1. 3 Men and a goat and the triumph of God over evil
Genesis 38
3 Men and a goat and the triumph of God over evil

2. Go Forth and (Refuse to) Multiply
Er erred
Onan (sort of) refused
Judah chickened out
Tamar is left with nothing

3. That’s When the Goat Got Involved

4. Déjà vu All Over Again Leaving the homeland Trouble bearing an heir
Trickery and deception with wives
A need for life to come from death
The birth of twins
The younger chosen over elder
This all means that the story of Judah and Tamar is part of a bigger story of God and the world

5. The Bigger Story
It Bounces Through Ruth
It Lands in Matthew
Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron and Jesse the father of David.
 …and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

6. It Tells of God’s Victory Over Evil
‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him

7. The Plight of the Powerless
Capitulate
Subvert

8. The Call on Christians
“The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”