Do you think it is significant that there are women included in Jesus’s genealogy in Matthew 1? Why or why not? What does it tell us about God? What does it tell us about humanity?

Make a list of all the sins that you see the various characters commit in this story (Genesis 38). Why are these actions sinful?

What is your initial impression of Judah and his sons? Why? Would you want your daughter to marry one of them? Why or why not?

Why do you think that Tamar seduced Judah (Genesis 38:13-19)? How would you assess the morality of her actions? Why?

Judah seems content to overlook and hide his own sin (Genesis 38:20-23), but more than ready to condemn and punish Tamar for her sin (Genesis 38:24). How does the gospel speak to (and push back against) this tendency? (See also Matthew 7:1-5.)

It seems noteworthy that a story as strange as this, with characters as flawed as this, is referenced in Jesus’s genealogy (Matthew 1:3). What are the implications of this reality? How does it speak to the redemptive grace of God in the gospel?

Resources
Reflection Questions