Judah: a man who eventually found his way. Solomon: a man who lost his way. And two travellers helped to find their way back to where they should be.
Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; and the half-brother of Joseph. Judah was as strong as any of the brothers in his hatred of Joseph. Joseph had informed their father of misconduct by the brothers (Genesis 37: 2). Now, there was no fault in this, if they were indeed responsible for misconduct. Joseph was clearly their father’s favourite (Genesis 37:3) and this clearly grated. And when Joesph revealed his dreams that he would be exalted over all the family, that was the final straw and the brothers could scarcely speak civilly to him.
Their hatred grew to the point that they considered murder. They resolved to get rid of him and only Reuben spoke out against killing him. It was Judah, taking advantage of Reuben’s absence, who came up with the idea of selling Joseph into slavery. He seemed to see this as a way of getting rid of Joseph without having his blood on their hands. Not that he was doing Joseph any great favour; a slave was likely to have a short and brutal existence.
Judah had absolutely no thought to the impact of the loss of Joseph on their father. But “Jacob tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth and mourned his son for many days” (Genesis 38: 35). Jacob refused to be comforted.
After the disposal of Joseph, Judah moved away from the family. This may reflect feelings of discomfort or unease in Judah; but not feelings of repentance at this time. He may well have had regret but only for the impact of his misconduct on himself. Perhaps seeing his father and his brothers every day reminded him of something he would rather forget. Repentance produces improved behaviour. But self-pity and negativity does quite the opposite.
Judah moved away from the rest of the family. Indeed he family was falling apart. As well as disposing of Joseph, Reuben, and Simeon and Levi, caused their father further distress. Reuben lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. And, Simeon and Levi put the family in danger by taking revenge for the rape of their sister, Dinah.
Away from the family, Judah developed a close friendship with a Canaanite called Hiram, and through him met and fell for a Canaanite woman called Shua whom he married.
Marriage to Canaanite women had been denied to his father and grandfather. Abraham had dispatched his trusted servant to Haran to find a wife for Isaac so that he did not marry a Canaanite women. Esau had Hittite wives who “were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca” (Genesis 26: 35). So it was contrived to send Jacob to Laban to prevent him making a disastrous marriage.
Judah and Shua had three sons. But Judah’s misconduct had a disastrous impact on his family. His influence on his sons was very negative.
His eldest, Er, married a local woman called Tamar. However Er “was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him”. (Genesis 38: 7). We are not told the nature of Er’s misconduct but it must have been particularly evil. It did not occur to Judah that his poor example contributed to his son’s misdeeds and therefore his death.
Under the prevailing Levirate marriage system, Judah’s second son, Onan, should marry Tamar and raise up a son for his deceased brother. The idea of the Levirate marriage system became included in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25: 5 and 6).
Now Onan was willing to take Tamar for sexual gratification but by repeatedly performing coitus interruptus (i.e. withdrawal before ejaculation), he ensured that she would not conceive. He clearly repeated this, showing himself unwilling to provide aa son to carry on his brother’s name. As a result God put him to death (Genesis 38: 10).
Judah then intervened with Tamar saying, “Remain in your father’s house till my son, Shelah, is grown.” However, Judah lied and deceived her. He had no intention of marrying Shelah to her. He probably felt that he had lost two sons because of this “unlucky” woman and he was not prepared to risk a third. But Tamar trusted Judah and did as he requested. He probably hoped that she would marry outside of the family.
Time went by and Tamar realized that Shelah was not going to be her third husband. She therefore devised a plan to show Judah up as a dishonourable man. She disguised herself as a prostitute and secured Judah’s seal, cord and staff as security for services rendered. Tamar fell pregnant as a result of her liaison with Judah and was accused of “playing the harlot”. Judah saw this as an opportunity to get rid of this troublesome woman, and as head of the family utilised his right to call for her execution. It was then that Tamar made her defence and showed that it was Judah who had used her. Judah acknowledged his sin, “She has been more righteous than I” (Genesis 38: 26). Comparatively this was true, although Tamar had hardly ben innocent.
Tamar had known that she could trap Judah which speaks volumes about his moral state. However Tamar was now pregnant by her father-in-law and would produce offspring. Therefore her actions, although dangerous, in that she risked severe punishment, was within the law of the day. She had the right to have a child by the nearest kin of her dead husband. Judah, Tamar and Perez (the elder of the twins) are in the genealogy of our Lord.
This may well have been a crucial time for Judah. His misconduct had infected his whole life and that of his sons. Change was required. At this point God could intervene with Judah and also save His chosen family.
Joseph’s rise to prominence in Egypt and the famine in the land, would remove the family from Canaanite influence and restore relationships. We next see Judah back with the family and taking a leading role in family affairs.
When famine struck the land and Jacob was aware that there was grain in Egypt. He sent the ten brothers to buy food, keeping his favourite, Benjamin, at home. On their return without Simeon, Jacob took them to task for telling the “Egyptian” about Benjamin whom he wanted to be brought to Egypt.
When the family were obliged to return to Egypt, it was Judah taking the lead, who stuck his neck out and explained to their father that they had to take Benjamin with them. Taking the lead in the interests of the family, He did not respond angrily to his father’s accusation that they had acted foolishly in telling the “Egyptian” about Benjamin. We may perhaps see the beginning of Judah’s repentance. God had spoken into his heart.
Previously he had totally disregarded his father’s feelings and had turned his back on the family. He now seemed determined to act in the interests of the family. He offered himself as surety for Benjamin and showed no resentment at his father’s favouritism.
Similarly, in Egypt, when Joseph showed favouritism to Benjamin over the provision of food, the brothers showed no resentment.
When Benjamin got into hot water over the “stolen” cup, it was Judah who took the risk of speaking up on behalf of the family. He approached the “Egyptian” to make an impassioned plea concerning the deep despair which would come upon Jacob if Benjamin did not return to him. He offered himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place. Instead of showing indifference to the family as before, Judah offered his life in order to save Benjamin. Thus we can see Judah’s repentance: he clearly regretted his sin towards Joseph; he clearly regretted the hurt he had caused his father; and he showed a special concern for his younger half-brother, although he was the favourite.
After the brothers were reconciled with Joseph, the entire family moved to Egypt and we see Jacob accepting Judah as a mainstay of the family. It was Judah whom Jacob chose to guide the family to Goshen, the area God had chosen for them to reside apart from the Egyptians.
At the end of his life, Jacob called his sons before him to receive his last words. He really only had words of blessing and praise for Joseph and Judah. Judah had clearly risen to the position over the other sons of Jacob; and therefore Reuben, Simeon and Levi were passed over. No doubt Judah’s selfless actions in showing willingness to save Benjamin at his expense, contrasted greatly with his previous disgraceful actions and impressed Jacob.
Jacob’s blessing on Judah is found in Genesis 49: 8 – 12.
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the nek of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lie down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.”
There is quite a lot to unpick in Jacob’s words.
The lion is a symbol of royalty and power. The sceptre is a symbol of royal authority. A “lawgiver” is a ruler; one who issues statures.
With his words, Jacob was predicting that a royal line would arise among Judah’s descendants; “Shiloh” is a term for the coming Messiah. The final verses describe the warfare which Messiah will wage to establish His kingdom. They speak of power, vitality and victory; which will surround the coming Messiah.
Chapter 49: 1 and 12 contain Millennial promises. They describe prosperity so great that people will happily tie a donkey to a choice vine, unconcerned whether it eats the fruit or destroys the vine.
We see the beginnings of this prophecy concerning Judah being fulfilled in the desert as it is the tribe of Judah which leads the people in their journey (Numbers 10: 14) and later in the land.
Judges 1: 1 and 2.
“Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?” And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered them into his hand.””
That leadership is confirmed in the reign of King David.
In conclusion, then, we can see that we should never write anyone off. Anyone can repent and turn their life around, no matter how bad a mess they seem to be making of their life. In Judah we see a man who seemed to be completely messing up his life and the lives of those around him. When it seemed that things could get no worse, God intervened. Judah was enabled to turn his life around and find redemption. Now this is something that all people can do but only through Yeshua.
Solomon made a Great Start but lost his way completely.
His father, David, whom he succeeded had created a strong, prosperous kingdom which was finally enjoying peace. The kingdom and throne of David “was firmly established” (1 Kings 2: 12).
Solomon had the benefit of sound advice from his father.
1 Kings 2: 1 – 3.
“Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: “I go the way of all earth, be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may fulfil His word which He spoke concerning me saying, “If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all your soul”, He said, “you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.””
Solomon made a sound choice of officials: he placed Benaiah in charge of the army and Azariah became chief priest. Soon “the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon” (1 Kings 2: 46).
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon (1 Kings 3: 5 – 15) and granted him great gifts. Solomon spoke to God with great humility. He recognised his needs as a ruler in view of his youth and inexperience. Solomon wanted an “understanding heart”, suggesting that not only a willingness to look at all sides of an issue but also a desire for the ability to reason. Solomon acknowledged God’s mercy on his father.
What Solomon said pleased God who promised Solomon not only an “understanding heart” but one that was “wise” in handling the crucial affairs of life in a fair and skilful manner. But also as Solomon had chosen a greater gift than riches and honour, God promised him everything else as well.
The abilities which God gave Solomon were truly remarkable; his wisdom left the Queen of Sheba “breathless”. The issue of the child argued over by the two “harlots” not only showed his wisdom but also that he was available even to the lowest in society (1 Kings 3: 16).
Under Solomon the nation enjoyed prosperity, peace and growth.
1 Kings 4:20, 25.
“Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing … And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba …”
The range of Solomon’s abilities, talents and understanding were quite exceptional.
1 Kings 4: 29 – 30.
“And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of Egypt and all the wisdom of Egypt.”
1 Kings 3: 28.
“And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.”
1 Kings 4: 32.
“He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, birds, of creeping things, and of fish.”
Solomon acknowledged God at the completion of the Temple (1 Kings 8: 14).
Solomon’s speech on this occasion was full of praise for the glory of God. At this time he showed a conscious dependency on God. His long prayer at the dedication recognised the continuing need for God in his life and that of the nation. They must be as faithful to God, as God was to them.
1 Kings 8: 54 – 56.
“And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all his prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. Then he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.”
God appeared to Solomon a second time in a dream (1 Kings 9: 2) and expressed pleasure at Solomon’s work. Solomon was warned to walk in the ways of his father, David, or face judgment.
Solomon brought the ark of the covenant into the temple (1 Kings 8: 1 – 9).
Solomon kept the feasts of the Lord.
1 Kings 9: 25.
“Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord.”
Solomon enjoyed great wealth.
1 Kings 10: 14 and 15.
“The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, besides that from the travelling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.”
So how could all this go so badly wrong?
Solomon’s first mistake was his marriage to Pharoah’s daughter. Marriage to Gentiles was forbidden. Solomon’s marriage was a political one; to establish an alliance. This kind of alliance forming with neighbouring nations, rather than depending on God, would cause problems to future kings of Judah. This was a mistake by Solomon but probable not a fatal one.
Solomon was not completely correct in his worship.
1 Kings 3:3
“And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father, David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.” Again not a fatal mistake and this practice ceased when the temple was completed.
Solomon demanded extravagant provisions and magnificent projects. The governors whom he appointed had to provide hugely for his household (1 Kings 4: 7). They had to raise a high level of taxation which caused problems for his successor.
Solomon built a number of fine buildings including a grand house for himself which took 13 years to complete.
1 Kings 7: 9.
“All of these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court.”
1 Kings 10: 18.
“Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat and two lions stood beside the armrests”.
Solomon was becoming enslaved by his wisdom and the plaudits he received. He revelled in his gift but forgot the Holy one of Israel who had provided it.
1 Kings 10: 24.
“Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. Each man brought him presents of silver and gold, garments, armour, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate each year.”
Solomon accumulated a huge number of horses; something which was prohibited the kings of Israel.
“But he shall not multiply horses for himself … “
Solomon had “four thousand stalls of horses”.
But Solomon’s downfall was largely caused by his attitude to women.
In 1 Kings 11: 1, it states that Solomon “loved” many wives. It seems as though, he could not see an attractive woman without wanting to add her to his collection. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. A large harem was seen as a sign of power and greatness. This was an obvious error.
Taking foreign wives violated God’s prohibition on marrying Canaanite women.
Deuteronomy 7: 1 – 4.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you … and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.”
The danger of such marriages was clearly stated.
Taking “many wives” was also prohibited. This violated the standard of monogamy established from the beginning.
Genesis 2: 24.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Solomon was involved in rampant polygamy, something which God put a prohibition on for the kings of Israel.
Deuteronomy 17: 17.
“Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.”
Solomon failed spectacularly on both counts.
Doubtless some of Solomon’s marriages were in accordance with the common Middle-East tradition of sealing alliances between royal families, but the consequences were serious for Solomon and his people (eventually leading to the Assyrian invasion).
Not that King David was perfect in this respect. His first marriages were based on love or compassion, but his later marriages may have been prompted by the same acquisitiveness that later motivated Solomon. Although David did not always live up to God’s standard, he was loyal to God and trusted Him implicitly even when he was rebuked for his sin.
It was not so for Solomon. Because of their influence and his weakness of needing to please them, the women in his life compromised Solomon’s faith and relationship with the Holy One of Israel. Indeed it seems that to please these women, Solomin went after every possible foreign god (1 Kings 11: 5 – 8); Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh and Molech. ”And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.”
The inevitable result followed.
1 Kings 11: 9 – 11.
“So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.”
At the end of his reign, Solomon’s once peaceful and secure kingdom faced serious internal and external threats. After his death, his son Rehoboam lost most of the kingdom. This of course was a very sorrow end to a life which had started so brilliantly.
We will now look at two people (followers of Yeshua), who were going in the wrong direction but were turned about.
Yeshua had told his followers when they were in Galilee (Luke 9: 22) that he would rise on the third day. These two people were indeed travelling on this third day. They were leaving Jerusalem and were travelling the seven miles northeast towards Emmaus. They were going in the wrong direction and had to be turned around to join the disciples and other believers in Jerusalem. There was work for them to do there.
One of these followers of Yeshua was called Cleopas. The other is not named but may have been his wife. They had left Jerusalem after the crucifixion. They may have had an incomplete understanding of whom Yeshua is. They described Him as “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” They may have been looking for an immediate earthly messianic kingdom.
Luke 24: 21.
“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”
These two seem to have been among the followers who had heard the account of the women who had found the tomb empty (v.11 “Their words seemed to them like idle tales and they did not believe them”).
As they left Jerusalem they seemed to remain doubtful.
Luke 24: 22 – 24.
“… certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
Of course they were unaware that the risen Yeshua had joined them on the road. They were indeed “slow of heart to believe”; and hence their sadness.
Before He revealed Himself to them, He provided them with what was undoubtedly, an incredible Bible-study concerning Himself “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets”. We can only speculate about which scriptures Yeshua directed them to. But concerning His crucifixion and resurrection they may have been asked to consider some of the following.
Psalm 16: 10.
“For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
Psalm 22: 7.
“All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
Psalm 69: 4
“Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs on my head; they are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongly; though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.”
Isaiah 53: 4.
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
Zechariah 12: 10.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication, then they will look on Me whom they pierced.”
Daniel 9: 26.
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself …”
Whatever scriptures they were directed to, by the time they received these teachings they were nearly home. They invited their travel companion to spend the night with them. At first He declined acting as though He was going to continue His journey. Yeshua would never impose Himself on anyone. But they persuaded Him to remain with them and they were superbly rewarded when He revealed Himself to them.
Realizing that they had been walking in the wrong direction, they returned to Jerusalem. By the time they got there, Yeshua had made Himself known to the disciples.
Conclusions.
From Judah, we can learn not to give up on people. Anyone can open themselves to the Lord and find redemption.
From Solomon, we can perhaps learn the danger of feeling too secure in our faith. Satan’s destructive intentions can draw us back into his sphere of influence if we drop our guard.
From the Emmaus travellers, we can perhaps learn to be always examining ourselves to ensure we are travelling in the right direction.
AMEN.