This chapter is very uncomfortable for multiple reasons. I am going to look at one of them today. In verses 8-10, We see God killing Onan because he refused to get his dead brother's wife pregnant. One might say this is silly for God to do. However, consider what Onan's actions were saying. By refusing to have a child with Tamar, he was saying that he wanted his brother's life to be completely cut off. The people of that time considered the child to be the ongoing life of the parent. By doing this he also refuses to continue his father's life (linage). It was the equivalent of saying, "I would rather our entire family die off than give my brother a child to carry on his name."
This was done in secret. so other than Tamar, no one would know of his actions. If continued the line of Er could end and everyone believing it was through no action of Onan. By ending Er's lineage, he would be killing his brother and no one would know he committed the crime. God knew and the price for murder is death, thus God killed him.
So why did God intervene this time when it is sure other times he didn't? My best guess is that because Judah had a destiny in the coming of the Messiah, God intervened. The Messiah's coming was greater than just one man or one family and God stepped in. Even when the man, Judah, and his sons weren't great examples. God's plans were greater than Judah and his sons. God worked things out for his ultimate goal even through this mess.
Photo by Rapha Wilde on Unsplash
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