Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife." When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter—a thing that should not be done. But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it." Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife." Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go." Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised. Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed." But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?" Genesis 34:1-31
Jacob, fearing that his brother Esau was coming with an army of 400 to harm him and his family, instead found out that he was coming to reconcile. What could have turned into a bloody, vengeful confrontation instead turned into a peaceful, loving, forgiving reunion…one that left everyone feeling good as they parted company and went their separate ways. Unfortunately, Jacob wouldn’t have much time to savor the blessed experience…one that was an answer to his plea for God to "save him" from Esau. Disaster was about to strike.
As Chapter 34 opens, we find Dinah venturing out to "visit the women of the land." These women were the Canaanite women who resided in the vicinity of Jacob’s new settlement near Shechem and what is troubling about Dinah venturing out alone is that she was a teenage girl who was allowed to go unattended into territory dominated by a people who worshipped many gods vice the One True Go of Dinah and her family. Why Jacob and her mother allowed her to go is not explained but one might bring into question their judgment especially given what happened.
For as Dinah is in the midst of the Canaanites, she is raped by the Shechem, son of the region’s ruler, Hamor, and then held captive by him.
Shechem is so obsessed with Dinah that he convinces his father, Hamor, to go to Jacob and ask for Dinah to be given to him in marriage. Hamor obliges and goes with Shechem to meet with Jacob who is joined by his angry sons, who come in from the fields enraged after hearing what had happened to their sister.
Instead of offering an apology for what had happened to Dinah, neither Hamor or Shechem behave in any way that shows they are remorseful for what took placed. Instead of offering an apology, instead they offer Jacob and his sons material items with the hope that land, inter-marrying, and the prospect of wealth might bring them pardon for Shechem’s sinful deed. Under the surface, Hamor had more evil intent. If he could absorb Jacob’s clan into his, then he would inherit all that Jacob had…to include the special blessing of God.
Ironically, the covenant agreement proposed by Hamor would result in him falling for a covenant scheme propagated by Jacob’s sons as they used circumcision, a sign of God’s covenant with the Israelite people, to leverage an advantage against Hamor, Shechem and the Shechemites, Jacob’s sons say they could never allow Dinah to marry a man who was uncircumcised, saying it would be a disgrace to the family. They tell Hamor and Shechem that there will be no deal struck until every Shechemite male was circumcised and they go back to their people and convince the men to get circumcised.
Three days after the circumcision, the Shechem men were incapacitated with the pain from the circumcision…and this when Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi spring into murderous action, slaying every male in Shechem including Hamor and Shechem before pillaging the town. In their heart and mind, they had avenged Dinah as they brought her home from the now dead Shechem’s home.
I’m pretty sure they expected their father to praise them for what they had done but Jacob was far from happy with his sons. He chastises them, afraid that their destructive killing had placed a bulls-eye on the clan…and placed them at a risk for vengeance. The sons, upset at their father’s lack of acceptance, reply, ""Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"
The answer to their question was obviously no. No one deserves to be mistreated or violated by another, especially where the act of rape is concerned. However, what can be brought into question is the degree of rebuttal exercised by Simeon and Levi who killed every male in Shechem over the wrongful act of one man. The punishment did not meet the crime and we’re reminded that revenge can be a terribly destructive sin. Too often, man takes control to exact judgment when they should have placed control in God’s hands. Removing control from perfect justice results in imperfect justice rendered.
Indeed, note that there is no consultation with God in this story. No prayers lifted up asking for intervention and justice to be done. No cries for help or guidance. No, Simeon and Levi took matters into their own hands, minus God, misusing God’s blessed covenant symbol of circumcision to support their own plan of execution. Shechem’s sinful violation of Dinah led to Simeon and Levi’s sinful annihilation of the entire city of Shechem. Sin beget sin.
Question: Have you been violated by another so badly that you have thought about taking revenge? If so, have you turned to God to ask Him what His will is for your situation? Have you placed the injustice in the hands of the Almighty Judge…the One who will always pass out perfect justice…unlike us?
We simply have to learn from the actions in this story so that history doesn’t repeat itself. In many ways, it already is because there are still too many killings every day that have their root in revenge. We can only hope to eradicate revenge by turning to God first, placing our vengeful thoughts at His feet, and allowing Him to be the bearer of judgment. He will always do so perfectly.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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