Genesis 38:26: “So Judah acknowledged them and said, ‘She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.’ And he never knew her again.”

October 23rd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Judah, who is in the line of the Messiah, confessed his own lack of character as a man of God. Although he had earlier fought to save the life of his brother Joseph, he failed here to help ease his daughter-in-law Tamar’s widowhood, as he was required to do. He had promised her his other son as a husband to carry on the family line, but then for a long time simply ignored her predicament. Finally we read that he slept with a prostitute, not realizing that the woman was in fact his daughter-in-law. Tamar tricked him into sleeping with her so that she might have her own child.

The Holy Spirit wants us to see Judah’s lack of integrity in contrast to his brother Joseph’s honesty. Joseph was living a life of integrity. Even though he had been sold as a slave into Egypt, he was still faithfully walking with God. Joseph showed rock-solid integrity and an all-pervasive faith. Joseph’s honesty did not rely on the opinions or beliefs of others, but on the opinion that God would have of him. This is an important lesson for all believers in every generation. If we seek to please our heavenly Father, in everything we do, we won’t have to worry about pleasing other people.

“LORD, we want to please you today. Hold us in the center of Your will and make us the kind of people You want us to be this day.”