But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.
Genesis 38 breaks off the story of Joseph to show what was happening in Judah's own home, and verse 7 is the first blow to fall there. Judah's eldest son dies by a direct act of God — and this is the family line that would give Israel her kings.
The Family Judah Built
Er's life begins with his father's choice of a wife from Canaan. One writer sets Judah beside Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and finds him the worst of the four:
J. G. BellettJudah does not guard his household against evil beforehand, as Abraham did. He does not grieve over evil once it has come in, as Isaac did. He is not even careless about it, whether it comes in or not, like Jacob. He brings it in himself! He does nothing less than take a daughter of the Canaanites to be the wife of his son Er!
Er's death is one item in a longer list. Another writer sets out Judah's whole record:
Leslie M. GrantHe sold his brother, he deceived his father, he married a Canaanite wife, he had both his sons killed by the Lord for wickedness, he deceived his daughter-in-law when promising his son Shelah to her, then had two sons by the same daughter-in-law (unwittingly).
Why "the LORD" Is Named Here
The name for God in this verse matters. Older translations print it as "Jehovah"; the ESV renders it "the LORD." One writer notes how rarely it appears in the rest of Genesis:
J. N. DarbyThe only places where we find "Jehovah" in the rest of the book are in Judah's case, chapter 38:7-10, where you can see that these are His special ways and His government; and with Joseph sold and in trial, chapter 39.
The same name marks two opposite outcomes in two neighbouring chapters:
William KellyThe name "Jehovah," not just "God," stands out in both chapters. In Genesis 38 He judges the open breaking of His will. In Genesis 39 He makes the man prosper who sought to please Him, and that in the hardest circumstances — first as a slave, then as a prisoner.
The Sin Scripture Does Not Name
Scripture never tells us what Er did. It tells us who saw it, and how fast God settled the account:
Edwin N. CrossEr was the firstborn of Judah's strength. His father named him, and the meaning of his name may be "watchful." Er clearly became watchful for chances to do evil. He thought his sins would have no consequences. But the biblical principle in Galatians 6:7 holds good for all time: "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Jehovah saw his wickedness, and he reaped what his actions deserved. Pay-day came fast for him: "and the LORD put him to death."
The same writer turns the warning toward the parents:
Edwin N. CrossEr deceived himself. But was he not simply following his father? … When parents introduce their children to the things of this present evil age, they will find them throwing themselves with full energy into the world, in all its ruin and turning away from God.
What the Sons' Names Mean
The names of Judah's three sons carry meanings, and one writer reads God's dealings in them:
Frederick W. GrantYet his line still goes on in the earth. God's wrath rests on the first two sons, whose names speak — Er of "enmity," and Onan of "iniquity" — while the third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of the divine power of resurrection, which brings out of death. So a remnant is preserved.
Commentators differ on what Er's name means: one takes it as "watchful," another as "enmity."
Judgment Falls, the Line Survives
God's judgment here is not the last word over this family. The line He strikes is the line that reaches the King of kings:
William KellyJudah was about to become not only the royal tribe above all others, but the ancestor of the King of kings. Yet he takes for himself, without any reverence, a daughter of Canaan. No wonder that wickedness killed his firstborn, and disgraceful sin his brother… Such is man, and such is Judah; but such too is God. Where terrible sin abounded, grace abounded far more.
Summary
- Sown — Judah married into Canaan, and he picked a Canaanite wife for his son. The evil judged in verse 7 grew in soil his father prepared.
- Seen — Scripture never describes Er's sin. It only tells us who saw it: he was wicked "in the sight of the LORD," and what a man sows he reaps.
- Named — Genesis rarely uses the covenant name in these closing chapters. Here it marks Er's death as God's own government at work, not bad luck.
- Spared — God cuts off enmity and iniquity in the two elder sons. He leaves the third, "sprout," alive: a remnant kept out of death.
- Surpassed — God judged this family, and from this family came the King of kings. Where sin abounded, grace abounded far more.