Bible Study Online Article

In the last article I pointed out why I felt that it was important for us to be able to track God movements naturally and spiritually, as we journey throughout the Holy Scriptures.

I hold the viewpoint that if we're able to actually track God, I believe we could gain a huge advantage when it comes to benefiting from God's personal interactions with humanity.

If one could learn to approach the Sacred Record from a viewpoint of such, one would be able to benefit, from being able to recognize the movements of God when it comes to their own daily lives.

Know that the Sacred Record helps us to identify those movements.

So this leaves me with the question: "How could a person not gain a upper hand, when it comes to being able to identify God more clearly within a natural sense?"

A notion of such, should be kept in mind as we journey throughout the Holy Scriptures. Understand that we're not just adding substance to what we believe as Christians, but we're learning how to benefit from seeing God, both naturally and spiritually.

With that being stated, let's take a quick look back when we'd learned that Joseph was his father's favorite son. We will also take a brief look at how the birthright of the first born fell upon Joseph, even though he was the eleventh son born unto Jacob.

Now there are many different viewpoints that are taught on why Joseph received this honor over his brothers. But I would like to share with you, the one that I tend to lean towards. Keep in mind that I'm looking at this Sacred Account from two different angles. First, I believe that the strong bond and close relationship that Jacob had with his son Joseph, came from the fact that he was Rachel's first born. I'm not going to retell the entire account here, but to summarize it quickly:

Remember that Jacob loved Rachel with all of his heart, and Rachel would end up eventually dying while she was giving birth to her second child Benjamin. I believe that Jacob and Joseph's relationship grew stronger from that point forward, being that Jacob had just lost the love of his life and Joseph had just lost his mother. And because of this both of them would have a tremendous void that was created in their lives that needed to be filled for this point forward.

Now the second point that I would like to point out, when it comes to the birthright... is that this had nothing to do with the favor that Jacob had towards Joseph. When it comes to this area, we have to keep in mind that Jacob had worked fourteen years in total, to earn the right to marry Rachel.

The agreement that Jacob had with Rachel's father, dealt with him working seven years for the right to marry her. But Jacob was deceived by Rachel's father Laban and was tricked into marry Leah instead, Rachel's older sister. Jacob had kept his end of the deal, but Laban didn't. Laban decided to hand Rachel over, only after Jacob had agreed to work another seven years for him.

Now it's obvious that when we look at the birth genealogy of Jacob's sons, we can easily see that Joseph was born eleventh amongst them. But if we were to look closer, we would see in actuality that Joseph was born first unto his father when it came to Rachel. Being that Jacob was tricked into taking an additional wife in Leah, it would seem that God still honored Jacob's heart and blessed his first born between him and the woman he truly loved, Rachel. Read that again if you have to.

But many Christian leaders and Bible teachers don't see it this way... so for their sake, let's take a more difficult approach and let's see what we come up with, shall we...?

First off, when we look at the type of men that Joseph's older brothers had turned out to be, personally I could see why God had chosen to bestowed the covenant honor unto Joseph even if one were to come from a different approach.

Keep in mind....

1. Jacob's first born son Reuben, had slept with his stepmother.
2. Jacob's second and third born sons, Simeon and Levi - had lead a fatal deceitful plot, that led to the slaughter of the Shechemites. This was done in retaliation of what Shechem had done when it came to their sister, Dinah.
3. Jacob sons that were born unto him through Bilhah and Zilpah, when it comes to the fifth through eight spots, which were - (Bilhah sons) Dan and Naphtali and (Zilpah sons) Gad and Asher, were given a bad report by Joseph, when it came to their behavior while they were out in the fields tending to their father's sheep.

Now the only boys that seemed to be doing fine from this point forward were: Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. But all of this would quickly change after they had played their parts in the betrayal and selling off of Joseph. The only brother from that point forward, that was in the clear of doing no wrong was Benjamin -- Joseph's younger brother through Rachel.

So in retrospect even by looking at this from a more difficult position, we can see how 10 out of 12 sons that were born unto Jacob had eventually fell out of favor with God, therefore leaving only Joseph and his younger brother Benjamin, that were left in good standing. So if one were going to use the character and hearts of Jacob's sons as a deciding factor, this approach would help to explain a viewpoint of such.

Be that as it may, let's assume that Judah had left his father's household at an earlier point before the selling of his younger brother Joseph, as the Holy Scriptures would seem to suggest. Most would say that Judah had venture off on his own when he was around the age of fourteen:

"At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to staywith a man of Adullam named Hirah. There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib." -- Genesis 38:1-5

Now the Sacred Record points out that Judah had married a Canaanite girl and it's assumed that he married her when he was around the age of fifteen. The three sons that he would end up having with her, would also have happened before the selling and betrayal of Joseph.

Next the Holy Scriptures begins to tell the recorded account of Judah's oldest son Er and his marriage to Tamar. Now it's believed that this marriage had taken place right after the selling and betrayal of Joseph as well. I know it could be confusing, but stay with me.

Now keep in mind that Joseph was around the age of seventeen when he was sold. Also keep in mind that Judah was only seven to eight years older than Joseph. Judah's son Er, didn't get married until he was around the age of seventeen himself.

Now I point all of this out because Judah had participated in a very wicked plot that caused his younger brother Joseph, to be sold into slavery. Now we find that Judah is now experiencing a reaping harvest behind those actions. First off, the Sacred Record gives us some insight on Judah's oldest son Er:

"Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the Lord's sight; so the Lord put him to death." -- Genesis 38:6,7

Now I find this to be interesting. When Joseph was sold at the hands of his brothers, Jacob had lost his favorite son. Now we find that Judah has now lost a son of his own. Also notice that Er's life was cut short, he didn't even have time to produce an heir with Tamar, therefore leaving the continuation of Judah's family name at stake.

But of course, Judah wouldn't be deterred....

"Then Judah said to Onan, 'Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.' But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he laid with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord's sight; so he put him to death also." -- Genesis 38:8-10

Now as we can see from the passage we just read, we'd learned that Judah's plans when it came to using his second born son Onan to carry out the family name through Tamar, wasn't successful either.

Now I want to point out something else when it comes to this passage. Know that most would point to different things when it comes to why Onan was wicked for what he did in the Lord eyes. Some of these viewpoints ranges from the issue of birth control, all the way through to having oral sex. Read that again if you have to.

But as for me, I see it differently, being that this goes far deeper. I want you to notice the latter part of the text: "But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he laid with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother."

Could it really be that farfetched to see that Onan probably had a disdain for his brother, just like his father Judah had a disdain towards his brother Joseph? I personally believe that Onan's actions were a continuation of the reaping season that Judah had to endure for the selling, betrayal and the disdain that he had towards his own brother, Joseph.

It amazes me how people in today's world are quick to cast God as being mean and unfair. It's these types of reasons why I try my best to point out the faults that Joseph's other brothers had. To show that there was a reason why God chose Joseph over them, for He knows our hearts better than we do. Understand that the path that God has chosen, are different for each of us, being that we are different from each other.

Make no mistake, what God has for one, He has a different path for the other. Instead of trying to go down a path that wasn't designed for us, why don't we learn how to seek out the correct path that God has laid out specifically for us, instead - Amen?

How Judah lied and deceived Tamar. We will also look at how Tamar will react when she finds out about Judah's deceit? Has Judah's reaping season ended, or could he still be in the midst of it? Is there something on the horizon?

The Introduction of Abraham

The Birth of Isaac

The Birth of Esau & Jacob

Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty

Jacob - Wrestles with God

**YOUR CURRENT - BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES - WOULD BE HERE**

Joseph the Overseer of Egypt

The Unveiling of Joseph

67) The Descendants of Esau

68) Joseph the Favorite Son

69) Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams

70) Joseph & The Murder Plot

71) Joseph & The Pit of Darkness

72) Jacob the Father of Sorrow

73) The Importance of Judah's History

74) Judah's Early Household

75) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE->

76) Tamar's Revenge

77) Tamar's Vindication

78) Joseph the Servant of Favor

79) Potiphar's Wife Pursues Joseph

80) Joseph Goes to Prison

81) Joseph the Promoted

82) The Dreaming Cupbearer & Baker

83) Pharaoh's Dark Dreams

84) Joseph's Dark Dreams Interpretation

85) Joseph the Overseer of Egypt