead of giving her a denial and cover up, in one of the most dramatic moments in Genesis, Judah confesses the truth: “She is more righteous than I.”
Judah is the first person recorded in the Bible to confess a sin. More remarkable still, he does it in response to a young woman who had the courage to speak out rather than remain silent. It is this sensitivity to sin in his own life that shapes the future of Judah. Many years later during a famine, it is Judah who again confesses when he steps forward to say, “God is punishing us for our sins” and pleads for mercy (Genesis 44:16).
As a result, Judah saved his entire family from starvation. In fact, his heirs became a great nation as the children of God in the ancient world, and their descendents bear his name even today: Judah... Jews.
It is easy to see the evidence of sin in others. It is hard to see our own sin. It is harder still to admit it, and hardest of all, sometimes terribly painful, to admit it to others. But the development of godly character requires it.
Lord, help me to see myself as I truly am. I accept that I do wrong far more often than I would hope. Help me to face it and admit it, to do what is right. Amen.
Go Deeper — Is there someone you have wronged? Think on it and ask God to help you do what is right.
Photo Credit: Bailey Hall