Genesis 38:7
“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in Yahweh’s sight. Yahweh killed him.”
What does Genesis 38:7 mean?
Judah's oldest son Er was living in a way that deeply displeased God, and his life was cut short as a result. This is a jarring moment in Scripture, and it matters because it sets up the next part of the story where Judah's second son Onan also dies under similar circumstances. The passage invites us to take seriously that God cares how we live, even when the specific details of Er's wickedness aren't spelled out for us. Sometimes the Bible doesn't explain everything, leaving us to sit with the weight of the moment rather than offering easy answers. If you're in a season where life feels uncertain or where God's justice seems hard to understand, that's a honest place to bring your questions in prayer.