The book of Genesis is my all-time favourite book in the Bible. In fact, whenever I tell some of my friends about it, they’re always surprised. To me, there are so many foundational things to learn from that book, and I’ve learned a lot from studying (and still continuing to study it.) Today, I want us to consider this incident that happened in Genesis 38:9. Why did God kill Onan for spilling his semen on the floor? You may have asked yourself this question whenever you read that verse. Right? Today, there’s an answer for you in this article. Please read on.
Marriage duty of the surviving brother
In the Old Testament, when two or more brothers live in the same environment, and the elder one gets married but dies without raising an offspring, the surviving brother was supposed to marry his deceased brother’s wife, sleep with her and raise children for his deceased brother. It’s plain in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. But while studying it before this article, I wondered about it because that law came in Deuteronomy, under Moses’ regime of life. Meanwhile, the sons of Jacob lived before Moses. So, I presume that Moses came to meet this custom in Israel and added it up as one of the laws God gave them.
Onan was Er’s brother, and their father was Judah. You see, the moment I mentioned “Judah,” what comes to mind? Jesus! Why? Because Jesus is called the Lion of Judah (see Revelation 5:5). That implies that whatever happened in that family line ought to be followed closely. That is why Genesis 38 was dedicated to Judah instead of any other other children of Jacob. Anybody who formed part of Jesus’ genealogy needed to be watched closely.
Onan dishonoured his father’s instruction
The Bible says in Genesis 38:7 (NKJV) that,
“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.”
God killed Onan’s elder brother because of his wickedness. So Onan was to marry Er’s wife to raise offspring for him in order for his brother’s name not to get blotted out of Israel. But at that time, there was no such law. So his father, Judah, spoke to him to do so. Onan didn’t like the idea, but he didn’t say no to his father. If he had, he wouldn’t have been punished because of the absence of the law. He listened to his father but dishonoured the dad’s instruction. Why do I say that? Because anytime he slept with Tamar, he spilt his semen on the floor.
Generally, every married man likes sex. In fact, some people even marry because of sex. Onan loved the sex. However, he didn’t like to let Tamar bear a seed for his deceased brother, and that is selfishness. Let me break that down.
God jealously protects His prophecies from getting annulled, even if it involves wicked men.
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Love is not self-seeking
Amongst the list of God’s love characteristics in 1 Corinthians 13, the seventh one is that love is not self-seeking. I believe the main reason why God killed Onan for spilling the semen on the floor is that he was selfish. He wanted sexual pleasure as a man and not for a child for his deceased brother. According to the New International Version (NIV) translation of Genesis 38:9 (boldface mine), it says,
“… so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.”
The Word “whenever” in that verse means Onan slept with Tamar several times. But anytime he had sex with her, he would spill his semen on the floor. Wow. Imagine how Tamar would have felt anytime he did that to her – a desperate widow looking for a child, but someone is denying her that privilege.
Moreover, God gave Onan several chances to stop this wicked act. But the guy didn’t stop. So He had to kill him. Why? Because of another powerful reason – that is, to preserve the seed of Jesus flowing through Judah’s family.
Preservation of the Holy Seed – Jesus Christ
You may have read the Old Testament and seen how God led the Israelites to kill many groups of people and even kill some people Himself, like Onan. It’s just because God wanted to preserve the Holy Seed in the family line of Israel. That is why He told them never to marry certain groups of people, like the Canaanites. Why? Because all those people were cursed by Noah in Genesis 10. If they had married the Israelites, the holiness of the Seed, Christ, would have been under threat.
Onan didn’t know that raising at least one child for Er would have continued the family line of Judah, whom Jesus was (and did) supposed to come from. Now, if you check the genealogy of Jesus, you’ll see Judah but not one of his children. Interesting!
Eventually, Tamar manoeuvred to sleep with Judah and later gave birth to Perez, through whom the family line continued to thrive till day. God jealously protects His prophecies from getting annulled, even if it involves wicked men.
Don’t be like Onan
Nowadays, you cannot marry your deceased brother’s wife and sleep with her to raise offspring for your brother. It’s not done unless you want to, and even that had consequences. But even that, it’s rare.
It’ll surprise you for me to tell you that there are many “Onan’s” in this generation. Besides committing sexual immorality with close relatives, several people are aborting God’s call due to selfishness. They don’t want God to have His way in their lives and mould them to fulfil their divine purpose. Please, beware of disobeying God because of over-relaxation in your comfort zone.
Keep your sexual purity strong by the Spirit of grace, and follow Jesus closely. The Lord be with you and keep you strong. Amen!
