God Uses The Broken – VaYeshev – Dec. 24

Life is filled with various events, some of which we plan and some of which we don’t. The unpredictable elements in life are not generally what we chase after, however, they are a reality that we all face from time to time. God often uses the unpredictable events in life in ways we don’t always understand, as we read in the Proverbs: “Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his way?” (Prov. 20:24)

A few years ago I was living in America and seeking an English teaching job in another country. I was in contact with an English school in a foreign country and I was taking the necessary steps to get a work visa to teach in that country. At one point in this process, the administrator of the school instructed me to go to the consulate of that country in New York City to apply for my work visa. I located the consulate in New York, found out the days that it was open, and set a date to go there.

I was living in New Jersey at the time and made plans to drive up to New York and take care of the necessary paperwork at the consulate. It was approximately a two-hour drive from where I was living. The day that I had scheduled to go to New York was on a Friday and I had a responsibility that same evening to lead worship for a young people’s group back in New Jersey. I had prepared songs ahead of time and I figured that I should be back in plenty of time to lead the worship that evening.

I drove up to New York City on that Friday morning and I arrived in plenty of time to take care of everything. I waited my turn to talk with a representative and when my turn came I shared with the representative my situation of applying for a work visa at that particular school. The woman whom I talked with informed me that they hadn’t received the proper papers from that school and until they receive the papers there was nothing that they could do for me.

I left the consulate feeling frustrated and irritated that the administrator of the school had sent me to the consulate without submitting the proper papers. I had wasted my time and energy driving to New York City that day. During the entire trip back to New Jersey I was frustrated with the whole process of applying for this visa and felt like the school was not really concerned with my situation. I was angry and disappointed. I was not in the mood to led worship that evening.

Watch a video overview of this week’s commentary:

After arriving back home in New Jersey I was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally from the fruitless journey. I didn’t understand what was going on with this particular school and I was ready to stop pursuing a job with them. It was late afternoon by this time and I only had a couple of hours before the evening event. I felt like I had absolutely nothing to offer the people that evening. I was drained and just wanted to stay at home but I had committed to lead the worship and it was too late to cancel or find a replacement.

I went to the meeting and led the time of worship. During the worship time I was honest with everyone regarding what I had experienced that day. It was good to be able to share honestly regarding what happened as we worshipped the LORD together. It ended up being an extremely blessed time of worship. It was not because I’m a gifted musician or a popular worship leader. I enjoy playing guitar and worshipping but it is not my primary gifting.

Our especially blessed time of worship that Friday evening was a result of my brokenness and complete dependence on God in the midst of my disappointment and rejection that day. I was weak and broken and I guess that is just where God needed me to be in order for Him to use me. This week’s Torah Portion contains a story of brokenness that reminds us of this same principle.

The Generations of Jacob

This week’s Torah Portion is called “וישב” – “vayeshev,” which means “and he dwelt,” referring to Jacob’s dwelling in the land of his fathers. Although this week’s Torah reading begins with the story of Jacob, it quickly turns to the story of Joseph:

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms. – Gen. 37:1-4

These four verses set the stage for the remainder of the book of Genesis as Joseph emerges as the main character and a person of influence in his family and eventually to the world.

Joseph & His Brothers

Joseph was the beloved son of his father because he was the firstborn son of his beloved wife Rachel. Jacob did not hide his love for Jospeh above his other sons and this became a point of contention in their family. Jacob’s other sons grew to hate Joseph because of the favoritism that their father showed Joseph. To make matters worse, Joseph had dreams in which not only his brothers but also his father and mother bowed down to him (Gen. 37:5-11). Jacob’s sons could hardly handle Joseph’s favored position among them, being the second youngest of the twelve sons, and the dreams that Joseph saw only brought on more hatred and resentment.

The hatred of Jacob’s son toward Joseph reached such a critical point that they actually plotted to kill him. Upon hearing this, Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob’s sons, dissuaded the other brothers from carrying out their plan and provided a substitute plan of casting Joseph into a pit, with the intention of rescuing him at a later time. The brothers agreed to Reuben’s advice, stripped Joseph of his beautiful robe that his father had given him, and threw him into a pit (Gen. 37:18-24).

Judah’s Plan for Joseph

While Joseph was trapped in the pit, unsure of what his brothers would do to him next, his brothers sat down to eat a meal together. It was at this same time that some Ishmaelite traders were passing by on their way to Egypt and Judah then suggested a conclusion to how to handle their problematic brother:

Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. – Gen. 37:27

Judah and his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders for 20 pieces of silver and the Ishmaelites brought Joseph down to Egypt.

Jacob’s sons sought to get rid of their brother Joseph and put an end to the dreams that he received which portrayed him as ruling over them. Through human plans and human strength they collaborated together, with Judah at their lead, to sell their brother into slavery and let others do the dirty work of eventually killing him.

Joseph & The Goat

When Reuben returned and found out what the brothers had done, by selling Joseph into slavery, he was distraught as he knew that he alone would bear the guilt of allowing one of his father’s sons to be taken from him. In order to cover up their sin of selling their brother they devised a new scheme:

So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” – Gen. 37:31-32

This new plan of the brothers regarding the Joseph issue, provided a way to cover their own sin and be rid of their brother once and for all.

A male goat was killed and its blood used to stain Joseph’s robe. Joseph’s life had been marked by death and covered over with the blood of a goat. When Jacob saw the blood-stained robe, he wept and mourned as he knew it to be the robe that he had given to his son Joseph. Joseph was now considered dead to his father and to his brothers. To read more about Joseph’s journey, I recommend the following commentary: Dreams, Visions, and Prophecy

From Joseph to Judah

The story of Joseph is interrupted at this point in the book of Genesis to chronicle the life of Judah, which is found in Genesis 38. The introduction of Judah and his family seem like an abrupt interruption to the fascinating account of Joseph, however, as I was studying the Torah Portion afresh this week, I was reminded of a direct connection of the plot to kill and coverup the life of Joseph in Genesis 37 to the challenging story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38.

The Life of Judah

As the Bible begins to chronicle the life of Judah, Genesis 38 commences with these words: “And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.” (Gen. 38:1) It is in connection to Judah’s visit of his friend Hirah that we are introduced to the generations of Judah. Judah went down to visit his friend as a single man but found a woman there and married her.

Judah married a Canaanite woman named Shua and they had three sons from their union: Er, Onan, and Shelah. When Judah’s firstborn was old enough, Judah found a wife for him and he married Tamar. Their marriage was short-lived, however, because Er was considered as wicked before God and God took his life. Tamar was then given to Onan, Judah’s second son, and the same fate met Onan as the LORD also took his life. Judah was afraid to give Tamar to his younger son Shelah, therefore, Judah sent Tamar away to her father’s house to live as a widow vowing to give Tamar to Shelah when he was old enough (Gen. 38:1-11).

When did all these events in Judah’s life occur? The initial phrase in the above quoted verse from Gen. 38:1, “And it came about at that time,” is very generic and we are not really sure if the following events in Genesis 38 happened immediately after Genesis 37 or simply overlapped that time period. The events in Genesis 38 include two consecutive generations from Judah, therefore, we can assume that Genesis 38 covers a period of at least 25-30 years and that the events with Joseph are included in this time period.

Judah’s family life did not go well at all. Judah had lost his two older sons in the prime of their life. Then Judah lost another family member, his own wife:

Now after a considerable time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. – Gen. 38:12

Judah had mourned the loss of his two sons and his wife at a relatively young age. Surely he must have wondered why he was facing so many unpredictable events in life.

Judah & Tamar

Judah had now become a widower and he had seemingly forgotten about his daughter-in-law Tamar who was a widow herself, however, she had not forgotten about the promise that he made to her and she made her own plans to remedy this situation:

It was told to Tamar, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife. – Gen. 38:13-14

As a widow, Tamar belonged to the house of Judah and could only be married to someone in his family. If Judah did not do something to provide a way for her to have a family, Tamar would be left as a widow in her father’s house. She felt trapped and wanted to be set free, therefore, she did something about it.

Tamar dressed as a harlot and made herself available by veiling herself and sitting by the roadside along the way where she knew that Judah would have to pass by. Judah eventually did pass by and he propositioned Tamar without knowing that it was her. Judah only viewed her as a prostitute by the roadside. According to their agreement, Judah promised to give her a goat as payment for lying with her. Tamar then asked for a pledge until he should fulfill his promise of the goat and he gave her his seal, cord, and staff. Then he lay with her and went on his way. Tamar had conceived at that time but told no one as she returned to her father’s house.

Judah later sent a kid goat to the “prostitute” by the hand of his friend Hirah but she was no longer there, having returned to her father’s house. Hirah returned to Judah and told him that he could not find the prostitute. Judah told Hirah not to worry about it as he felt like they did all that they could to make the payment with the goat but could not find her (Gen. 38:15-23).

Judah and The Goat

The relationship of Judah with Tamar reveals a unique manner in which Judah sought to handle his problems. Just as Judah and his brothers thought that the goat would cover their iniquity when they sold Joseph into slavery, so again Judah thought that the payment of the goat would settle his situation with the prostitute by the road. The blood of the goat covered up the truth about Joseph, at least for a time, however, Judah wasn’t able to use the goat to cover up this situation with Tamar. This time the goat was returned to him.

Tamar’s pregnancy was made public in her third month. Judah was told at that time that Tamar had become pregnant through an act of harlotry and when Judah heard this, he became angry and sought to put her to death:

Then Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again. – Gen. 38:24-26

Before he knew that he was the father, Judah was ready to have Tamar burned to death.

As they were bringing Tamar out to be burned she sent someone to Judah to inform him that she was pregnant by the owner of the seal, cord, and staff. After seeing his own personal belongings, Judah realized that he was the father and he was convicted about his own actions, including not giving Tamar to his younger son Shelah as he had promised.

Judah’s Brokenness

In this situation with Tamar, Judah realized the error of his ways. Judah accepted that Tamar had to do what she did in order to have a family and he acknowledged that his own actions were not right by withholding his son Shelah from her. Judah concluded that Tamar proved herself to be more righteous than himself. Judah realized that he could no longer cover up his past with the life of a goat. Judah was exposed and he had become broken.

It was only after Judah was broken through this situation with Tamar that he became a changed man and a true leader of his brothers. Judah’s character was transformed as we see evidenced later in Judah’s life (Gen. 43). To read more about Judah’s transformation I recommend the following article:  The Character of Judah

The LORD took Judah’s brokenness and made him into the person that He wanted him to be. It would be through the line of Judah that kings would reign in Jerusalem and it was through this same line that God would bring His Messiah into the world. God took Judah’s brokenness and transformed it into usefulness for His kingdom!

A Broken & Contrite Heart

I believe that Judah learned a valuable lesson through his situation with Tamar. Judah quickly learned that there are some things in life that money and goats cannot remedy. It was only through brokenness that Judah realized the true path of the righteous. This is the same lesson that King David learned through his situation with Bathsheba:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. – Psalm 51:16-17

After David was confronted by Nathan the prophet regarding his sin with Bathsheba, David was broken afresh and penned these powerful words. David knew that he could not simply reconcile his relationship with God by means of a sheep or a goat. Above all else God desires a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart!

We generally do not desire or pursue brokenness in our lives. We are usually consumed with keeping everything in order and we strive to present ourselves to God and others as righteous people who are doing the right things. We should strive to do good to others and honor God with our lives, however, we must always allow God to break us as He see fits and then serve Him in our brokenness.

Brokenness & The Messiah

In conclusion, I would like to tie together this week’s study with the traditional observation of the birth of the Messiah which will be celebrated over the next couple of weeks. Christmas is a time to recognize the unique birth of the Messiah and His coming to save the world from sin. The Messiah’s line began in brokenness.

The Messiah is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then from Jacob only one tribe was chosen, the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10). Judah married and had three sons, however, that family ended in tragedy. Judah lost his oldest two sons to death and then his wife died as well. Judah was left with his younger son Shelah, with whom we hear nothing more about, and his daughter-in-law Tamar, with whom Judah had no hope.

Judah was left desolate as a widower with no real future. It was in this place of hopelessness that Judah fathered twin sons through the widow Tamar. It was during Tamar’s pregnancy that Judah became completely broken. Tamar then bore to Judah his two sons: Perez and Zerah. Perez was the firstborn who continued the line of Judah which led to the birth of King David and eventually the Messiah. Perez came forth out of a hopeless and broken line of Judah.

Ruth & Boaz

A few generations after Judah and Perez, a similar broken scenario would come upon the line of Judah. We are all familiar with the story of Ruth but I just want to highlight the connection to this week’s teaching.

Elimelech was an Israelite of the tribe of Judah who was from the city of Bethlehem. He was married to Naomi and they had two sons. They left Bethlehem during a time of famine and went to Moab. Their two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Elimelech and his two sons died in Moab. Naomi was then left as a widow with her two daughters-in-law.

Upon hearing that the famine had ended in Judah, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem and instructed her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Naomi was broken and had no hope for her or her two daughters-in-law. Orpah returned to her family but Ruth remained with Naomi and went with her.

Naomi had no hope for Ruth and she had no means to provide a husband for her, however, God raised up a kinsmen redeemer through a relative, Boaz, who married Ruth. Boaz and Ruth had a son whose name was Obed, a descendant of Perez and the grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:18-22). God used Naomi in her utter brokenness to restore the line of the Messiah through her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth.

God Uses the Broken

Naomi’s situation was almost identical to Judah’s situation: they had both lost their spouses, they had both lost two sons, and they were both left with a daughter-in-law who was a widow and in whom they had no hope. Out of Judah and Naomi’s brokenness God brought forth His amazing plan of life and restoration through the ultimate gift of the Messiah. God uses the broken to accomplish His purposes!

Shabbat Shalom, Merry Christmas, & Happy Hanukkah!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 37:1 – Gen. 40:23

Haftara:  Amos 2:6 – Amos 3:8  

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