Genesis 38-39
Filled with incest, death, prostitution, sexual temptation, betrayal and a near execution these two chapters in Genesis are two of the most sordid in the whole bible. For those who think the bible is just a big boring book, these two chapters are about as spicy and dramatic as a TV sit-com.
Using a very broad stroke, these two chapters bring to mind the struggle we all share with trying to "be good". The reading puts four characters at opposing ends of a continuum of "goodness", and then throws at us, the readers, a dilemma. What is good? Those characters are: Judah, Tamar, Joseph, and Potiphar's wife. Here's how this is set up. On the one side we have Judah and Tamar. Judah's wife has died, and he seeks "comfort" in the form of sex from a prostitute. However, the prostitute is no prostitute. She is Judah's widowed daughter-in-law. Judah has broken a promise to her of marriage to his younger son, and she means to expose his betrayal and force the issue of delivering a male heir to redeem herself within Judah's household. So she poses as a prostitute and tempts the grieving Judah. Judah gives in. Tamar becomes pregnant and exposes Judah's immorality, while delivering to him a male heir, named Perez. Meanwhile, on the other side of the continuum, Joseph has become Potiphar's slave. Potiphar has a wife who behaves like that of a prostitute and tempts Joseph with sex. Joseph manages to say no, but then in her anger and to save her status as Potiphar's wife she accuses Joseph of attempting to rape her. Joseph lands in prison as a result.
Two women posing as prostitutes, one in an effort to deliver justice, and the other because she is promiscuous. Two men dealing with temptation, one gives in and justice comes to him, one resists and injustice comes to him. In the end, what is good? You could say Joseph is good, I suppose, but look what "good" that got him. He's accused of attempting to rape a man's wife and is thrown into prison. That's not good. So, what is good?
God is good! God brings goodness out of us and the events that unfold around us. We may not feel good, or our situation in life may seem far from good, but with faith and hope in God, goodness comes from God's work in the world and through us.
I read an interesting article about the dilemma that women face to "be good" in our society. While the article was specific to women and even a wee bit hostile toward men, I think the gist of the article is one that applies to all people. The message of the article was that being good can create a crisis of the self. In other words, when we try to be "good" all the time we end up simply trying to please all people, because that seems to us to the "good" thing to do. We can become too good for our own good. We can sacrifice too much, and fail to maintain boundaries around what is "good" for us in the attempt to be "good" for others. Essentially, in order to maintain a healthy balance of what is good for us and good for others we have to realize that sometimes others may not think so "good" of us when we say NO to their demand upon us.
Joseph said NO to Potiphar's wife. We could also say that Tamar said NO to the injustice of Judah. These two NOs bring about great risk for both characters. Joseph is thrown into prison, and Tamar is nearly executed. But, in the end, they both retain their honor. Furthermore, God rewards their NO. God turns Joseph's prison sentence into an opportunity for him to interpret Pharoah's dreams, which elevates him to a place of high regard and eventually positions him to rescue his family. Meanwhile, God turns the NO of Tamar into the birth of Perez, who would become the very bloodline which leads to King David and eventually to Jesus.
Are you trying to please everyone, unable to say NO even when you feel guilty for giving in to the demands of others?
Are you being too good for your own good?
Maybe its time to trust that God is the only real judge of what is good. When you say NO for good reasons, you are saying YES to God. Let God be your only judge.
In the end of Jesus' life on earth, as he died on the cross, his actions announced a resounding NO to sin, even the sins his disciples would tempt him toward. Judas would end up betraying him because Jesus said NO to his way of violence. Jesus said NO to sin in order to say YES to God.
Lord God, your goodness is revealed even in the most sordid parts of the bible. Thank you for inspiring goodness in me. Thank you for the courage of Jesus to say NO to my ways, and YES to your ways. Give me courage today to say NO for goodness sake. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
Here is a link to the article mentioned above:http://socyberty.com/relationships/every-relationship-needs-a-limit/
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