When Jacob and Esau parted ways last week, Jacob led his family to Canaan. But he failed to bring them to the place God had called them. This disobedience led to more sin in Jacob’s family.
At the time of Genesis 34, Jacob’s oldest sons probably are in their early- to mid-20s, and his daughter Dinah is 13 to 15 years old. Dinah heads out to a pagan festival among the ungodly Shechemites. A few lessons here: Dinah should not have been alone in this situation. Her family did not train her about avoiding potentially troubling situations and did not help her by accompanying her to this ungodly place. We parents must train our children to be aware of the evil, worldly influences on their lives and encourage them to make Christians their closest and most trusted friends. Shouldn’t we do all we can do to safeguard our children and help them choose to follow God?
Shechem sees Dinah, takes her and rapes her. Then he tries to justify his actions by saying that he loves her. He shows no remorse for his actions or concern for Dinah’s feelings. Shechem asks his father, Hamor, to secure Dinah as Shechem’s wife.
Hamor suggests that his family intermarry with Jacob’s family and become “one people” (34:16, 22). This was the opposite of God’s will and plan for His people. He wanted His people to be different, to be set apart from those around them.
This still applies to Christians today. We must remain pure and set apart from the world. There must be a distinction between God’s people and unbelievers. Do I blend in with the world, or do I stand out as a Christian?
Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi respond to the situation by seeking revenge. They should have turned to God and trusted Him to judge Shechem. In deceit and with the intention of disabling the men in order to murder them, Simeon and Levi agree to intermarry with Shechem’s family if the men of his family agree to be circumcised. The townsmen agree. Three days later, Simeon and Levi attack the town. They kill every man, loot the city, take the women and children as plunder and take Dinah from Shechem’s house.
Circumcision was a sign of God’s promises to the Israelites. It set His people apart from the world. But Simeon and Levi used circumcision as a weapon. This showed that they didn’t value God and His promises for them.
Jacob is upset and fearful of the consequences of his sons’ sin. (Later God will instruct Jacob to curse these sons because of their actions.) Simeon and Levi justify their sins because Shechem treated Dinah like “a prostitute.” Vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19). We should trust God in the midst of our tragedies instead of taking action ourselves.
Simeon and Levi blame their sin on Shechem. We shouldn’t justify our own sins by placing the blame on someone else when it’s our fault. Sin is a choice each of us makes. Which sins do I soften or justify? Which excuses do I use for my sins? How does God want me to correct my sins?
Did Jacob do all he could do to lead his family to God? There’s no guarantee that by being a better spiritual influence, Jacob could have changed Simeon and Levi’s actions. But Jacob should have been a spiritual leader for his family. His leadership would have helped his family walk through this tragedy.
After this series of tragedies, Jacob determines to return to Bethel. But he realizes that he needs to cleanse his family first. Jacob sees that the only way he can get his family back to a right relationship with God is through confessing their sins and committing to change their behavior.
He instructs them to get rid of foreign idols, and he buries them to symbolize getting rid of these pagan practices. Jacob also tells his family to purify themselves (confess their sins) and change their clothes (a symbol of repentance, turning 180 degrees and going away from sin and toward God).
God’s terror falls upon the surrounding towns because He is protecting His children. They return to Bethel, build an altar and worship God.
God appears to Jacob for a fourth time, passing along His promises from Abraham to Jacob. He also confirms that Jacob’s new name is Israel. Then He directs Jacob to move on to Hebron.
This week’s lesson can be summed up with this principle from last night’s lecture: As Christians, we are called to be in the world but clearly live distinguished from it. To be distinct from the world, we Christians must choose to be imitators of Christ not imitators of the world. Otherwise, people won’t know if we are Christians or unbelievers. It should be obvious that we follow Christ.
What causes me to blend in with the world? Where have I pitched my tent near the world (Shechem) instead of God (Bethel)? What repentance is God calling from me? How will I take a stand and clearly live differently than the world?
Avery’s memory verse was: