Genesis 34 - Repaying Wrong for Wrong

Chapter 34 begins with the rape of Dinah the daughter of Jacob. Shechem took what wasn't his and attempted to legitimize the act by offering to purchase Dinah as Shechem's wife.

A deal is made to circumcise all the males of the land. In order to convince the men to undergo circumcision, they explain that the wealth of Jacob would become their own once they married the daughters of the family.

I don't know that Jacob's sons were aware of the malevolent intent of the men of the land, but it is clear they had some ill-will of their own. They came into the city after the circumcision and slew the men and took their wealth and Dinah back to her father's home.

This chapter has so many lessons for us. I am not sure we can detail them in this short blog:

1. Dinah clearly was out of the protection of her family when the initial violence occurred. Young women should guard themselves because we do live in an evil world. I know of women who flaunt their freedom to dress provocatively to engage in activities that would compromise good judgement and to entertain wrong friends in their lives. Purity cannot be compromised.

2. Young men do not have rights to violate women under any circumstances. Shechem may have been attracted to Dinah's looks but based on his behavior I cannot imagine that he was attracted to Dinah's God. The union would have been fraught with conflict if not more violence.

3. Don't compromise your virtues. Shechem clearly had no respect for the policy of marrying within the faith and no respect for getting things in proper order. (Like marrying the girl and then enjoying her). Ladies, men will have greater respect if you stand firm in your faith and do not comprise for love. If any force will cause us to fall into a life of struggle, hardship and misery it is compromise for the sake of affection. Too many babies are born today without the benefit of a father and too many marriages are undertaken to legitimize an ill conceived affair. The result can lead to poverty for the children, wrong views of relationships and struggle for the woman. God gave us good parameters for establishing marriages and we should cling to them. Everyone benefits from them.

4. The deal made for Dinah was made with the express intent of ruining Jacob's family and taking his wealth. It was another act of violence planned even before the hostilities of Jacobs sons (oh, of he had just gone with Esau like he said he would). When we engage with unbelievers we have to be aware that their value systems are not centered on obedience to God and their intents may not be what they appear. We would save ourselves a lot of heartache to be wary of such entanglements.

5. Retaliation for wrongs. Dinah's brothers in their zeal to defend the honor of their sister committed even greater atrocities and jeopardized the safety of the family. It is our nature to want justice for wrongs committed against us, but is our faith in God strong enough to allow him to be out defender? God knows the evil in this world - he knows the evil in our hearts. Let him judge the evil and keep yourself from committing even greater sin.

What a sad chapter in the life of God's people. We see how quickly life can change as a result of wrong choices and unguarded moments. Our Lord is coming one day soon and He has promised in Isaiah 13:11 "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless". God does see our plight and He is more than able to protect his people from evil if we will allow his law to govern our lives.

May God richly bless you as you seek him and as you serve him.