Did God,in the bible, punish this person for what reason?

Question

8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his s***n on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so he put him to death also.

Genesis 38:8-10

Answer 1

In that day and time, if a man died without producing a child, then his brother (if he had one) was supposed to take his sister-in-law as a wife and produce children with her for his dead brother.  Weird I know, but that was the culture.  That's why it says that Onan ejaculated on the ground, because he knew the child wouldn't be his, it would be his brother's.  The sin was denying his brother and his brother's wife a child, which culturally was a sign of status and blessing.  The sin was not fulfilling family obligations, the specific way of not fulfilling that obligation was ejaculating on the ground.  Onan could have refused to even take the woman as a wife, and that would have earned him death as well.  The key is his selfishness, not wanting to produce a child and provide for the child, because the child would be his brother's and not his.  You don't have to agree with the culture of the time, just understand that God requires humans to be dutiful participants in society so long as it does not cause us to violate His commands.  

Answer 2

"Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother."  He was put to death for disobeying this.

Those were different times.  Judah needed populating, Onan's brother needed an heir and his widow needed providing for.

Think of it as disobedience to God and robbing the widow.  Don't forget the widows and orphans.  God said it over and over and...

I will not think it odd if America is judged for the slaughter of the unborn and the plight of the fatherless, no.

Answer 3

Am I interpreting correctly,did he put him to death because he ejaculated on the ground?

Is this the meaning of this? yes

He was to produce children under the Law so his brothers line would not die out. He refused to do it.

according to the law of levirate marriage (the marriage of a widow to the brother of her deceased husband), his brother Onan was to marry the childless widow and provide a son for Er. This was widely practiced in the ancient Near East and was later incorporated into the Law of Moses (Deut 25:5–10).

KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (93). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Answer 4

No. It was because he refused to carry on the family lineage of his brother. It was the duty of the brother to provide a family lineage to carry on the genealogy. God was especially concerned with the line of Judah because that was the line Messiah was to come through.

"...he puts him to death for THAT?"

Correct. What Onan did was direct disobedience to both God, his father, and his brother's family.

This was no trivial matter. We are talking about the Messianic line here. Timnah then took matters into her own hands and tricked Judah himself into giving her seed to bear the next heir to the inheritance.

"I wonder if this type of thing would happen today,"

No. Messiah has already come, died for our sins, and resurrected. The only ones being judged now are believers. All others will be judged later.

Answer 5

Me,

Onan was disobedient to God.  As per the law...if his brother died, it fell to him to marry his brother's wife and the first child she bore would be considered his brothers, since he was dead before they conceived a child.  So he had s*x with his brother's wife, but ejaculated so as not to get her pregnant.  The sin was not in the fact that he spilled his seed on the ground, but that he disobeyed God.