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And 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.
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Today’s message
At the dining room table, a pile of bills, a cup with a ring of cold coffee, the TV talking to itself. Someone left slamming the door; someone is sweeping what is not dust, but exhaustion. Broken families look like a clogged sink: the water won't go down and the bad smell rises. This is how Genesis 38 confronts us — people fleeing, people using people, silence that turns into poison. And at the center, an unexpected confession: a phrase that changes the direction of the story, made by the one who erred the most.
Genesis 38 descends into real life: Judah, his daughter-in-law Tamar, broken promises, shame exposed in the square. The common thread is the breaking of covenant that flows from the sale of Joseph in Genesis 37 to this scene of road and veil. When Tamar presents the seal, the cord, and the staff, Judah admits: 'She has been more righteous than I.' There, evil is interrupted by truth. From that crack will be born Perez, and later, the very hope of Israel.
Some dysfunctional characters
- Judah, the runaway — flees out of guilt; absent, tries to start over far from the covenant.
- Er, the immoral — wicked; his conduct affronts God and reaps immediate consequences.
- Onan, the greedy — refuses duty; uses Tamar, protects his own inheritance.
- Shelah, the one who doesn't mature — father protects him too much; grows up without taking responsibility.
- Tamar, rejected and bitter — veils her face, seeks justice where it was denied.
Jesus heals dysfunctional families.
And God weaves it all together without romanticizing anything. Luke 3:33 records Perez in the genealogy of Jesus; Revelation calls Christ the lion of the tribe of Judah. If He chooses to enter through that crooked door, why wouldn't He enter your room, with your piled-up bills and wilted promises? The thread of grace descends precisely where the family line broke. Judah's confession opens space for the intervention that changes the course.
The preacher pokes us where it hurts: paternal absence that corrodes (in Brazil, 51% of certificates without the father's name), promiscuity that hides behind screens (42% of women in some regions). The foundation of it all is marriage. Men, presence and priesthood; women, rest from undue burdens. Couples, try once more. Pornography and lies pass on what we haven't overcome. Evil needs to hit our chest and stop there.
You don't escape by marrying, nor do you start over by denying the past. The crack opens when someone admits: 'The other is more righteous than I.' Look into each other's eyes, confess, ask for forgiveness, and reconcile. Bring Jesus inside: if He entered Judah's house, sadness needs to slow down, depression needs to lose ground, healing needs to arrive. Raise the staff of responsibility, return the seal of trust, and walk together under the renewed covenant.
Did you know
- Perez, son of Judah and Tamar, appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:33, connecting Genesis 38 to the Messiah.
- The practice of levirate marriage seen in Genesis 38 was later regulated in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
- Revelation 5:5 calls Jesus the lion of the tribe of Judah, honoring the same lineage marked by flaws.
Key phrases
- God chose to save the world through a dysfunctional family, like yours, like mine.
- Evil has to stop in me.
- If Christ entered a family, sadness has to stop there, depression has to stop there, healing has to arrive there.
- The foundation of it all, folks, is marriage.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
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Jesus heals dysfunctional families | Pr. Lucinho Barreto
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