Onan was punished (killed) for contraception!
the Law of Levirate is if a married man died before he had children, his brother was obliged to marry the widow; their children would be considered the deceased brother’s children. “Onan’s brother died, so Onan married the widow. however he practived contraceptive behavior (withdrawal)” Sex and the Marrige Covenant by John Kippley pg 326
“When he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his seed on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. But what he did was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he slew Him also” (Gen 38:9-10)
“in Genesis 38 it is clear that Onan is only one of three persons who violated the Levirate. His father, Judah, and his younger brother Shelah, also violated the Levirate Law.” p 326 Sex and the Marrige Covenant by John Kippley
“When three people are guilty of the same crime but only one of them receives the death penalty from God, common sense requires that we ask if that one did something the others did not do. The answer is obvious: only Onan went through the motions of the convenantal act of intercourse but then defrauded its purpose and meaning; only Onan engaged in contraceptive behavior of withdrawal.” Sex and the Marrige Covenant by John Kippley pg 327
Code:
Shelah was an innocent, he was Just too young, that's not a crime. Judah worried that Tamar was a 'bad poison' having lost two sons by her. Judah made an oath to send Shelah when he was of age. And Tamar is no innocent in this story either, she played the harlot, deceived her father in-law.
but God took all that deceit and made good out of it. Now concentrating on only half the verse “he spilled his seed,” You lost sight of the reason he did so, ** lest he should give offspring to his brother.** That is the purpose he wasted his seed. And he could have done this simply by refusing to enter not the tent with Tamar, and subject himself to public shame and ridicule. He selfishly prevented an hier in his broters name wiping out his lineage in Israel’s history toward salvation. H took Tamar used her for his own pleasure with no intent to carry out the Law. big difference than just spilling his seed. God knows our hearts, Onan’s heart was deceitful, and that’s why
Gen 38:10 "… what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he slew him also.
cause and effect, there are consequences to sin, it was a sin for man to waste his seed , but not a capital offense. it was a sin of refusing to care for his brother’s widow by giving her offspring, and of a selfish use of sex.
The Catholic Study Bible Oxford press, (with a Nil Obstat and Imprimatur)
(NASB)
Commentary Gen 38:8 "Preserve your brother’s:’ literally, "raise up seed for your brother ’ The Ancient Israelites regarded as very important their Law of Leverate , or “brother in-law” marriage, In the present story, it is primarily Onan’s violation of this law, rather than the means he used to circumvent it, that brought God’s displeasure.
Deut 25:5, note: when brothers lived together, when relatives of the same clan, though married, hold their property in common. it was only in this case that the present law was to be observed, since one of the purposes was to keep the property of the deceased within the same clan. Such a marriage of a widow with her brother in-law is known as a ‘leverate’ marriage. from the latin Levir meaning ’ a husbands brother’
(See Ruth 2:20)
God bless,
John