Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Genesis 38:16, “Then he turned to her by the way, and said, ‘Please let me come in to you;’ for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.”

Background

My mother-in-law, as a result of moving recently, has received various mailings and solicitations regarding her new home, offering things like affordable mortgage insurance to help protect her new investment. And being as she is, she was inclined to talk with one of these companies to find out what they had to say. After their conversation, she informed my wife that she was seriously considering taking him up on his offer. And so, when she later went to meet with her longtime CPA, my wife accompanied her, and made a point to discuss this matter with him. His advice, upon hearing of this development and my wife and mine’s uneasiness with it, was to research the man and his company online, to determine if there might be any cause for concern. And so we did. Unfortunately, what we found was not pretty. The man had been arrested for multiple counts of child pornography. And when they came to his home to take him away, they found well over fifty tapes that he had made. My mother-in-law did not know. 

Application

Judah did not know that he was soliciting his daughter-in-law. That would have been a good thing to know. But it would not have been the best thing to know. Better still would have been for him to know that he was a liar and a fornicator. It would have changed his actions to know something about someone else, but it wouldn’t have changed him. Knowing and judging others rarely does. But when Judah was confronted with his failure to keep his vow to Tamar, he was convicted and repentant. He needed to know what his heart was really like, so that he could do the right thing. My mother-in-law needed to know that she was vulnerable to swindlers looking to bilk her out of her life savings. She knows those types of people exist, but she needed to see the truth of her own condition. Judah needed that same clarity. And so do you and I. Knowing things about others is useful, but knowing your heart’s true condition is life-changing. 

Charge

As we seek Him today, examine nothing and no one beyond yourself. Let God reveal and cleanse what He needs to wash away.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words