The material in chapter 38 may seem out of place at first, but Judah will play an important role in the nation of Israel moving forward, and we need to find out how he goes from the shrewd, self-serving man of ch. 37 to the responsible man thinking of the grief of his father in ch. 44. Chapter 38 helps to explain this.
We also see an outstanding scriptural illustration of the dangers of Proverbs 18:13 - "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame."
We can come away from Ch. 38 with a greater understanding of who Judah becomes, a greater understanding of the dangers of rendering judgments before we hear the evidence (even in our everyday lives), and a greater hope that if God can work in Judah's life, he can work in ours as well.
