Gen. 38:7 - "But Er, Judah's firstborn was displeasing to Jehovah; so Jehovah put him to death."
So Judah gave Er's wife to his other son, Oman.
Gen. 38:9, 10 - "But Oman knew that the offspring would not be considered his ... he wasted his semen on the ground... What he did was bad in the eyes of Jehovah, so he also put him to death." (a compelling reason to abstain from masturbation!)When the wife of Potiphar encouraged Joseph to sleep with her:
Gen. 39;8, 9 - "But he refused, and said, 'Here my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has entrusted everything he has into my care ... except you. So how could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?'"What do we learn from these three cases? That Jehovah has the ultimate authority to judge, punish and, to forgive. Jehovah gives others the relative authority to judge, punish and forgive. True, he did not want to sin against his master by taking his master's wife, he was more concerned with sinning against Jehovah. Why? Because Jehovah had the true authority to judge and punish for wrongdoing.
The secular authorities have been given a relative authority to judge and punish for crimes and violations of their laws. Jehovah allows that. (Rom. 13:1) In verse 2, Paul stated that opposing the secular authorities is opposing God's arrangment, against God, Himself. Serious.
If we sin against another human, yes, we should be quick to ask that person for forgiveness. When someone sins against us, we should be ready to forgive. Do you feel you have the authority to judge and punish and forgive others? Be very careful. Because of imperfection, we are not just inour judging or punishing. We are also not ones to forgive completely. Only Jehovah can do all three things perfectly, justly and mercifully. When Jehovah forgives, he drops it completely behind him.
We don't want to displease or sin against others, but more importantly, we need to fear and respect Jehovah, the one we all sin again, everyday.
If someone sinned against me, and they went to the elders and confessed, received the counsel and was forgiven by Jehovah, how should I react when I hear about it. Would I add punishment on top of Jehovah's discipline? Would I say that had they come to me first, I would forgive, but because they went to Jehovah first, I wasn't going to be as forgiving and they would have to work harder to obtain it, as if I alone was responsible for that? That would be cruelty on my part. Instead, I would be happy and relieved that that person did the right and proper thing.
Other lessons from this week's reading: When you make a promise, see it through. When you're in the wrong, freely admit it. Allow Jehovah to govern your actions, not other people. Be diligent and hard-working. Investigate what happened before you do anything rash. Potiphar's wife did lie. I'm sure other servants were aware that something was going on as she pestered Joseph every day. Man servants today are very discreet on that point, and keep a tight lip on what goes on in the master's house. But, the master didn't ask, and they didn't tell. But, Jehovah still supported Joseph, a truly innocent person.
Another point I learned was that Jehovah had promised that Jesus would come through Judah's line. So, since Er and Oman were put to death without any offspring, it fell upon Shelah to provide the seed. But, Judah neglected to give Shelah as a husband to Tamar, so that he could provide offspring. So, Tamar took action, or did she? I realized that for Jehovah's will to be successful, He maneuvers events so that it will come true, as his name, Jehovah, represents. So, one of Judah's sons by Tamar was Perez who became forefather to Jesus.
Have a great day, be safe!
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