Corvallis Community Church
3-10-24
  • And Can It Be?
  • Love Lifted Me
  • Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

  • Genesis 34:1-31

    Gen 34 is one of the darkest chapters in the book. There is so much disgrace here (rape and blood revenge) that many preachers and commentaries skip over the entire chapter so as not to deal with such black ugliness found in the world. I would offer to you that the mere presence of sin within humanity in general and especially that indwelling sin in the hearts and lives of God’s people, recorded in Scripture is a special evidence that the Bible is of divine origin and not merely human. Humanity would seek to limit the portrayal of the heart of man as good if not neutral. But when the Bible reveals the true condition of the human heart, we can know that the true God who is righteous and holy has revealed it—and in doing so, reveals the precious remedy in LJC. I don’t claim to have some superior insight or wisdom above those who opt not to preach or comment on Gen 34 but I do see the important value of studying the authoritative Word of God b/c God, who speaks truthfully about the condition of humanity, is revealing something that will prove to be profitable to us as we grow in sanctification.
    2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95
    16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
    This is particularly true when God reveals the ugliness of sin and when the HS takes the Word of truth and implants it in our hearts, we are transformed by the truth—being sanctified by it (Jn 17:17). There’s a profound blessing that waits for us as we wade into a tremendously delicate portion of God’s Word.
    In this chapter, there are several problems that appear and which we will discover as we walk thru the vv. There is a bit of ambiguity among the characters as they are revealed here and the history of interpretation proves that the whole account is far from a simple matter. I have to agree with Kenneth Mathews when he says “There are no heroes in this episode.” Each one has a particular failure and we should be led by God’s Spirit to look at our own hearts in our study. I’m going to highlight 3 problems that appear in our text.

    1. The Problem of Half-Way Obedience

    vs 1 (more the introduction to the horrible matter)
    Jacob had obeyed the command of the Lord to return to the land of his birth when he set out from Haran and left Laban (his father-in-law). After his reunion with Esau (as he is making his way back to the homeland), he buys a parcel of land in the city of Shechem—intending to stay in this place. Now, on the surface, this doesn’t appear to be a matter of disobedience, since Jacob has (mostly) returned to the land of his birth. He’s only 20 miles from Bethel (the dream 20 years before). Jersualem is only 40 miles south. Jacob is real close (compared to where he came from). But this is not what the Lord commanded. Jacob wasn’t where he needed to be and his obedience was only a partial, half-way obedience. And this is sin.
    Westminster Shorter Catechism (#14)
    Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession Standards Question 14.

    Question: What is Sin?

    Answer:

    Sin is Any Want of Conformity Unto, or Transgression of, the Law of God.

    This really is a good definition of sin. It is fundamentally rebellion against God Himself. Sin is a wilful decision to go against what God commands of us. And this is why we understand sin to be so vile—and remember the penalty for sin=death. So when we sin, we are actively rebelling against (transgressing) the Law/command of God.
    Psalm 51:4 NASB95
    4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
    These are sins of commission. To do the very things that God has commanded us not to do. You can find examples of these in the 10 Commandments—to do them is to rebel against God who is holy, righteous and good.
    There are also sins of “omission.” This is the failure to do what God wants us to do. Not only do we sin be doing what God forbids, but we also sin when we don’t do what God wants. This is where Jacob has sinned. God told him to go to Bethel. Jacob left Haran and travelled as far as Shechem (only 20 miles away from Bethel) and his intent was to settle down. He bought land where he “pitched his tent” (33:19) revealing the motive of making this his home.
    A sin of omission. God said “Bethel” Jacob went to Shechem. Close, but partial obedience is still disobedience/sin. Jacob’s choice seems innocuous. But what he didn’t see at the time was that stepping away from what God wants is a clear path to destruction. This will invite catastrophe upon his home. The lesson is powerful—when we sin, disobey, we put ourselves and our families in danger. The Bible is filled with examples: Abram in Egypt & Gerar, Lot in Sodom, Isaac in Gerar…
    There is a problem with half-way obedience. We must be very careful here b/c sins of commission and omission are “sins which so easily entangle us” (Heb 12:1).

    2. The Problem of Raising Children In a Sin-Cursed World

    Another problem that we see in this chapter is the horrible event experienced by Dinah (Jacob’s only daughter). Moses tells us that she is the daughter of Leah. This is an important point b/c her full-blood brothers (Simeon and Levi) are the ones to exact revenge b/c of what happens to her. vv 1-4
    Moses is very careful to describe Shechem’s act toward Dinah as “defilement” 3x this word is used in the chapter (5,13,27). The term lit means “to make unclean.” The description of what happened in vs 2 NAS “he took her and lay with her by force” reads “he took her and lay with her and humbled her.” Other translations say humiliated, violated, raped. This is just pure wickedness no matter how much he loved her and desired her hand in marriage. In fact, there may be something to say about how consumed he was over Dinah and had to have her for himself. He may have been madly in love with her but he acted with vile wickedness toward her in forcing himself on her. Dinah endured a horrific sin, an act of evil and we should never diminish the wickedness of that act.
    Having said this (and not taking away from Shechem’s culpability at all)…interpretations of what has happened span a spectrum. It includes everything from Dinah was completely victimized and she acted in total innocence even if she was naive (that’s one end of the spectrum—Luther’s view). The other end sees Dinah who “went out—vs 1” to visit daughters of Canaan as promiscuous behavior (Nahum Sarna, Gordon Wenham). Nobody is blaming Dinah for the evil that happens to her but there are suggestions that her behavior was not appropriate. That term “went out” does describe a housewife whose behavior is not appropriate in public. I’m not on this side with those who think there was some impropriety in Dinah. However, I don’t think there is complete innocence in what Dinah was looking for.
    Girls who were of a marriageable age (likely Dinah at this point) were not permitted to leave the tents of their people to go and visit other people without a chaperone. But here she does this. Now, does she “sneak” out, without Leah noticing? Or maybe a hint of childhood rebellion to disobey one’s parent. She leaves the protection of the home (God ordained) and went to “visit” (see or observe) the Canaanite women. Was it curiosity, a desire to make friends, or something a bit more sinister? The text doesn’t tell us.
    But here’s the issue…for Dinah the problem was stepping out from what had been her protection and she encountered the bitterness of a world that is bent on doing evil. Leaving this protection resulted in her becoming a victim of this violent rape. Now, should we be over-critical on Leah? It’s difficult b/c we don’t have the information in our text. Certainly Jacob is worthy of blame since he shouldn’t have been in Shechem at all. But even if they had put their foot down and told Dinah, “you’re not leaving without a chaperone” then nature of the human heart (and specifically within children) is to resist, rebel against authority. This is why raising children in a sin-cursed world is a challenge. Children don’t understand that parents really do know better.
    Often attributed to Mark Twain “When I was fourteen I thought my father was the dumbest man in the world, but by the time I reached twenty-one it was surprising how much he had learned in seven short years.”
    The problem is compounded when we see the wickedness of the world we live in. As parents, we know what we’re shielding our children from—every evil under the sun. Now, Shechem afterward really wants to marry Dinah—vs 4. There is no virtue in what he did. He did love her, and he did speak tenderly toward her (vs 3). It’s not like David’s son Amnon who raped Tamar and afterward despised her.
    2 Samuel 13:15 NASB95
    15 Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!”
    Shechem is portrayed in a little better light than this. But notice this—a little later on: vs 18-19. If Shechem was the more respected in his home, I would fear what sort of wickedness came from the others. And that is our world. There are dangers everywhere and as parents we want to keep our children from all this vileness and as believers, we want to keep ourselves from being defiled. Be alert to wickedness—protect yourselves and your family from it—at all cost.

    3. The Problem of Seeking Vengeance

    So the violation of Dinah happened. When Jacob hears about it, he kept silent until his sons came in. Why? Was he waiting to tell his sons so they could take vengeance in his place? Was he apathetic toward his only daughter? It appears as though he is not as distraught as her brothers. And he certainly doesn’t show the emotion when he heard of Joseph’s “death”
    Genesis 37:34–35 NASB95
    34 So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
    Jacob is not the hero in this. His sons, when they heard expressed what I can only imagine as being a natural, instinctive emotion—vs 7.
    The word grieved speaks of both physical and emotional pain (same term applied to God when He saw the chaos in Noah’s day.
    Genesis 6:6 NASB95
    6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
    “very angry” is 2 words in Heb. The 2nd word “to glow, to be hot, to burn” It refers to the heat of anger, once anger starts it burns with rage. the 1st term intensifies this “strength.” There is unmitigated rage in the hearts of Jacob’s sons. And Moses explains why.
    Not only was this a violation & defilement of their beloved sister (vs 31), but from their perspective, to violate the daughter of Jacob (Israel) is to attack Israel and the God of Israel as well. Now, interpretations vary in this as well. Jewish interpretation especially presented Simeon and Levi’s action in a positive light. They omit the upcoming deceit and defend the behavior of the sons by highlighting the moral depravity of Shechem and the Canaanites in general. In fact, early Jewish targums praise Simeon and Levi for the “wisdom” to deceive the men of Shechem. Christian interpretations generally have condemned the brothers’ response—though understanding why they would seek revenge.
    Later God will tell Israel:
    Deuteronomy 32:35 NASB95
    35 ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
    Proverbs 20:22 NASB95
    22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
    Proverbs 24:29 NASB95
    29 Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”
    Taking vengeance into our own hands is contrary to what God wants from us—to do so is clearly a transgression. Instead, Paul taught:
    Romans 12:19–21 NASB95
    19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
    Now, very hard to put this into practice. Paul says “never”…revenge (to avenge or punish—to procure justice for someone, to inflict an appropriate penalty for a wrong done) is never to be part of the Xn’s character.
    Later on there would be cities of refuge that were places of asylum where one who accidentally killed someone could be kept from harm. Shechem would be one of those cities setup under Joshua (20:7). Our instruction is to leave room for God’s wrath—justice which may or may not happen in our lifetime.
    The wrong has been committed in the defilement of Dinah. The best course (though the Law has not yet been established thru Moses) would be to let God bring justice—to let Him be the one to determine when wrongs are righted. “leave room for the the wrath of God” lit “give a place to the wrath”—we don’t do this very well. Its hard to speak about wrath but for the believer (who has been delivered from the wrath) can see a benefit of God’s wrath in that we never have to take matters into our own hands (get even).
    As it turns out, Jacob’s sons exacted revenge thru a twisted plot of deception and dishonor and death.

    Deception

    Hamor knew what trouble his own son was in and how delicate the situation was so he offers terms of peace that would hopefully quench the burning anger (8-12).
    Instead of declaring immediate war the sons determined to bring about justice by feigning the pursuit of peace, offered to do business with their neighbors and even intermarry (13-14, 21).
    This was all a ruse. They answered with deceit—like father like sons…Here they were going to bait the men of Shechem into thinking there would be good relationship b/t the 2 (15-17).

    Dishonor

    The dishonor comes in how they abused the sacred sign of circumcision treating the Abrahamic Covenant as something common.
    Genesis 17:11–14 NASB95
    11 “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. 13 “A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 “But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
    Jacob’s sons convinced Hamor and Shechem and they believed there would be tremendous benefit in intermarrying with a foreign group, and all the social and economic advantages with adhering to the practice—vs 18-19. They convinced all the others for the benefit—vs 23.

    Death

    The ultimate revenge that Jacob’s sons were after was getting even. This is what is in the human heart. We think it is important to even the scales and to pursue justice—but usually it is done in our way and justice is not obtained.
    Exodus 21:22–25 NASB95
    22 “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. 23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
    God gave Israel civil laws that would promote order in society. This passage has been called Lex Talionis (law of retaliation) and its purpose is to define justice and restrain revenge. It laid that foundation for understanding justice, specified punishment that a wrongdoer deserved, and limited compensation of the victim to exact equivalency.
    I mention this b/c rape, as horrible as it is, was defined in the Law as not being a capital offense (the only exception was the rape of an engaged woman—Dt 22:25-27).
    Exodus 22:16–17 NASB95
    16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 17 “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.
    Deuteronomy 22:28–29 NASB95
    28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.
    After the men of Shechem had been circumcised and were in pain that’s when Simeon and Levi “each took his sword…”—vv 25-26.
    After they killed every male the other brothers “came upon” the dead and looted the city. Victor Hamilton writes “Their brothers came upon the slaughtered, like vultures landing on lifeless corpses.”
    (Mathews) “There are no heroes.” Jacob’s concern (v30) was really only about how they would not be seen among the Canaanites. He didn’t condemn what had just happened.
    Hughes:
    Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Genocidal Spree (vv. 25–31)

    Jacob was pathetic—for what he did not say. He did not condemn the massacre. Neither did he condemn his sons for breaking the law of lex talionis. He did not mention that they violated his contract with Shechem. Jacob said nothing about their desecration of Israel’s most precious symbol of faith. And, of course, there was not a word of concern about his just-raped daughter Dinah. Jacob’s only concern was survival—to save his own skin and, by association, that of his family.

    Simeon and Levi went too far in the massive slaughter. That’s that problem with revenge and trying to get even that it rarely does that. The emotions were so raw, the anger so fierce that justice would be elusive.
    James 1:20 NASB95
    20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
    God is not yet finished with Jacob. And while this chapter is a dark blemish on the man God has chosen to bless all the families of the earth thru—it serves a powerful lesson and warning for us today of the dark, ugliness of sin. It would take the death of God Himself to serve as the only sufficient sacrifice/atonement that can take away the sins of the world. We praise God for the redemption found in LJC!

      • 2 Timothy 3:16–17NASB95

      • Psalm 51:4NASB95

      • 2 Samuel 13:15NASB95

      • Genesis 37:34–35NASB95

      • Genesis 6:6NASB95

      • Deuteronomy 32:35NASB95

      • Proverbs 20:22NASB95

      • Proverbs 24:29NASB95

      • Romans 12:19–21NASB95

      • Genesis 17:11–14NASB95

      • Exodus 21:22–25NASB95

      • Exodus 22:16–17NASB95

      • Deuteronomy 22:28–29NASB95

      • James 1:20NASB95

  • Oh How He Loves You and Me
Corvallis Community Church
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