Genesis 34

Genesis 34

The defiling of Dinah is a story of revenge mixed with good intentions. Dinah was Jacob’s daughter (through Leah). She, along with her entire family, was living in the land that God had promised them, but with that came their first troubling encounter. Shechem, a prince in the land, chose Dinah to be his wife, but after he had already defiled her. It was not until after the fact that he decided that he wanted her as his wife. This was Shechem’s first mistake. He did not wait and go to her father first. He took it upon himself to take her as his own from the start, not considering her desire or the will of her family. But since this is what he wanted, his father agreed to speak with Jacob about their marriage.

Dinah’s brothers (through Leah) were with Jacob when Shechem’s father, Hamor, came to speak with him. He explained what Shechem wanted, but Dinah’s brothers became furious after hearing what had happened to Dinah. They could think of nothing else but revenge. However, they did not want to go out in revenge and kill everyone so blatantly. Instead, they hid their revenge through what appeared to be peace. Hamor had suggested that they live peaceably together, allowing each other’s families to marry and share the land. The only problem with Hamor’s suggestion was that God had promised the land to Jacob, not Hamor. Furthermore, He had on a number of occasions told Abraham’s family not to marry into the Canaanites. They were to instead marry into their own family, which is why Jacob had lived with Laban for so long.

From the start Hamor’s idea of a peace agreement would not work because of God’s covenant with Abraham. And it also seemed at first that Jacob’s sons were abiding by this law, not appearing to want to make this agreement with Hamor. But in the end they agreed to Hamor’s claims on one condition. They stuck by the commands of their family and told Hamor that the only way they would agree was if all of Hamor’s family would be circumcised. This would be the sign of the covenant that they made with one another much like it was between God and Abraham. However, Jacob’s sons never intended to keep their end of the deal. What appeared to be good intentions, appeared to be a peaceful agreement, and what appeared to be a righteous act was all a set up to seek out revenge on Hamor and Shechem for what had happened to Dinah.

Instead of keeping their end of the deal, Jacob’s sons went into the city after the circumcision had taken place and killed every male. Shechem had definitely been in the wrong, but Jacob’s sons did not handle the matter properly. Jacob stressed this very point when he spoke with Simeon and Levi later. He told them that they had disrupted any chance of peace that their family could have had with the other peoples of the land. It did not matter what they had done, even what they did to Dinah, Simeon and Levi’s actions were uncalled for.

Think about it in today’s society. What Simeon and Levi did can be compared to any conflict we might have today. Every one of us is wronged at some point in our life. We can all think of times when someone has done something to us that infuriated us. Most of those times, deep inside of us, we wanted to seek out revenge so bad (and we may have done so). But thinking of that time, what would have been the best way to respond? We could have responded like Jacob’s sons and sought out revenge, but that would just break all ties with that person. We might never get an opportunity to mend that relationship, and if they were not a Christian, we would have lost a lot of respect in their eyes. It is when we react in a positive way that people take notice. By not seeking revenge and offering forgiveness, people might begin to wonder where we stand. They will notice something different in our lives. This would also provide a great opportunity to show them what God has done in our lives, which is exactly what we have been called to do as Christians. So the next time you are wronged, no matter how great it is, think about how you might respond. It is easy to respond in vengeance, but the best option is to be ready to forgive and move on.

Matt