September 24, 2023
Reading: Genesis 34
Focus: Genesis 34:5 – When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.
Genesis 34:25-26 – 25 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. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.
Father God, Thank You again for another day to learn from Your word. Open our eyes to what You would have us learn. Help us to understand. In Jesus Name. Amen.
This is another one of those hard to discuss stories. It is full of rape, deceit, mayhem, murder and a dysfunctional family. But there is still something that we can learn from the story of Dinah and her brothers. But let’s back up a bit before we dig into this story.
Jacob was told by God to go home to land of his fathers and his relatives. In Genesis 31:13, God told Jacob specifically to “. . . go back to your native land.” But instead of going south to where his family was, he chose to go north and stopped near the city of Shechem (Genesis 33:18). Mistake number one. Shechem was not his native land. Once there, he purchased land from one of the Shechemites and pitched his tents. Mistake number two. He was putting down roots instead of obeying God. He chose to live close to an ungodly city. This choice is going to come back to haunt him. Even though he built an altar to God there, he was still disobedient to God’s command.
Dinah is the daughter of Jacob by his wife, Leah. The Bible doesn’t mention other daughters, but we know he had at least one. We do not know how old Dinah was, but she was probably young enough to still believe that she would be safe. I would place her in her mid-teens probably. Don’t hold me to that, it’s just a guess. I remember being a teenager. I wanted to spread my wings and do what the other girls were doing. I imagine that Dinah did to. So, she walked to the city to “see the women of the land” (Genesis 33:1). Just why, is the question. Was she curious? Did she want to mingle with them and take part in their activities? Considering her family, why would she want to go into a city that was ungodly?
It seems that Jacob either didn’t know she was going into the city or, if he did, he didn’t make sure she was properly protected. To allow her to go into the city alone was a failure on her parent’s part. Surely, they knew she had gone. Jacob’s apparent lack of attention and protection is partially at fault here. Jacob knew that Shechem was an ungodly city where, generally, unattached women were fair game, and he was careless by not protecting Dinah from it. Jacob had compromised on where to live rather than obeying God. This falling away from God was going to result in tragic consequences.
So, when Dinah arrived in the city, Shechem, a prince, son of the ruler of the city, saw her, he wanted her. He wanted her now! He took her and violently raped her. His actions were a violation of the laws of hospitality. As prince of the city, he should have protected the stranger rather than attack her. He should have requested to marry her. That would have been much more honorable. But he raped her. However, rather than casting her off once he had what he wanted, he decided he wanted to marry her. He begged his father to get her for his wife. He didn’t apologize for his actions. He just wanted the girl. This was not the kind of love a girl dreams of. It was a selfish love. Shechem wanted her for what she could give him, not what they could bring to each other. He was attracted to her but did he really love her? On top of that Dinah, apparently, was not even asked what she wanted.
Suffice it to say that Jacob learned of the attack. But he did nothing! Why? He sent for his sons and waited until they returned from the field. What amazes me is that he did not even seem to be angry on her behalf. I mean, really. What father would not want to beat up the man who raped his daughter? Did he not care about the violence Dinah had suffered? Why did he even need to wait for her brothers? He should have called his men together and gone after Shechem himself, but he didn’t. The Bible says “. . . he did nothing about it until they came home.” (Genesis 34:5b). To tell you the truth, I am gobsmacked every time I read this.
When the sons returned, they were furious over the rape of their sister. They seemed to be more outraged than their father. Jacob’s lack of reprisal seemed to goad two of his sons to take action against Shechem. When God’s appointed leaders do not act as leaders, the followers, sons in this case, will jump into the gap and take action, however wrong that action might be. In the Middle East, family honor is a huge thing. Anything dishonoring a member of the family is taken very seriously. As the brothers of Dinah, it was their job to look out for her and her honor. That’s a good thing. But the way they did it was very wrong.
Shechem and Hamor, his father, went to Jacob and his sons, asking for the hand of Dinah. They were willing to offer just about anything for her. Remember that the bride price was a big part of marriage negotiations. They literally gave Jacob’s family a blank check if they would allow Shechem to marry Dinah. Please remember what God had said to Isaac about not letting his sons marry Canaanite wives. Here, the daughters of Shechem were being offered as wives to Jacob’s sons. But these were the people of the Covenant of Abraham. Marrying Canaanite women would be detrimental to God’s plan of redemption. They were not to marry outside of the Covenant peoples. To assimilate themselves into the Canaanite culture by marriage would take away the distinct separateness of God’s people. And Jacob’s sons knew this.
It seems as though the sons of Jacob took Shechem and Hamor aside and told them that they could not let their sister marry an uncircumcised man. That it would be a reproach to them. They covered their plans with spiritual words. And deceitfully, they implied that if all the males in Shechem were circumcised, then they would let Dinah marry Shechem and they would give their daughters also to the men for marriage and take their daughters as wives. Circumcision was not unknown outside of the Covenant of Abraham. In some instances, it was part of religious practices. So, the request was not out of the ordinary. The problem here is that Jacob’s sons had no right to offer this sign of God’s covenant to heathens. They also did not have the right to use it to ratify an agreement with these same heathens. Finally, they had no right to use it as a ploy to cover their planned treachery. But Shechem and Hamor, not realizing it was a trick, agreed. Again, Dinah was not consulted as to her wishes. She was used as a cover by her brothers to exact revenge.
All of the men of the city of Shechem were circumcised. It was a painful procedure and the men were unable to move in defense of the city. Three days after the circumcisions, Simeon and Levi attacked the city and killed all the men. It was a massacre of defenseless men. The rest of the brothers, with the exception of Joseph, sacked the city. They made captives of the wives and children, carried off all the animals and anything of value, even down to stripping the dead. It was an atrocious event. It was a disgrace to the Covenant of God. They felt the murder and theft was justified vengeance for the dishonor of Dinah and Jacob’s family. That excessive act brought the stain of murder on a family which should have been holy before the Lord.
Jacob did not chastise his sons but worried it would look among the people of the region. Nor did he seem to be concerned about Dinah. He was afraid that there would be retribution on his family. No concern for the right or wrong of the rape or the massacre or for the tainting of God’s righteousness among the people. He responded as Jacob, not Israel. His sons had heard Jacob lie to Esau about following him to the south. They learned about deceit from him. He taught them how to be treacherous. They saw his interest in the greenest of pastures rather than in the obedience to God.
Throughout the Bible, many heroes of the faith failed God. Abraham lied. Moses killed a man. King David was an adulterer and a murderer, and yet, he was called a man after God’s own heart. Jonah refused to go where God told him to go, but when he eventually got to Nineveh, Jonah led the entire city to God. Then there was Peter. He denied Jesus three times. One of those times, Jesus heard it. But look at what God did through him in the book of Acts. The Apostle Paul, once persecuted Christians. He hunted them down and turned them over to be stoned to death. But his ministry reached out to the Romans and other Gentiles to bring them to Christ.
No, Jacob was not a strong leader here. He did not deserve the name Israel and if you will note, he is not even called Israel in this chapter. He was living as Jacob, not Israel, the man who wrestled with God. He lied to his brother and compromised when he settled near Shechem. He was a man who had spoken with God many times. A man who had seen angels sent by God. A man who wrestled God for a blessing. And yet, here he fails as a man of God. But God still used him and his sons to create the nation of Israel. His son, Judah, was the father of the line from which Jesus was born. Even though he failed, God still used him.
No matter what you have done or how far you have fallen, you can always come back to God. You can fail God and still He will use you. God loves you unconditionally. With all your failures, your lies, your hidden sins. That is why He sent Jesus to us. Jesus’ blood makes us righteous before God. We can stand before Him. Will be you be a Jacob? Or an Israel?
Your choice?
Father God, forgive us when we fail You. Help us to stand up, dust ourselves off and continue to follow You. Use us in spite of our failures so that we may be able to help others. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Food for Thought
- Why do you think Jacob didn’t follow Esau back to his home?
- Do you think Dinah was being rebellious when she went to Shechem? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Jacob didn’t react as a father should when he heard about Dinah?
- Why do you think Simeon and Levi reacted so violently?
- Have you allowed yourself to compromise your beliefs? What did you do about it?
