A few months ago I wrote a post titled “Teaching Hard Parts of Narratives in the Bible: Examples from Genesis.”
I know there are some hard passages in the Bible that makes some wonder “What’s going on?” and even “Why is it in the BIble?”
Yesterday I had a conversation with someone about the difficult parts of the Bible and it made me think about Genesis 38; that chapter to some can be “weird.” Matter of fact I think many Christian preachers skip that chapter.
So sometimes in apologetics I think its important to look at a passage in its context and that resolves some of the difficulties while also seeing what its suppose to mean and teach us according to the context.
So here’s a recent sermon that I think is worth listening to that might be helpful!
The sermon is titled “Like Father but worse.”
You can listen to it in MP3 by clicking here. Or to download it click here.
The message seems to be around 48 minutes long.
The Domain for Truth 
Thanks for the great resource. Dealing with atheists forces us to deal with them. They are in the bible.
Blessings.
Pastor SlimJim, so good to hear you preach! I hadn’t found Gen 38 troublesome, I always thought it was straightforward. Just an aside, I’m probably the minority who sees Joseph fine as the favorite. Maybe we tend to personalize stories. My brother was the youngest and only son after 3 daughters. He was the favorite and so beloved! (Of course, he wasn’t giving any bad reports to my parents!)
I believe that God used Joseph’s favor and anointed dreams to expose the evil in his brothers’ hearts, set events into motion which would ultimately propel him to Egypt.
However, that’s a different sermon!
You really brought out so much in this passage with Judah and Tamar. While I saw it straightforward, you gave it much more depth and meaning, esp seeing Gospel truths therein. Very important lessons to consider. Thank you Pastor!
Lisa this is so encouraging to hear your feedback! Wow you really did listen to this! The details of Scripture is so amazing! How’s your Saturday going so far?
Thanks for asking, we decided to drive to MA last night to beat Hurricane Henry, at my parents’ now.
I know you’re so busy but if you’d like to about the status of my prayer requests I could let you know. Church issue got complicated
Thank you, Jim. Downloaded. Blessings for your Lord’s Day.
Thanks Frances! How have you been doing??
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Yes! Even though certain passages are hard to read or understand, there is a reason they are in the Bible. Especially since Genesis 38 is linked to the Messiah. Thank you for this post SlimJim!
[…] Example of Genesis 38 with Teaching Hard Parts of Narratives in the Bible […]
Looking forward to listening to this when I mow the grass tomorrow!
Awesome! How was your Saturday’s shift???
Thanks! Had a meeting with three of the bosses yesterday about how disorganized the guy is who does my job during the week and how it impacts me. We’ll see if anything changes. Hope you’re having a good Sunday!
I am almost half way into the sermon. Great preaching. Looking forward to listening to the rest in the morning.
Wow thanks for listening to this, I hope it turns out to make sense and edifying too!
Thank you so much for posting this. It helped me see Judah and the chapter in a new and fresh way. Also Tamar.
The Lord bless you and continue to empower you to equip the saints and reach the lost.
Thanks for listening to this! I been meaning to ask: With Australia’s lockdown I imagine no church is meeting at this time because of government order?
That’s right. We are not allowed to go to
Church, visit family, shops are closed, only
allowed out for one hour per day and we have a curfew.
Thank you.
You’re welcome! I had a long day with ministry; how was your Sunday overall Maw Maw?
Very good. Glory to God in the Highest.:)
[…] 6.) Example of Genesis 38 with Teaching Hard Parts of Narratives in the Bible […]
Got to listen to this while mowing the grass today. I really appreciated your exposition/preaching. So many good applications and lessons for us today from the “misadventures” of Judah and Tamar. The proof of the Bible’s authenticity is it presents men in their weakness and sinfulness. Jacob’s deceitfulness came back to bite him.
RE: blaming parents
There are some folks who run what I will call “victims” blogs. While there’s some good in talking about bad experiences of the past, there’s also a danger of adopting a perpetual “woe is me” attitude.
What’s up for your rest day? After cutting the lawn it’s patio duty until lights out!
Thanks for listening to this! You are right to say this: “ The proof of the Bible’s authenticity is it presents men in their weakness and sinfulness.” Also I agree with you the danger of being dominated by self pity with ones’ past can be a big problem in so many ways. Glad to hear you listen to this, I preached my heart out on that one. I was so fatigued I fell asleep on my keyboard and didn’t get a post in until late this morning. I had a crazy weekend with not only ministry but people not doing well with various things and even one where I was praying for someone who’s brother was kidnapped by the cartels but God answer prayers and he was released…how was your Sunday shift?
I was really blessed by that sermon! I’m grateful Jesus came to save sinners like Judah and especially me!
I’m glad the person was released! Praise God!
Yesterday was decent, thanks! Got to wind down in the afternoon and my boss even sent an email to the weekday supervisor asking that my weekday counterpart not overrelease orders as he’s been doing the past month and driving me crazy.
I noticed you hadn’t posted on time and figured you were burning the candle at both ends. Hope you can recharge your batteries today!
Going by the comment this sounds like the preacher did an exegetically good job depositing this difficult and in a sense cringy passage
[…] Example of Genesis 38 with Teaching Hard Parts of Narratives in the Bible — The Domain for Truth […]
Very helpful
This is hermeneutical issue; if you study the entire Bible literally, grammatically, and historically you don’t need to allegorize. Then as you many points of parallel with other narratives you start connecting the dots with a redemptive historical biblical theology that respect the passage’s actual meaning
They definitely skip Genesis 38 in the children’s Bible. Thanks for not skipping it.