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[16/05/01] 김양재 목사 - 그는 나보다 옳도다(창38:12-30) — Transcript

by 우리들교회 · 5,634 words · 531 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01Saying, "You are more righteous than I"
0:02is something we struggle with all our lives.
0:05If we could do this, life's problems would be solved,
0:09yet as sinners, we fail to say it.
0:14Through spiritual discernment, Joseph, though he seemed perfect, is seen not as Christ’s seed, but as a type of Christ.
0:24Right after that, Jacob gave his final blessing and blessed Judah as Christ’s ancestor.
0:31Who is Judah?
0:34Because this is so vital, I preached on it last week, yet felt many did not fully grasp it.
0:44We read so much about Joseph, but Judah gets one chapter.
0:49So today, we are revisiting Judah in Genesis 38.
0:54In Genesis 37, Joseph’s story begins.
1:00Then between chapters 37 and 39—
1:03amid Jacob’s favoritism and Joseph’s dreams, Joseph suffers because of his brothers’ jealousy.
1:13Why is Judah’s account placed in chapter 38?
1:17Because the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed to Joseph, and his brothers envied him, while Jacob pondered it.
1:26This made it seem as if the promise in Genesis 15— the ultimate spiritual inheritance—belonged to Joseph.
1:32Yet the line continues through Judah, which is why this chapter was inserted here.
1:37Judah is indispensable in Jacob’s lineage.
1:41Joseph is a type of Christ, but Judah carries the seed line.
1:47A symbol and the real thing are different.
1:50Looking like a son is different from being a true heir.
1:57Judah is the direct ancestor of Jesus Christ.
1:59Scripture centers entirely on Christ’s story.
2:04It reveals the true origin of Christ’s bloodline.
2:08How did wicked Judah become Christ's ancestor?
2:17Because he offered that famous repentance: "She is more righteous than I."
2:23Once this central verse of Genesis and Scripture is understood,
2:30the story of redemption becomes clear.
2:33Judah is crucial.
2:36In QT, we recently covered Genesis 38.
2:41You read it, heard the sermon, and are examining it again today.
2:46If you still do not understand, what should I do?
2:49How can I help you grasp this truth?
2:55Because Judah is so essential, we support you from every angle.
3:00Let us reflect on what this verse truly means.
3:05Ever since sin entered through the forbidden fruit, every problem stems from "I am right, you are wrong."
3:12"I am right, you are wrong, so it is your fault!"
3:18Let us read verse 12.
3:19"After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died.
3:21When Judah had recovered from his grief,
3:23he went up to Timnah to the men shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him."
3:30"After a long time"—what had taken place during that time?
3:34We must examine Judah’s actions in verses 1 through 11.
3:41To summarize:
3:43he left the covenant community, married an unbeliever,
3:46and produced troubled children who died under God's judgment.
3:54He suffered the agony of losing two sons, yet shifted the entire blame onto his daughter-in-law.
4:01This spans twenty years of doing evil— a story of self-inflicted pain rather than holy trials.
4:06Let us look back at verse 1:
4:08"At that time, Judah left his brothers
4:11and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah."
4:14After selling Joseph, the son his father loved, guilt set in.
4:19This guilt turned into disillusionment toward his family.
4:24His father and brothers were wicked, plotting Joseph’s death out of envy.
4:31Judah craftily sold him while pretending to care.
4:35Disillusioned by all of this, he left the faith community.
4:39People always make excuses when leaving: "It's your fault!"
4:43When leaving, it is never "because of me," but "because of you."
4:47Community means exposing ourselves in vulnerability.
4:54As we hurt others and are hurt by others, we learn to share love.
4:59We must face disillusionment; even faith communities experience it.
5:05Yet Judah thought, "Are these people really believers?" and left.
5:15He abandoned the community to draw close to Hirah, a Gentile.
5:22From that point on, Judah’s life spiraled downward.
5:29If inner sin remains unresolved, we blame family or church,
5:40constantly feeling the urge to break away.
5:45Walking away might bring temporary comfort and a sense of safety.
5:50When I urge you to join a small group, it is not merely for comfort.
5:57In the world, you can avoid people you dislike.
5:59A small group is a blood-bought community redeemed for us, where no discrimination should exist.
6:09I ask you to go to a small group without prejudice,
6:14so you can realize how judgmental you still are.
6:20The church is the only place where people are gathered without prejudice.
6:25Yet gathering together can feel awkward and uncomfortable.
6:29I urge you to attend a small group to confront your own pride.
6:37A member shared that hearing her leader’s advice stung deeply.
6:47Because her heart was closed to the Word, facing her marital struggles caused headaches and intense anger.
7:01While seeking counsel regarding her husband,
7:05she complained about her leader to him. You know how that is.
7:12She confessed: "When my leader gave Spirit-led biblical advice,
7:15I lashed out over text.
7:19It was disrespectful, like plugging my ears."
7:25"During Wednesday's sermon, overwhelming repentance hit me.
7:30I wept, and Judah’s confession, 'She is more righteous than I,' became mine."
7:38"After service, I texted my leader to apologize for disrespecting her."
7:44I also heard of another couple who left the community.
7:48They said, "Our church does not affirm us; they block our plans.
7:52Yet even after leaving, we are doing just fine."
7:58Some choose to walk away like that.
8:01A community built on truth is not always easy.
8:05Because both the comfort and the correction are true, relief follows.
8:10I pray you endure well and mature within the community.
8:17Let us apply this:
8:19Are you tempted to abandon community?
8:23Or do you believe staying connected brings ultimate blessing?
8:29Share freely.
8:32By leaving the community, Judah drifted into worldly living.
8:38Adullam was a major Canaanite city devoted to idol worship.
8:44He desperately wanted to leave Hebron, where Jacob lived,
8:50weary of his father’s favoritism toward Joseph.
8:52Scripture states he "went down" from Hebron to Adullam— a phrase used for descending from a high place to a low one.
9:03His conscience knew it was shameful, so he spiritually plummeted.
9:11They say what falls has no wings.
9:13Hirah means "rock"—a worldly friend who seemed far better
9:23than the covenant community. So while spending time with Hirah,
9:27Judah was introduced to an attractive woman of wealth.
9:32Her name is omitted; she is called "daughter of Shua, a Canaanite."
9:37Since "Shua" means wealth, her father seems to have been rich. Driven by worldly desire, his marriage was ungodly.
9:48Subconsciously, Judah wanted revenge on his father who favored Joseph.
9:55He thought, "I will succeed on my own and make a robe of my own!"
10:00He sought to benefit from his father-in-law's wealth.
10:04Consider the price Abraham paid for Isaac’s godly marriage, and how Rebekah labored for Jacob’s godly marriage.
10:13Jacob endured a hard life because of marriage struggles.
10:20Yet Judah recklessly walked into an ungodly marriage.
10:26Simeon married a Canaanite, and Joseph married an Egyptian.
10:32Judah was the first among the brothers to enter an ungodly marriage.
10:36People often fail to realize how harmful ungodly marriage is.
10:40Even those who grow up in church fail to grasp its weight.
10:43They do not see the tragedy it brings to a family line.
10:48Yet, entering into a godly marriage does not mean Jacob lived a life of ease or worldly happiness.
10:53This life is brief, so we must think spiritually.
10:58Here is a QTin testimony from a third-grade elementary school student:
11:07"I was scared when starting elementary school. I was paired with a scary classmate who hit everyone.
11:14After he pushed me and hurt me, the teacher changed my seat.
11:22My new partner was kind, smart, and cute, so I grew fond of him.
11:31Then I found out he did not believe in Jesus.
11:37One day my younger brother warned me:
11:39'Marrying him would be an ungodly marriage!'
11:45I replied, 'Do you think your sister is that weak-minded?'
11:50Still, I resolved not to confess my feelings until he accepted Jesus.
11:58Now God has blessed me with many friends, so I can treat him just like anyone else."
12:06Isn't this child remarkable?
12:09Her emotional boundaries and wisdom are incredible!
12:14Children who do QTin daily with family and friends are protected from ungodly marriages.
12:24Everyone keeps watch!
12:27Brothers, sisters, and parents all stand guard.
12:33When relationships with parents are broken like Judah's,
12:38people rush into marriage to escape their parents or get revenge on them.
12:46Reflect on this: did you rush into marriage to escape home?
12:54Are you planning to do so?
12:57Judah’s ungodly marriage produced three sons in succession.
13:01The first was Er, meaning "watchman."
13:04The second was Onan, meaning "prosperous"—a worldly name.
13:11The third was Shelah, meaning "peace and prayer."
13:14He gave them great names, and outwardly they appeared successful.
13:21Judah seemed to thrive after leaving the community.
13:25He lived in Chezib, a name meaning "city of falsehood."
13:33Living hypocritically in the city of lies and raising sons,
13:38married to a beautiful woman, blessed with a rich father-in-law—
13:41he found a lovely daughter-in-law named Tamar, meaning "palm tree."
13:45Yet because God chose Judah from eternity as Christ's ancestor,
13:52trouble began to break out.
13:54If nothing happened, that family would be forgotten by God.
13:59Tragedy struck through his children.
14:01As a consequence of ungodly marriage, troubled sons emerged.
14:04Sexually indulgent and selfish, with no interest in spiritual heritage,
14:09Er was wicked in the Lord's sight, so God took his life.
14:14Verse 8:
14:16"Then Judah said to Onan, 'Sleep with your brother’s wife
14:18and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring...'"
14:23"Raise up offspring"—as a collective term, it refers to Israel; as a singular seed, it points to Jesus Christ.
14:30"But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife,
14:34he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked
14:37in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also."
14:43This refers to the duty of the kinsman-redeemer.
14:46If a brother died without an heir, a brother had to marry the widow.
14:58This was God's gracious provision to preserve the family line.
15:02Fulfilling this was Onan’s rightful duty as a brother-in-law.
15:06If a brother refused this duty, the widow pulled off his sandal
15:15in front of elders and spat in his face, shaming him publicly.
15:22After enduring that shame, he was released from the duty of marrying her.
15:26However, Onan wanted to avoid public humiliation while also refusing to share the inheritance.
15:31Since his brother died, the inheritance would be his;
15:35giving Tamar a son meant passing that inheritance to the child.
15:40Though married outwardly, any newborn legally belonged to his brother.
15:47So every time he lay with her, he spilled his seed on the ground.
15:53He sought only his own gratification. Imagine how humiliated Tamar felt!
16:00The text indicates that whenever he slept with her, he wasted the seed.
16:06This was not a one-time act; he habitually prevented conception.
16:12Beyond extreme selfishness, this was defiance against God.
16:17So God took the life of the wicked second son as well.
16:21To preserve the line, Judah should have given his youngest son to Tamar.
16:28Instead, Judah shifted the blame.
16:32Look at verse 11:
16:33"Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar,
16:37'Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.'
16:41For he thought, 'He may die too, just like his brothers.'"
16:43He had no intention of giving Shelah to her.
16:46"So Tamar went to live in her father’s household."
16:50Fearing his youngest son might die, he essentially condemned Tamar to live in lifelong widowhood and isolation.
17:00He said, "He may die too, just like his brothers."
17:07Even after losing two sons, Judah remained stubborn and offered no tears.
17:16He refused to acknowledge that Er and Onan died for their wickedness.
17:23Instead, he scapegoated Tamar, blaming her for bringing bad luck.
17:29Every drama in life follows this script: "It's your fault!"
17:34"Because of you, my son failed; because of you, we went bankrupt."
17:41"Because of the son-in-law, my daughter suffered..."
17:44Caring only for his sons, Judah worried solely about Shelah.
17:51Had he stayed in the faith community, his errors would have been corrected.
17:55Without accountability, he kept making poor judgments.
18:00God explicitly declared that the sons were evil in His sight.
18:06Yet Judah, blind to his own sin, pointed at Tamar and blamed her.
18:12Do not judge circumstances by shifting blame onto others.
18:17The exact opposite of true repentance is saying: "It's your fault!"
18:25What is the opposite of repentance? Say it loudly: "It's your fault!"
18:30Repentance is the highest virtue, while blame is destructive.
18:36Amid all this, his wife died.
18:40Yet Scripture says he "recovered from his grief."
18:43Look at verse 12:
18:44"After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died.
18:46When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah..."
18:51"...to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him."
18:55Convinced he was right, he didn't return to the community.
18:58Instead, after his wife’s death, he threw himself into work at Timnah.
19:03When you walk with worldly friends during tough times,
19:07you become blind to your problems and keep acting self-righteously.
19:12Hirah represents the alluring, seemingly reliable friend from the world.
19:17He appears far more useful than brothers in Christ,
19:21but see how empty that is when crisis strikes!
19:27Genesis 36:6 states:
19:29"Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all of his household...
19:39and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob."
19:44Esau seemed like a dutiful son caring for his father,
19:52yet because he believed everything belonged to him,
19:56anyone claiming full ownership of life opposes God completely.
20:04So while Esau looked decent, being around Jacob—who trusted God—felt burdensome.
20:13So he walked away from the promised land on his own.
20:17When believers and unbelievers lack shared faith, living together brings friction.
20:22If two worldly people share the same worldly mindset, they get along easily. Do you see?
20:31Living together like Esau and Jacob brings hardship.
20:41Two Esaus who love the world may look fine for a season.
20:46Esau left on his own without a fight, simply because he felt uncomfortable around a believer.
20:51To the world, believers are often viewed as a burden.
21:01A member shared: "My husband is too proud to lie, my eldest isn't smart enough to lie,
21:07but my younger child has an eating disorder and lies skillfully.
21:16Because I am broken and my younger child struggles, only the two of us attend church.
21:27My 'upright' husband and eldest child stay away from church."
21:31Self-righteousness that claims "I don't lie" ends up opposing God.
21:37Another shared: "I hesitated to come to church or small group—
21:40not because I disliked God's Word, but because it confronted my desires.
21:48I pushed God away, thinking I needed to survive my way first."
21:54Yet coming to small group helped them realize this truth.
21:57Looking at verses 1 through 11, Judah’s guilt led him to abandon community,
22:03marry an unbeliever, and raise children consumed by materialism and lust,
22:10leading to their death—all
22:14the bitter fruit of compounding sin.
22:22Our children will inherit that judgmental, selfish spirit.
22:26They absorb our judgmental attitudes completely.
22:34Even in crisis, Judah blamed others, avoided truth, and buried himself in work.
22:39Where are you in this progression of spiritual ruin?
22:45Those who cry "It's your fault!" fall into deeper failure.
22:50Look at verse 13:
22:51"When Tamar was told,
22:53'Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,'"
22:57"she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil...
23:00and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, on the road to Timnah."
23:03"For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up,
23:05she had not been given to him as his wife."
23:09Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute because Judah had withheld Shelah from her.
23:13Though hard to comprehend today, preserving the covenant line was vital.
23:21Understanding the urgency of carrying on the lineage,
23:26Tamar disguised herself as a shrine prostitute.
23:28Verse 15:
23:29"When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face."
23:34Judah sought to drown his sorrow in work, then sought out a prostitute,
23:38trying to numb his grief with physical pleasure.
23:42Instead of thanking God for a fruitful sheep-shearing,
23:47he strayed into sensual gratification, conforming to Canaanite culture.
23:53This reveals the environment that corrupted Er and Onan.
23:58God cannot be deceived.
24:00Look at verse 16:
24:01"He went over to her by the roadside and said, 'Come now, let me sleep with you'
24:06(not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law)."
24:08"'And what will you give me to sleep with you?' she asked."
24:15Judah pursued pleasure and fell into immorality.
24:20In verse 17, Judah says,
24:22"'I will send you a young goat from my flock.'
24:25'Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?' she asked."
24:29Judah asked, "'What pledge shall I give you?'
24:31'Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,' she answered."
24:35"So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him."
24:45Judah left evidence of his sin behind.
24:49By handing over his seal, cord, and staff,
24:51the authority of the covenant passed entirely to Tamar.
24:55He said, "I will send you a young goat," hoping she would simply agree.
25:00But Tamar demanded his cord, his seal, and his staff as a pledge. Judah was completely overcome by desire.
25:07Blinded by desire, he could see nothing else.
25:10He was handing over, quite literally, his title deeds and his personal seal.
25:16That is how lust blinds a person.
25:19Verse 19:
25:21"After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again."
25:26"Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to get his pledge back, but he did not find her."
25:35"He asked the men, 'Where is the shrine prostitute beside the road at Enaim?'
25:40'There haven’t been any shrine prostitutes here,' they said."
25:43"He returned to Judah and said, 'I didn’t find her.
25:47The local men also said, "There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here."'"
25:50"Judah said, 'Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock.
25:56After all, I sent this young goat, but you didn’t find her.'"
26:03Judah fixated on finding her, worried about losing his seal.
26:11Realizing what he surrendered, he feared public embarrassment.
26:16Thinking, "What on earth did I just hand over? Did I just give away the title deeds to everything?"
26:23He realized the humiliation he was facing and quickly tried to pass the blame onto his friend: "You couldn't find her? I trusted you, yet you failed to find her."
26:33When we care more about human opinion than God, sin deepens.
26:39Verse 24: "About three months later Judah was told,
26:44'Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and is pregnant.'"
26:48"Judah said, 'Bring her out and have her burned to death!'"
26:53Though guilty himself, he condemned her to execution upon hearing of her pregnancy.
26:58When people fail to see their own sin, judging others comes easily.
27:05He thought escaping his community meant living well, yet he got his daughter-in-law pregnant.
27:15Unaware that the child carried the seed of Christ, he ordered her to be burned alive.
27:25Those who claim self-righteousness condemn others harshly.
27:31Judah blamed his daughter-in-law and his friend.
27:40Isn't it comforting to see how such a man became an ancestor of Jesus?
27:45This chapter is worth reading carefully.
27:47Author Tom Davis, in his book on men’s hidden struggles,
27:57served as head of Children’s Hope, helping orphans,
28:04and worked as a consultant for mid-sized companies.
28:07Outwardly, he was a faithful man of God, working diligently to provide for his family,
28:12raising six children—including adopted ones—
28:17faithfully attending church and reading the Bible.
28:21Yet secretly, he had been entangled in severe moral failure,
28:24substance abuse, financial misconduct, and even imprisonment.
28:30Remarkably, all of this occurred after he came to faith in Christ.
28:37When we fall into sin, we often play innocent and blame others, just like Judah.
28:43As Tom Davis pointed out, men are often skilled at making excuses.
28:50He confessed, "For years, I blamed external factors— feeling abandoned and rejected.
29:01I blamed my unknown father and abusive stepfather, using my inner pain to justify my sinful choices."
29:13Regardless of circumstances, everyone bears their own pain.
29:20Yet Christian men must learn to take responsibility for their actions.
29:27We must stop blaming parents, environment, or background as excuses for our failures.
29:37Without taking responsibility, we cannot advance spiritually;
29:43we remain trapped, repeating destructive patterns.
29:48Blaming parents or circumstances holds us back from moving forward.
29:57Consider a small group leader’s testimony:
29:59raised as the youngest child, he later learned he was from his father's third marriage.
30:05Coming from a broken background,
30:11he played trumpet in nightlife venues,
30:15married a hostess he met there, had a daughter,
30:22and divorced after ten years.
30:26Later he met his current wife, accepted Jesus through her,
30:36and took on church leadership roles, including choir director.
30:42Charming personalities often gain easy recognition in church communities.
30:47because they are so good at building relationships... right?
30:51This man, too, committed countless infidelities over the years.
30:57After marrying his wife and recovering financially, he began to accumulate wealth.
31:03He didn't view himself as a wicked person, yet money drove him into moral failure.
31:11He became entangled in adultery with a married woman, moving in with her
31:19and committing a grave evil by pressuring his trusting wife for a divorce so he could remarry.
31:28Yet living in constant infidelity bred paranoia, trapping him in a living hell of suspicion.
31:38Crucially, when the money ran out, that woman abandoned him.
31:43Having lost everything, he finally returned to his wife.
31:48Let us pray that the money runs out!
31:52Yet all the while, he directed the church choir, continually persisting in sin
31:58and obsessively demanding a divorce, completely blinded by his own desires.
32:05Let us apply this:
32:07Are you ignoring your sin while heading toward failure?
32:15Now, the third point: "You are more righteous than I"—taking responsibility.
32:29Look at verse 25:
32:30"As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law:
32:34'I am pregnant by the man who owns these.
32:37See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.'"
32:45Wise Tamar revealed the evidence without publicly naming him.
32:53This confronted Judah with his duty as kinsman-redeemer.
33:03Verse 26: "Judah recognized them and said,
33:08At last, Judah’s wickedness, which has been running since verse 1, comes to an end.
33:14He recognized them—the seal, the cord, the staff, the pledge, and the covenant.
33:19Recognizing them, he finally came to realize the truth.
33:25"She is more righteous than I."
33:27The original text explicitly says "she."
33:30"She is more righteous than I"
33:33He declared her righteous, recognizing the righteousness of Christ.
33:38"since I didn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.
33:47He repented of treating her merely as an object of lust.
33:51When we confess, "God is right," we must break off all ungodly relationships.
33:58Severing those ties is what it truly means to say, "She is more righteous than I."
34:01Judah acknowledged that Tamar’s desperate act to preserve the covenant line was far more righteous than his own wickedness.
34:10He confessed his sin publicly before the community, recognizing her faith in preserving the line.
34:19Without understanding the story of redemption, this looks like mere scandal.
34:24While Judah’s sons chased self-interest, oblivious to faith and salvation,
34:31Tamar alone fulfilled a vital role in preserving the line of redemption.
34:39Repentance is the noblest human response,
34:43yet shame can be the proudest one. Imagine the overwhelming shame that Tamar and Judah must have felt.
34:50Nothing else could reach Judah until he was brought to rock bottom.
34:57Only when he was completely broken did he care about a spiritual legacy.
35:02Through this, he understood righteousness by faith (Gen 15:6).
35:07Jesus dying on the cross was God Himself laying down His life to bring about our salvation.
35:14For Judah to awaken to this truth, it required Tamar’s dying to self.
35:18Judah could not realize this on his own, just as your husbands cannot on their own.
35:25Just as Tamar died to self out of love, and just as God laid down His life,
35:31Pastor Jeong described our church's ministry like this:
35:35"A community of confession is built through listening and dying to self."
35:39Hearing God's Word through QT and dying to self through the cross
35:44enables our church members to make confessions and open up in ways otherwise impossible.
35:51Isn't that right?
35:52Without dying to self, genuine confession and vulnerability are impossible.
35:58Judah could not have made this confession without dying to his pride.
36:01He loudly proclaimed over his daughter-in-law, who had disguised herself and become pregnant: "She is more righteous than I!"
36:16Judah had ignored his promise in verse 11 to give her Shelah once he grew up.
36:22He confessed this broken promise and his moral failure,
36:25recognizing Tamar acted out of faith to secure an heir rather than out of lust, thereby honoring her righteousness.
36:35This goes beyond a candid story—it carries a profound spiritual message.
36:42It reveals that Judah lacked not only physical descendants, but spiritual ones as well.
36:50In short, though he was Jacob’s son, no one could place their trust in him.
36:55Anyone who trusted him would eventually walk away.
36:58Without a community and fellow believers, you cannot resolve crises when trials come, no matter how well things seem to go in good times.
37:05Through Tamar's sacrifice, Judah’s declaration, "She is more righteous than I," meant saying,
37:10"This is no longer your fault— the responsibility is mine."
37:13All of his past sins came rushing back to him.
37:15Through Tamar’s actions, his own sin was brought to light.
37:19Earlier, didn’t everyone confess, "It is my sin"?
37:21When conviction pierces deeply, they confess, "It is my fault."
37:23Haven't they been so wonderfully nurtured in faith?
37:26Judah’s confession was honored across generations,
37:29placing Tamar in Christ's genealogy in Matthew 1.
37:36By repenting, Judah’s line led to King David and Jesus Christ.
37:47The one who confessed, "You are more righteous," became truly great.
37:53Saying "You are more righteous" is difficult,
37:58yet Judah became Christ's ancestor through repentance.
38:04Jacob possessed spiritual insight to bless Judah over Joseph in Genesis 49.
38:14In Genesis 45, Joseph acknowledged that his being sold was God's doing.
38:19Yet Jacob, even after hearing this, bestowed the ultimate spiritual blessing on Judah— and Joseph was called to witness it.
38:31Tom Davis reflected: "In helplessness, I found the treasure of honesty about my flaws.
38:41Whether you sinned on your own or were victimized by someone else,
38:48whether trapped by deep shame or swept away by desire— none of that matters.
38:54Unless you acknowledge your weakness, you cannot be transformed.
38:59Healing begins when we take ownership and seek help honestly.
39:08Application:
39:09Can you say, "You are more righteous than I"?
39:14This confession comes only when we realize our own sinfulness.
39:21When we do, God grants the highest blessing.
39:25Look at verse 27:
39:27"When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
39:30As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife tied a scarlet thread on his wrist and said, 'This one came out first.'
39:35But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,
39:37and she said, 'So this is how you have broken out!' And he was named Perez.
39:43Then his brother with the scarlet thread came out, and was named Zerah."
39:48Perez means "breaking out," and Zerah means "brightness."
39:53Tamar’s sacrificial act restored the family and redeemed Judah’s loss.
40:02How much suffering did Tamar endure after marrying into this family?
40:06Disguising herself, conceiving twins through an unnatural relationship,
40:10facing a difficult pregnancy, and barely escaping being burned at three months—
40:16she must have suffered deeply in both body and spirit.
40:19Unable to save her first husband or her second,
40:24she must have wanted to give up on life completely.
40:27Perhaps no woman in history suffered a fate more tragic than hers.
40:31Consider a wealthy man who gives his wife a meager allowance in tiny amounts,
40:38subjecting her to severe abuse and forcing her to her knees in humiliation.
40:42Facing an unchanging spouse, one might long for divorce or death.
40:46We claim we will give our lives for Jesus,
40:49yet because of our tiny pride, we refuse to humble ourselves or confess our shame.
40:58Yet God carried on the covenant line through Perez, born of Judah and Tamar—
41:03a child born through a difficult labor, chosen over the firstborn.
41:09And when Boaz redeemed Ruth to continue the family line,
41:13the elders at the gate invoked this very story to pronounce a blessing upon him.
41:18"May your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah!"
41:23Wouldn't you rather hear a blessing like, "May you be like Ephraim, born to Joseph"?
41:28If someone blessed you with, "May you be like the child born to a father-in-law and daughter-in-law," would you actually say, "Amen"?
41:37Yet because this became the direct lineage of Jesus, it is the greatest blessing in human history.
41:44Though the world sees it as shameful and disgraceful, in the story of redemption, it is a supreme blessing.
41:54Is this hard to digest?
41:56Just as prophesied, the line of Judah and Perez leads to David, and ultimately to Jesus.
42:01Do you understand Judah now?
42:03A man like this became a direct ancestor of Jesus.
42:06This is a testimony from our community— the story of the wife of the leader I mentioned.
42:11As he constantly demanded a divorce, she kept waiting, went to a retreat center, read my book, and joined our church.
42:21She simply continued to wait for him.
42:22After coming here, she endured with patient grace.
42:25Then, the other woman became pregnant.
42:29In the past, she would have insisted on abortion.
42:33But in her small group, she learned that destroying a life is like killing Jesus.
42:40So she told her husband, "That child represents Jesus. Please do not end the pregnancy."
42:48And extraordinary power was released. Her husband was deeply moved by her grace, and an incredible power worked in him, too.
42:54She shared that after fully devoting herself to church, all the deep hatred and anger inside her vanished.
43:00Her plea to protect that life was her way of declaring,
43:04"That child is more righteous than I."
43:07And her husband proclaimed, "My wife is more righteous than I."
43:10By laying bare their shame daily at church,
43:14he was raised up as a spiritual leader.
43:19He now offers medicine and healing to others.
43:22Because of his severe moral failure in the past,
43:25he has no choice but to remain truly humble.
43:28He now shares this testimony with new believers every week.
43:31Is this not the very blessing that Judah received?
43:35Here is another testimony from our community.
43:37Her younger brother had resisted the faith for years, but after their father passed away,
43:42he came to our church, was baptized, and grew through spiritual mentoring.
43:45She prayed he would build a Christian family,
43:49but he met a divorced woman with two kids at work.
43:54When urged to break up,
43:55she turned out to be pregnant.
43:57The family urged her to keep the baby,
43:59but delayed marriage until they were discipleship-tested.
44:03Yet after four months, he stopped attending his small group,
44:07closing his heart and dropping out entirely.
44:11Meanwhile, time kept passing, and the unborn child was growing.
44:22When they looked more closely, they discovered that though her brother was single,
44:27the woman was older and actually had five children, not just two.
44:34Neither her brother nor the family had known;
44:38they felt utterly deceived and opposed marriage.
44:43Yet in time, the baby was born.
44:45Even while receiving child support,
44:46the woman kept attending Our Church faithfully.
44:51Under the intense stress of it all, the sister suffered panic attacks and thyroid issues.
44:58Over time, her brother's feelings faded, yet seeing his child at church stirred fatherly love.
45:06Every time he said goodbye, his child's face lingered in his mind.
45:09Caught in an agonizing dilemma, he grieved over the pain the child might face.
45:17As the sister pondered why God allowed this, conviction pierced her own heart.
45:23She remembered her past brokenness, having ended pregnancies for the sake of convenience,
45:33Yet this woman, despite severe hardship, had chosen life, bearing six children in total.
45:41Finally, she declared, "She is more righteous than I."
45:45"God forgave a sinner like me,
45:48yet I judged a mother who preserved life."
45:52She committed to embracing her fully.
45:55After four years of waiting, they married last year.
46:02Now, her brother is a father of six, serving as an assistant small group leader,
46:08while his wife serves in the nursery department— a truly miraculous love story.
46:14She is truly remarkable. Near fifty, she brought six children into the marriage,
46:21she gave birth to a daughter as their seventh—
46:24a complete triumph of grace!
46:27Where else today can you see such grace embraced? Is this not a profound blessing?
46:39Every family faces deep trials. How could anyone get through this on their own?
46:43Yet when one Tamar stands firm in faith, an entire family is revived.
46:46When we cry out, "You are more righteous than I," I believe even the dead will be restored to life.
46:53In conclusion,
46:54we naturally insist that we are right,
46:57blaming others when things go wrong.
46:59And that is how we fall into grave moral failure.
47:03Only when our shame is brought to light
47:06do we finally say, "It is my fault, you are right."
47:11Rather than waiting to be broken by shame, may we be the first to cry out, "It is my fault."
47:18Let us worship.

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This page contains the full transcript of [16/05/01] 김양재 목사 - 그는 나보다 옳도다(창38:12-30) by 우리들교회, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 5,634 words across 531 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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