Genesis 34

Genesis 34 – March 20

There are some chapters in the Bible where very little light seems to shine through the incredible darkness of sin. The historical record that we find in Genesis 34 is absolutely littered with failures by almost every individual mentioned. Let’s first look at the major players and understand their sin.

Dinah – It is difficult to say whether or not Dinah did anything wrong. Some scholars argue that vs. 1 is written negatively, informing us that it was considered wrong for her to go see the women of the land of Canaan. Regardless, even if she did place herself in a dangerous situation, she was the victim of a despicable sexual crime.

Shechem – This man is the epitome of entitlement. He defiled Dinah, and then sought to find a way to forcefully make her his own legal property. It is unlikely that Dinah would have been treated any better within the confines of marriage. This man clearly had no interest in her beyond her body.

Hamor – Instead of punishing his son, or even giving the slightest correction for Shechem’s evil act, Hamor tries to smooth over the situation by making a deal with Jacob for his daughter. The honor of his family was up for sale.

Jacob – What kind of father discovers that his daughter had been mistreated in this way, and does not respond at all? He allows his wicked sons to take the lead when bargaining with Hamor. He makes no move to defend her honor, to seek restitution, to demand an apology, or restore honor in any way. It is possible that he was afraid of the Canaanites. Perhaps he was uncertain about how to respond, and acquiesced to whatever plan his sons devised. Maybe he just didn’t care. (Remember, she was the daughter of the woman he never planned to marry.)

Simeon and Levi – Although these brothers were right to be angry, they responded with cowardly deceit. They insisted that Shechem’s men be circumcised. This is highly significant being that they used to sign of God’s covenant as a bargaining chip in a dishonest deal. Then, after Shechem was able to convince all of his men to undergo the surgery, Simeon and Levi entered the camp and slaughtered all of them. Most of these men had never done anything against Israel and his family. They were struck down while unable to defend themselves by two ruthless, bloodthirsty brothers. When Jacob is passing out blessings and curses at the end of his life, you see that this matter never passed from memory. These two brothers did not receive the blessing of the covenantal line specifically because of their wicked overreaction to the people of Canaan.

So, the question is, what in the world can we find in this chapter to rejoice about? The answer is simple. Consider how amazing it is that God, for reasons that are too grand for us to understand, set His affection on Jacob and his family. And even though they continued to make incredibly sinful mistakes, God’s covenant never faltered. The Bible is full of bad people, bad actions, and bad events. But, the good news of the gospel is that God delights in saving and sanctifying bad people.  

 

 

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