Questions & Answers On Hebrews, Part 3
Questions 70 (COD Page 322)
What did the scarlet thread in Genesis 38 represent?
694 The scarlet thread, if you’ll notice, it was Judah. And he had sons, and one of his sons married a Canaanite woman. And this Canaanite woman didn’t have any children, and his son died. Then, the law then was to take... the next son had to take the brother’s wife, and raise up seed to the dead. And the other man did not cooperate and do as he should do, and the Lord slayed him. Then he had one young son; so Judah said, “Wait till this son drives... grows up until the place where you can marry him.”
695 And when he grew up to a place that he was supposed to marry his two brothers’ former wife, well, he was supposed to take her then, to raise seed up to his brethren that had been... that had died before him. Judah did not give the woman (the Canaanite woman) the son, the boy, and just let him go ahead. So she seen that she was doing wrong, so she goes out and wraps a veil over her face, and set in a public place as a harlot would set.
696 Judah come by and took the woman as his wife, and she was a harlot, and lived with her. And said, she said, “Well, what would you bargain with me?” And he... she said...
697 He said, “I give him a-a kid.” He said, “Well, give me a sign that you’ll do it.” So she took his staff and his signet and so forth, and kept it.
698 And when they brought the kid, they couldn’t find the harlot, ’cause she wasn’t a harlot.
699 After while, she had showed up that she was to be a mother. And when she showed up that she was to be a mother, they come told Judah, “Thy daughter-in-law has played the part of a harlot.” Said, “Because that she-she’s to be mother, and your both boys are dead.”
700 He said, “Well, she’ll be called forth, and burn her.”
701 And so she sent word to Judah, and she said, “The man that did this, owned this staff and this signet.” All right, that was her father-in-law.
702 And he said, “She’s more righteous than I am.”
703 Now, when she knew that her children was to be delivered, they were twins. And when the twin... The first baby that was to be borned, the old Jewish custom, the first child has the birthright, the first child to break forth. And that, remember, was her first child. None of the rest of the boys had had any children by her. She had never had a child till this time.
704 And when her first child broke forth, it was just a hand. And the midwife put a scarlet streak around it, because a scarlet streak spake of redemption that the first son of the virgin Mary would be... have the scarlet streak of redemption.
705 And when he drew his hand back, the other one come first. And when he did, said, “Why did you do this? The other onehas the birthright.”
706 So that’s what Genesis 38 means, you see. That the first child still remained until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the first was under the redempting law.
707 You know I said... the little mule, you know, I’ve told about, that his eyes was... whatever more, his ears broke down, but, if he was born with a birthright, a innocent, perfect lamb died in his place. There it is.
708 So that was for the birthright. The first baby that broke forth from the mother, and they seen that hand (and knew that it might turn back again). And when he pushed forth his hand to show that he had it, he was the first one, the midwife bound the scarlet thread around it and he pulled his hand back. See? But, absolutely, he was the first. That was the scarlet streak, the scarlet streak has... all the way through the Bible, it means redemption; which was pointing forward to the first child coming.
709 The first horse borned, the first cow borned, ever what it was, everything that was borned first (that come forth) was under redemption, had to be redeemed; everything had to be redeemed! Hallelujah! Oh, that just thrills me. Do you get it? The first had to be redeemed. It was a law. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
710 And when Jesus Christ was borned, He redeemed the whole world. Certainly, He did. He was the Redeemer of every creature that was ever created on the earth. He was the Redeemer. And at... all redemption lays in Him, and no other way at all can you ever come by good works, by joining church, or whatever it is; you must come by that scarlet streak, that Redeemer, that kinsman Redeemer.
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