Genesis 38:17-21: a reflection

17He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?” 18He said, “What pledge will I give you?” She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. 19She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her. 21Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?” They said, “There has been no prostitute here.”

In this account, Judah, in a moment of passing desire, hands over his most personal and identifying possessions, his signet, his cord, and his staff, as a pledge, the very tokens of his identity and authority. He surrenders these precious, identifying things carelessly, for a passing gratification. And, as the larger story shows, this careless surrender of what marked his very identity would come back to confront and expose him. In a moment of desire, Judah traded away what was most precious and personal for a passing thing.

Notice Judah's folly: he surrendered what was precious and identifying for a passing desire. The signet, cord, and staff were not trivial; they were the marks of his identity and authority, the most personal things he carried. Yet in a moment of passing desire, he handed them over carelessly, trading what was precious for a momentary gratification. He did not weigh what he was giving up; he surrendered the precious for the passing, the identifying tokens of his life for a moment's desire. And this careless trade would return to expose him.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too can be tempted to surrender what is precious for a passing desire. In a moment of desire, we can trade away things of real and lasting value, our integrity, our reputation, our relationships, our very identity, for a passing gratification that will not last, as Judah surrendered his signet and staff. Do not surrender what is precious and lasting for a passing desire; weigh what you would be giving up before you trade it for a momentary gratification, as Judah carelessly gave up the tokens of his identity. Guard what is truly precious, your integrity and all that is of lasting value, against the passing desires that would have you trade it away, as Judah surrendered his most personal possessions for a moment's desire and it returned to expose him; for what is precious and lasting should not be traded for the passing and momentary.

Lord, in this account, Judah, in a moment of passing desire, hands over his most personal and identifying possessions, his signet, his cord, and his staff, as a pledge, the very tokens of his identity and authority. He surrenders these precious, identifying things carelessly, for a passing gratification. And this careless surrender of what marked his very identity would come back to confront and expose him. In a moment of desire, Judah traded away what was most precious for a passing thing. Show me Judah's folly: he surrendered what was precious and identifying for a passing desire. The signet, cord, and staff were not trivial; they were the marks of his identity. Yet in a moment of passing desire, he handed them over carelessly, trading what was precious for a momentary gratification. He did not weigh what he was giving up. Take that to my heart, for I too can be tempted to surrender what is precious for a passing desire. In a moment of desire, I can trade away things of real and lasting value, my integrity, my reputation, my relationships, my very identity, for a passing gratification that will not last. Keep me from surrendering what is precious and lasting for a passing desire; help me weigh what I would be giving up before I trade it for a momentary gratification, Lord, as Judah carelessly gave up the tokens of his identity. Help me guard what is truly precious, my integrity and all that is of lasting value, against the passing desires that would have me trade it away.