And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. Genesis 38:7
This is the first of God's named murder victims.
We know his name (Er), his father's name (Judah), his mother's name (Shuah), and his wife's name (Tamar). And we know that "he was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him." But that's it.
God killed Er for doing something, but the Bible doesn't say what it was. So what did Er do?
Did he get drunk and lie around naked in his tent and then curse his unborn grandson (and all of his descendants) with slavery because his son saw him drunk and naked? No that was Noah, "a preacher of righteousness".
Did he abandon his first son to die in the desert and then show his willingness to murder his second son for God as a human sacrifice? No that was Abraham, a perfect Friend of God.
Did he offer his two virgin daughters to a sex-crazed mob of angel rapers and then get drunk and impregnate them? No that was Lot, a just and righteous man.
So what was it that pissed God off so much that he just had to kill him?
You'd think if it was important enough to kill him, it would be important enough to tell us why.
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8 comments:
Steve,
Weird as it seems, this whole incident is in fact a display of God's grace. Through disobedience by Judah's family, people died. Keep in mind that this was the beginning of the nation Israel, so God did horrid things to make it clear that He was not joking when He have His do's and don'ts to His people. Same thing happens in the NT with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. This was the beginning of the Jerusalem church, and their deaths were warnings that fellowship means individual sacrifice; there is no place for ego or self in either early Israel or the early church.
Thanks for clearing that up for us, Steve. You got all that from one verse? (And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.) Very impressive!
But I agree with with you on one thing. "God did horrid things."
That's quite a god you've got there, Steve.
BTW, what do you think Er did?
It is impossible to hide behind the doctrine of Grace to justify the killing of Er, without documenting what he himself personally did. There is nothing gracious about declaring "Er is wicked, I'm going to kill him" while allowing the likes of Abraham, Noah, Lot, and so many others to stay alive, especially after their own wickedness has been written. There is no grace, and definitely no apparent justice in any of this.
LOL!
Ingenious post! Simply ingenious!
Love the pic you posted, too.
I know...I bet Er had a foreskin! That really seems to piss god off.
Obviously Er wickedness was so unspeakable that no one could say what it was, that's why it isn't said.
I need a cup of tea, I'm talking like a believer.
Maybe he too spilled ejaculate on the ground, or deposited it outside of a woman's vagina?
Seems plausible given the follow up events.
You're misreading it. It never says he was 'wicked'; for that you have to do something. It says he was "wicked IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD"; for that it's enough if the lord just thinks you've done something. Kind of like being a suspected terrorist.
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