Judah: The Sinner’s Scepter
Lying on his deathbed, Jacob gathered his 12 sons, each distinctly identified from the others. One by one, he blessed them, characterizing each with a unique description—from a donkey to a serpent to a deer to a wolf (Gen. 49:1–28).
Which son would receive the greatest honor? He had children by four different women: his wives, Leah and Rachel, and their maidservants, Zilpah and Bilhah. But he loved Joseph and Benjamin, the sons Rachel bore him, more than his 10 older sons. As Jacob’s firstborn, Reuben would have been a prime candidate for his father’s highest distinction; but he disqualified himself when he slept with Bilhah (1 Chr. 5:1).
Imagine the family’s surprise when the most special blessing went to Jacob’s fourth son, Judah: “You are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you” (v. 8). Jacob even prophesied that the Messiah would come from Judah’s line: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (v. 10).
Why did God choose Judah? Scripture primarily characterizes him and his family as wicked sinners. Judah plotted with his brothers to kill their brother Joseph before engineering Joseph’s enslavement and then profiting from his suffering (37:18–28). Later, the Lord killed Judah’s two oldest sons, Er and Onan, for their immorality (38:7, 9–10). Then, Judah sinned gravely against his daughter-in-law Tamar.
When Tamar’s husband, Er, died, Judah told her to remain a widow until his youngest son, Shelah, grew old enough to marry her. But he failed to follow through on His promise when Shelah reached adulthood. After mourning the loss of his wife, Judah went to the town of Timnah. There he saw Tamar but didn’t recognize her because she had disguised herself. He solicited her as a prostitute, offering to send her a goat. She agreed but requested a pledge of his signet, cord, and staff (vv. 11–18).
Later, when she was found pregnant, Judah sought to kill her for harlotry. How shocked he must have been to see Tamar produce his signet, cord, and staff, discreetly indicating that he was the father of her unborn child. Ashamed, Judah acknowledged his sin: “She has been more righteous than I,” he said, “because I did not give her to Shelah my son” (v. 26).
Their union produced twins, Perez and Zerah. Many years later, when Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, was to marry Boaz, the women of Bethlehem blessed Naomi by saying, “May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah” (Ruth 4:12). Ultimately, Perez became the ancestor of both Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ earthly parents.
Despite the sinful and scandalous circumstances surrounding Perez’s conception, God still included Judah and Tamar in the Messianic line and granted their son the same great privilege. Why?
Often throughout Scripture, God shows His propensity to use weak and flawed men and women for His great purposes. The writer of Hebrews expounded on some of Scripture’s heroes whom God used despite their frailty:
And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong (Heb. 11:32–34).
These individuals enjoyed the privilege of being vessels for God’s use, but this reward did not depend on their accomplishments or prestige. Instead, strength came through their weaknesses. Likewise, God demonstrated through Judah that inclusion in the Messianic line was not a matter of personal merit. Rather, He displayed His marvelous grace in allowing Judah and the child born through his iniquity to become His Son’s earthly ancestors.
Each of us can relate to Judah. Though we have sinned against God and deserve death, the Lord invites us to enjoy the blessings of the Messiah, which we receive by trusting in Jesus for salvation and eternal life with Him. One day, when every believer is with the Lord and sin is no more, we’ll celebrate this truth with all those whom He has saved by His grace.
