2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite mannamed Shua. He married her and made love to her;3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whowas named Er. - P114
4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.
5 She gave birth to still another son and named himShelah. It was at Kezib that she
gave birth to him.
- P114
6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her namewas Tamar. - P114
7 But Er, Judah‘s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD‘ssight; so the LORD put him to death.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Sleep with your brother‘swife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law toraise up offspring
for your brother." - P115
9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; sowhenever he slept with his brother‘s wife, he spilled hissemen on the ground to keep from providing offspringfor his brother. - P115
10 What he did was wicked in the LORD‘s sight; so theLORD put him to death also.
11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Liveas a widow in your father‘s household until my sonShelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too,
just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her fa-ther‘s household. - P115
While Joseph is carried off to Egypt, the narrative shifts its focus toJudah, who devised the plan to sell Joseph into slavery. - P116
Departing fromthe ways of his father and grandfather, Judah chooses to leave his familyand dwell among people with whom he shares no spiritual kinship,
eventually marrying a Canaanite woman. - P116
Perhaps it was his guilty con-science that drove him from his people to bond with bad company. - P116
In a similar way, our own sinful behavior
can cause us to break away fromthe church and seek fellowship with those who indulge in those samesins. - P116
But this will only give sin a tighter hold over our lives. - P116
May we, instead, take all our
transgressions to Christ, in whom
there is no guilt or shame. - P116
The narrator of Genesis wastes no time revealing the consequences ofJudah‘s bad choices. - P116
His first two sons are put to death by the Lord fortheir wickedness, which shows that Judah did not raise his children tofear God. - P116
Tamar, the widow of Judah‘s firstborn, is left without anysons and is sent home because Judah is afraid of what will happen tohis third son of he marries her. - P116
When we distance ourselves from God‘scovenant community, we remove an important source of counsel andsupport, which will ultimately lead us to grow distant from God. - P116
Let us stay committed to our community of faith-especially when we makemistakes and fail- for they will lift us up and help us find
restorationin the Lord. - P116
When we find ourselves in the stretches of life where we are near ourlimits, when we want to give up because we do not see the light atthe end of the tunnel, we need to shift our focus to the fundamentals.
- P117
We must fortify ourselves with God‘s promise that in all things, Heworks for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). Then, ourbody, mind, and soul will find the strength to move forward, onestride at a time. - P117
When a runner loses the ability to sustain his sprint, whichusually happens quite quickly, he must focus on doing just one thing:make sure his knees go above his navel. - P117
As long as the knees rise abovethe navel, the body will naturally perform the mechanics of running.
- P117
And when a runner concentrates on this one simple task, their mentalstate gains clarity as well. - P117
Lord, I confess that at times I feel so helpless and lost over my sins. Yet, I resolveto live not according to my feelings but according to Your promises. - P117
Help meto believe that you will get me through every season. In Jesus‘ name, amen. - P117
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