Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price[b] and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” Meditation God is the just judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25), a God of justice (Psalm 89:14). When there is no hope of justice then victims lose hope and take matters into their own hands. Civil unrest or war ensues. Victims become violent if hope for justice is lost. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, was violated in the most extreme way. Shechem saw Dinah, desired her, and seized her (2). This pattern spoiled God’s design for the garden (Genesis 3:6) and Shechem’s aggression ruined Dinah and devastated a generation of his people. Where was justice? Jacob’s sons plotted revenge (5-17), attempting to seek justice through the slaughter of a whole community (18-29). Dinah was treated like a prostitute (31) and the brother’s quest for vengeance slaughtered many innocent people, destroyed families, and created many widows and orphans. Is this justice? Jacob was silent while his boys were speaking their plans. Jacob knew the mercy of God and could have strengthened his family through hope in the sovereignty of God. God promises exact vengeance and commands us to look to Him for vengeance (Romans 12:19). There was a path other than violence of victims leading to more victims. The God of justice is on the cross, unjustly dying for our sins as He prays, “Father forgive them…” Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive…” We know God’s mercy. We can trust God’s sovereignty to bring justice. Bitterness is a glass prison. Forgiveness is the key to freedom. Richly Dwelling -In a world crying out for justice God claims to be the just judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25) with the foundation of His rule being justice (Psalm 89:14). How does this give you hope? -Where do you feel like a victim and have the temptation to take matters into your own hands, seeking vengeance and violence to vindicate yourself? How is your bitterness working for you? -Jesus forgives us while we are His enemies (Romans 5:8-10) and teaches us to forgive as we have been forgiven. God promises to give vengeance for His people so we can be free from the glass prison of bitterness. Do you know God’s forgiveness deeply enough to forgive others, even your enemies? Key Verse 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. Comments are closed.
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AuthorPastor Mitchell celebrates twenty-five years of marriage with Lisa and together they have four adventurous children. |