Scripture: Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”
The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Observation: Genesis 34:1-31 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, fearful that Esau still harbored anger and would seek revenge, Jacob sends his servants and their children to the front of the caravan, followed by Leah and her children, and then Rachel and her son. Esau runs to Jacob and tearfully embraces him after navigating servants, herds, wives, and children. Esau then inquires about Jacob’s entourage, for which Jacob explains they are family and servants. Jacob then offers herds as a gift, which Esau declines. But Jacob insists, so Esau accepts and encourages Jacob to travel to his homestead in Seir. Jacob pretends to agree but reasons that his family and herds cannot keep pace with Esau and his 400 men. Esau takes Jacob’s word and proceeds ahead of Jacob. Meanwhile, Jacob slinks off to the region of Succoth, and from there, he settles in Shechem.
Today’s reading is another example of how God’s covenant people sometimes grossly miss the mark and commit atrocious sins. Here, Simeon and Levi exact savage revenge on a young man, Shechem (son of the tribal leader Hamor the Hivite), who violated their sister Dinah. While the text states Shechem seized Dinah and laid with her, we cannot definitively deduce whether or not it was consenting sex. But we are told that Shechem loved Dinah and spoke tenderly to her. Furthermore, he asked his father to obtain Dinah for his wife. But Simeon and Levi, outraged over the shame brought upon their sister and the entire family, plot to kill all the Hivites.
Meanwhile, Hamor, wanting to bless his son and maintain peace in the land, offers a covenant of shared landholdings and fair commerce to be consummated by his son’s marriage to Jacob’s daughter. Shechem then interjects and gives Jacob a generous “bride price.” Jacob’s sons interrupt negotiations and deceitfully request just one condition: all Hivite men must circumcise themselves. Hamor and Shechem happily agree and convince their fellow tribal men to comply. On the third day after their circumcisions, knowing the weakened state of the Hivite men, Simeon and Levi enter the city armed with swords and proceed to slaughter all the men. The rest of Jacob’s sons join Simeon and Levi in plundering their wealth and enslaving their wives and children. When Jacob hears the news, he expresses his dismay over their actions, but his foremost concern is the security of his clan. Nevertheless, his sons justify their actions based on Dinah supposedly being treated like a prostitute.
Takeaway: Granted, the Lord would not have wanted Jacob’s clan to intermarry with pagan neighbors or settle outside Canaan. Thus, Moses wants his audience to see that God will redeem our wrongful actions (even if they are heinous) to achieve his divine purpose. In this case, it’s a matter of ensuring the lineage of Abraham is uncompromised by intermarriage with those who worship pagan gods. Why is this so important? As the books of Kings and Chronicles reveal, when Israel settles in the Promised Land, it does not take long for them to intermarry, sink in moral depravity (even sacrificing their children to the fertility gods; see Jeremiah 7:31), and disown God. That said, being infilled with the Holy Spirt under our New Covenant of Grace, we, the grafted heirs of Christ (Romans 11:11-18), are one with him and without privileged pedigree (Galatians 3:28). Moreover, Christ calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
Our takeaway? This horrific story presents two crucial lessons. First, as parents, our actions speak louder than words when we model behavior for our children. We know that Jacob deceived Esau three times and once Laban. Undoubtedly, his sons observed some of his trickery, and now they follow his example and take it to the next level: deceiving to commit genocide to restore their sister’s honor. And their dad seems primarily concerned about repercussions rather than their ungodly behavior—this, too, is a passed-down character flaw.
Secondly, nothing good comes from jumping to conclusions and seeking vengeance. For Simeon and Levi, at the end of Jacob’s life, he would exclude them from his parting blessings and pronounce their heir’s tumultuous future divided and scattered among the other tribes of Israel (49:5-7). Moreover, Moses cautioned the nation of Israel before entering the Promised Land that vengeance is the Lord’s, for he will vindicate his people (Deuteronomy 32:35-36). The Apostle Paul and the author of Hebrews follow Moses’ warning in their instructions to the persecuted church, who had every reason to seek vengeance on their enemies (Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30).
Our part? How should we respond when others harm us or our loved ones? Spiritualizing our pain and suffering by saying the expected Christian response while pretending it doesn’t hurt will only delay the healing of our hearts and souls and likely spur ungodly thoughts and behavior. But when we express our sorrow and anger to trusted friends and counselors and earnestly seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance toward forgiving those who hurt us and our loved ones, we circumvent the lost time, energy, and collateral damage caused by seeking vengeance. And we grow stronger in our faith, all the while witnessing the grace and power of our Gospel to the next generation.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for exacting vengeance on our sins and vindicating us from our Accuser through the sacrifice of your Son. Please help us remember this and that our children are watching when tempted to seek revenge on those who have hurt loved ones or us. Instead, please help us follow the lead of your Holy Spirit in seeking healing for our wounded souls and the strength to forgive our enemies as you have forgiven us, who were once your enemies (Romans 5:10). Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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