Genesis 38

Genesis 38

1.  Read Gen. 38:1-5.  What poor decisions did Judah make? 

He chose to marry a Canaanite, what do you learn about their plan and God’s plan from these verses?

            Gen. 34:9 ___________________________________________________

            Deut. 7:1-3 __________________________________________________

2.  Here is a list of Judah’s Family.   What can we learn from it?

            Judah + Shuah                                                  Judah + Tamar

            Er                                                                     Perez (Hezron, Hamal)

            Onan                                                                Zarah (Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, Dara)

            Shelah

4.  Read the genealogy in Matthew 1.  Since Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, which one of his sons was the descendant of Jesus?

5.  Why would Jesus come from such a deranged background?  Read Romans 8:3 and James 5:17

6.  What happened to Er and why?  What if God still did that today or does He?  Verse 7

7.  Why wouldn’t Onan comply with the wishes of Judah?  Verses 8-10.  What was the result?

8.  Read verse 11.  What promise did Judah make to Tamar?  Do you think the tradition they were following  is good or bad?  

9.  How can we tell if traditions are good or bad?  What criteria can we use?

10.  After his wife died, what did Judah do to deal with the grief?  Verses 12-13

11.  What did Tamar do to deceive Judah and what was the result?  Verses 13-24

12.  Was harlotry and adultery accepted as ok?  Verse 24 – this is a tricky question, think about it.

13.  When Tamar was brought to the king, what did he realize?  Verses 25,26

14.  What do you learn from the story of Perez and Zerah’s birth?  Verses 27-30

15.  Judah made several mistakes in his life.  List a few of them that you notice in this chapter.

            1.  _______________________________________________ v.1

            2.  _______________________________________________ v. 1

            3.  _______________________________________________ v. 2

            4.  _______________________________________________ v. 2

            5.  _______________________________________________ v.11

            6.  _______________________________________________ v. 16

            7.  _______________________________________________ v. 24

16.  Read James 5:17.  What do you learn about Jesus and the struggles he passed as a man when you compare James 5:17 with this story about Judah?

17.  What is your overall impression of what God is trying to tell you from this chapter?

18.  How could you use this chapter to help other people?