Pride Comes Before the Fall, Gen 37-39.

May the mumbling commence!

Pride comes before the fall.  In the midst of a continuing string of deceptions, I see pride rearing its ugly head in Genesis 37-39.  Say it ain’t so Joe.  Joseph let his dreams go to his head.  It didn’t help that he was Daddy’s favorite, the firstborn of Rachel.  That richly ornamented robe must have inspired dreams of delusional proportions – a robe that would be no good for the work of herdsmen, like his brothers.  In the dreams of Joseph, Mom and Dad were not immune to his power.

With such pride, Joseph took a fall.  His brothers were so angry and jealous that they wanted him dead – enough that some of them wanted to kill him.  Reuben tried to save him and return him home to their father.  Then, Judah took the lead and sold him off to Ishmaelite slave traders.  Joseph fell hard into the well, but he lived to tell the story.  He fell from dreams of leadership to slavery in a foreign land.

With Joseph gone, what would his brothers do?  How would they explain their brother’s absence?  They would lie.  Using the ornamental robe, they dipped into goat’s blood to deceive their father into thinking that Joseph was attacked by wild animals.  And Jacob mourned many days for Joseph.  

The following days, months and years must have been difficult for the remaining brothers.  In chapter 38, Judah leaves and finds a wife among the Canaanites.  The marriage produced three sons for Judah.  Judah found a wife for his firstborn, Er.  But Er was wicked in the Lord’s sight (for what reason we are not told – perhaps, because of his father marrying outside of the culture and choosing a wife for Er that was not of the culture), so the Lord struck him dead.  And Tamar, his widow was left without children.

Judah commanded his second born to marry Tamar so that he would produce children for his dead brother.  Well, Onan did not like this idea at all.  He did not want to produce offspring for Er.  Though he would lie with Tamar, he spilt his seed on the ground.  This deception cost him.  The Lord pronounced this deception as wicked and struck Onan dead.  Onan’s wickedness was easier to see.  Tamar needed children, sons in particular, to have security for her future.  Onan was denying her this security and leaving her vulnerable, yet he was still receiving his pleasure from her – taking advantage of the vulnerable.

With Er and Onan dead, Judah must have begun to wonder if Tamar was a black widow.  Would his youngest son, Shelah, also die as a husband of Tamar?  With this fear in mind, Judah deceived Tamar.  He told her to return to her father’s house until Shelah was older and could marry her.  But Judah had no intention of doing this.

When this deception became apparent to Tamar, she turned the tables of deception on Judah.  She left behind the clothes of the widow and dressed in the clothes of a prostitute.  Then, along came Judah, who was just getting over mourning the death of his wife.  He paid for the services of this prostitute on the credit of his staff, seal and cord.  He would pay her with a goat later.

But later, she was not to be found.  When it was discovered that Tamar was pregnant, Judah was told.  He pronounced judgment on her.  She should be burned to death.  What pride!  He knew that he was deceiving this vulnerable woman about her promised marriage to Shelah.  Oh, how the tables are turned when Tamar sends the staff, seal, and cord to Judah.  Judah repents and admits that Tamar is more righteous than he is.  What a fall from grace!  What a vindication for the vulnerable!

Meanwhile, we learn in Genesis 39, that Joseph has become the favored slave in his master Potiphar’s house, because the Lord blessed everything Joseph did.  But, Joseph, again, shows signs of pride.  When Potiphar’s wife asks for Joseph sex, he refuses.  Like many children who are later in the birth order, Joseph may have learned lessons from his older brother’s mistakes – like that mistake of Reuben.  Joseph refused to sin against God in that way.  

In denying her advances, Joseph also let his pride shine through.  He told her, “No one is greater in this house than I am.”  Joseph must have been too great to share his trouble with Potiphar.  Eventually, Potiphar’s wife deceived her husband and her other slaves.  She claimed that the cloak that she ripped off Joseph was left there by him when he was trying to rape her – only her screams saved her.  And Joseph ended up in prison.  Yes, pride comes before the fall.

It seems that pride and deception have a lot in common.  They seem to walk hand in hand in this recorded history…

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out