Genesis 38:14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

Tamar was the wife of Er, the son of Judah. However, because of the wickedness of Er, God took the life of Er. Judah then gave Tamar to his second son Onan, but because of the wickedness of Onan, God took the life of Onan also. Judah told Tamar to wait until his third son Shelah was grown before she would be given to him. Tamar faithfully waited until this passage where it finally became clear to her that Judah had no intentions of fulfilling his moral obligations to give her to his third son Shelah.

Just because Judah did evil and refused to fulfill his duty to give his third son to Tamar, this does not justify the actions of Tamar. Tamar put aside her widow’s garments and took up instead the garments of a prostitute. Tamar figured that even though she was unable to be married to Shelah and have children by him, she could sleep with Judah and thereby receive the desires of her heart.

Two wrongs never equal a right. Furthermore, just because you desire something, it does not give you the right to go out and take what you want by any means possible. There are many who believe that the only way to survive is to manipulate your way through life.

We do not see that Judah had a very close relationship with God. However, we do know that the people of the land of Canaan knew who Jacob was and we understand by scripture that there was a fear of the Lord on the people. Tamar knew or should have known when she married Judah’s sons that there was something different about this family. Furthermore, the way her husbands were killed should have given her some knowledge that this family had a special relationship with God.

If God judged the wickedness of Judah’s sons, God would have judged the wickedness of Judah in not giving Tamar to Shelah. Instead of turning her problem over to the Lord and allowing God to take care of the situation, Tamar took matters into her own hands and fell back to the ways of her fathers and manipulated the situation so that she was in control.

It is very easy to be like Tamar and position ourselves in such a way that we take control over our lives. However, God desires that we exercise self-control and that we restrain ourselves from doing what we want so that HE can fulfill HIS perfect will for our lives in HIS perfect timing.

By adding temperance to our lives, it gives us the strength to overcome the temptation to do what we want because it seems right in our own eyes. While many evil things may happen to us during our lives, it is our responsibility to God to make sure we properly react to the trials and temptations that we face so that HE might be glorified through our lives. When we refuse to exercise self-control, our behavior is not any different from the world and our lives will inadequately reflect the light of God.

Tamar is an example of us of the wrong way of dealing with the evil actions of others. Yes Tamar got back at Judah but she did not get a husband like she really desired. Ruth was a foreigner just like Tamar but Ruth chose to trust in God and as a result, God blessed Ruth in a way that Tamar could only dream about.

Genesis 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

It is never your fault. Judah had just lost two sons. Both Er and Onan were killed by the Lord. Judah determined that it must be Tamar’s fault and as such, he felt justified in deceiving Tamar so as to save his son Shelah from the destructive influences of Tamar. Judah did not stop and look at his own life to see if maybe he was the problem. Judah did not stop and take the time to work with his son Shelah to make sure that there was nothing wrong in his life that would cause God to kill him. Instead, Judah determined the only way to solve the problem was to get Tamar as far away as possible.

Judah had no intentions of allowing Shelah and Tamar to marry. Judah had already lost two sons and he was not going to lose another. Rather than examine his own life and those who God had given him charge over, it was much easier in Judah’s mind to rid himself of the one who in his mind was the problem.

It was Judah who had initially married a Canaanite woman. It was Judah who obtained a Canaanite woman as a wife for his son Er. It was Judah who had not taken the time to train up his sons in the ways of God so that they would not act in a way that displeased God.

In the same way that Judah refused to take responsibility for his situation, so also do we attempt to shift blame for our own actions. Ever since the first sin with Adam and Eve, it has been the sin nature of man to deny responsibility and attempt to focus the attention upon someone else. Adam immediately blamed God and Eve for his partaking of the forbidden fruit. Eve immediately blamed the serpent for her sin.

Just because you find someone else to blame for your sinful behavior, it does not mean that you will escape liability. It may cause you some momentary relief to justify in your head how someone else is at fault. Nonetheless, just because you find someone else to blame, it does not mean that you will not suffer the consequences of your actions. God knows the truth and the wages of sin is death. Both Adam and Eve had to suffer the consequences for their actions.

The next time things start to get rough in your own life, instead of looking for a way to escape liability, stop and seek the truth. Take responsibility for your actions. Instead of looking for others to blame, examine your own life to see if there is some hidden sin that God desires you to confess. God may be allowing you to face this trial so as to bring you to the place of repentance.

It always seems easier to play the blame game for your problems. However, one who has diligently added temperance to their life understands the importance of taking responsibility for those areas where they have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Judah refused to examine his own life to see if there were areas that he needed to import. Judah was willing to continue to live his life by his own standards. Rather than take responsibility, Judah continued to duck his responsibility. Judah did that which is right in his own eyes. Judah chose to deceive Tamar and put her in a compromising situation. Judah was not concerned about anyone other than himself. Judah needed to exercise a little self-control over his life and stop thinking only about himself and start considering the needs of others.

Genesis 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

Er had committed a great wickedness against God and God took his life. Judah turned to his second born son Onan and instructed him to go into his brother’s wife and raise up a seed for his brother. Onan was willing to sleep with Tamar but rather than allow Tamar to become pregnant, Onan was selfish and he withdrew.

Onan was willing to enjoy the matrimonial privileges with Tamar but he was not willing to accept the responsibility that came with taking Tamar as his wife. Onan was not thinking about anyone other than himself and his own selfish desires. Onan chose not to think about his father, Tamar, or his brother Er.

You are not the only person living in this world. The world does not resolve around you and your selfish desires. The world does not owe you great wealth and happiness. God has commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. When Onan spilled his seed upon the ground, he was not demonstrating love to anyone else involved in the situation. Furthermore, Onan’s act violated one of the few commandments that God had given mankind, be fruitful and multiply.

Onan was practicing birth control. He was unwilling to allow a child to be conceived by him as the child would be considered belonging to Er. Onan did not care what God’s direction was, he simply did what he wanted when he wanted and it ended up costing him his life.

The story of Onan is the opposite of the story of Boaz in Ruth. Boaz was a man of character who was willing to raise up a child for Ruth’s first husband. Boaz had seen the character of Ruth and while technically the child did not belong to him, the whole community recognized the special work that God had done with Boaz and Ruth.

God does not approve when we selfishly pursue the desires of our own heart. Just as there were consequences for Onan being selfish, so also, if we chose to act selfishly, God will not allow us to prosper. We must learn to love our neighbor as ourselves and to put the needs of others first.

It is easy to get caught up with our own desires and our own needs. God has given us the strength to say no when we are tempted to pursue our own selfish desires. By exercising temperance in our life, we enable ourselves not to pursue what appears to be best in our own eyes but instead to pursue the perfect will of God and put others first.

The pleasures of sin last for a few minutes but the treasures of heaven last for eternity. Where is your focus, is it upon yourself and what you want or is it upon God and what HE desires of you? Onan was looking out for only one person, himself and it cost him his life. While you may not find yourself in a situation exactly like Onan, you will constantly find yourself in a position where you must decide between your own selfish desires and put others first.

Onan’s act of selfishness actually cost him his life. Had he been willing to put others first, God would not have killed him and he would have lived many more years. Onan was being selfish because he desired to live for himself and God punished him. If you fight to put yourself first, you may find that the thing you fight for ends up destroying you.

Psalms 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.

Today we live in a society that does not think twice about killing the unborn baby. While we are too sophisticated to actually burn our children before gods made of man’s hands, we as a society have our own modern gods that we sacrifice our children to. Mother kill their own unborn babies while they are still in the womb because they worship at the alter of convenience, education, and position. How many babies have been killed because the mother felt it was not a convenient time for her, or she needed to finish her schooling, or if she had the baby it would ruin her career?

It may be true that we do not take our babies and throw them into a fire in order to appease some man-made god, but the blood is still on our land because we allow our fellow countrymen to kill their innocent unborn babies to the modern gods. There is blood in our land and God will judge our country for its wickedness.

We all know that one of the 10 commandments is “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13). God further expounded upon this principle when he said it was an abomination to the Lord those who took their children and “burnt [them] in the fire to their gods.” (Deuteronomy 12:31).

The world comes up with arguments that because the unborn baby has not yet been born that it is not a person and as such, it is not a killing. However, in Leviticus 18:21 we see that God said “thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech”. If you look at the word “seed” you will learn that it means more than just born children. The word seed has a much deeper meaning. The word seed comes from the Hebrew word “Zera”. Zera not only means offspring, but it also means semen. God is telling his people that life is important; they are to protect it from the very beginning.

In Genesis 38, we see God’s punishment upon a man because he was selfish regarding his “Zera”. In this passage we see the story of Judah’s son Onan. Judah had three sons, and his first son was named Er. Judah found a wife for Er, but Er died before he had any children. Judah then gave Er’s wife, Tamar, to his son Onan. “And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went into his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.” (Genesis 38:9-10).

God killed Onan because Onan was selfish and refused to be inconvenienced with having to raise his brother’s child. Onan was content with not having children so he chose to ensure that no child would even be born. The abomination of Onan refusing to allow a life to have a chance to live resulted in his death.

In Psalm 106, we are given a road map of what we must do as a people in order to remove this blood from the land. Because the land is polluted with blood we know that “the wrath of the Lord [is] kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.” (Psalms 106:40). However, we know that “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). In Psalm 106, God talks about a judgment that he brings upon the land. It talks about how HE has turned them over to their adversaries, but we learn in verse 44 that “he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry”.

We serve a merciful God. We serve a God who hears the prayers of those who call upon HIM. God has allowed judgment to come across this land because we as a people have permitted the killing of innocent life. Throughout the book of Judges, you see how the people sinned against God and God sent an enemy to have dominion over them. When the nation cried out to God, HE would then bring a judge who would then lead the nation back to the ways of God.

There is no greater story of God’s mercy then the story of Manasseh. Manasseh was king of Judah and he committed a great abomination when he killed his own children and sacrificed them to false gods. God saw the wickedness of Manasseh and the Lord caused the king of Assyria to take Manasseh and bound him and carried him to Babylon.

Manasseh saw his affliction and he “humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (2 Chronicles 33:12). Manasseh prayed to God and God heard his prayers and “brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.” (2 Chronicles 32:13). Manasseh violated God’s law and killed his own children and both he and his kingdom were punished for his sins. However, Manasseh saw the affliction of the Lord and he repented and God showed mercy unto Manasseh and restored him.

Many Christians might say that they have not killed their children so how can they humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. For those who may not have ever killed their own children, the story of Daniel would be an excellent example. Daniel was a righteous man who lived his life in Babylon because of the sins of his people. Daniel lived his life in Babylon because he lived in a country that committed abominations before the Lord. Daniel suffered because of the sins of his people.

Daniel may not have committed great sins, but he still followed the principles of 2 Chronicles 7:14. We learn that in the first year of Darius that Daniel “set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my god, and made my confession, and said, … We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled …” (Daniel 9:3-5).

Daniel understood that his entire nation had sinned and that as a nation God was judging them. As an Israelite, Daniel took it upon himself to confess the sins of his people. Daniel was willing to humble himself and to seek God’s mercy upon his nation. Daniel was a righteous man who was willing to stand in the gap; he was willing to humble himself before the Lord for the sake of his nation.

When the nation of Israel was wondering in the wilderness, we see that a great judgment came upon the nation because “the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.” (Numbers 25:1). The Lord told Moses to hang those who violated his laws. During this time, “one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman” (Numbers 25:6). Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron saw this and he could not sit around and let this abomination occur. Phinehas “went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly.” (Numbers 25:8).

Phinehas saw wickedness being committed in the land and he took action. Because of Phinehuas’ actions, God lifted the plague that was killing the nation of Israel. Because of one man’s actions, an entire nation was preserved. God told Moses that “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.” (Numbers 25:11).

God is judging our land for the abomination that we are committing in killing our unborn children. God is willing to lift HIS curse upon our land and bless us once again if the people of God will but humble themselves before God. God has sent adversity upon the land and HE requires that those who call upon HIM be like Daniel and Phinehas and step forth and take action. God has shown throughout scripture that HE will be merciful and restore, but HE needs HIS people to step forth in faith and cry out to HIM and ask HIM to forgive them for the sin that is in the land.

In Isaiah 57, we see that “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart” (Isaiah 57:1). The nation of Israel had been commiting a great abomination because they were “slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks” (Isaiah 57:5). God promised that “he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain” (Isaiah 57:13). If we will but learn to trust in the Lord and put our faith in HIM, then we know that “I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.” (Isaiah 57:18).

From this passage we are reminded that the righteous also will suffer adversity when God judges the wicked. Those who call upon God and have committed their lives to be the servants of God must learn to start praying for their country. They must be willing to humble themselves and must be willing to take action so that God will heal the land. Remember God was willing to not punish the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous individuals could be found.

Where are the righteous men and women of our day? What is your response to the blood that is in the land? Are you willing for God to use you like Phinehas? God is looking for righteous men and women to stand in the gap. HE is looking for those who are willing to humble themselves and to confess the sins of this nation. God is just and HE is willing to forgive this nation and heal this land if HIS people will but humble themselves. Are you willing to change? Until you are willing to change, why should God bless this nation? It all starts with the prayers and then the actions of God’s people. Will you answer the call of God? Will you let God work through you so that HE might be glorified once again?