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Genesis 34:1-13: Family troubles.

“Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³ His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” ⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home. ⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. ⁷ Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. ⁸ But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.”¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”¹³ Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor.” NIV UK

There is is no excuse for what Shechem did to Dinah, and I am certainly not trying to say ‘she was asking for it’. Not at all. Not for one moment. But it is right, I think, to question whether she should have gone ‘’out to visit the women of the land’’ (1). The people of Israel were distinctively different, as Dinah’s brothers were later to point out (14-17). In some aspects of conduct we may place ourselves in moral danger, and it would be better for us to keep our distance. If you get too near the fire you may be burned.

So there is warning here. But you may also find encouragement in this thought:

‘Jacob’s children were circumcised, were well taught, and prayed for, and had very good examples set them, yet some of them proved untoward.’ Matthew Henry. If your children give you grief, realise you are not alone – and keep on praying, and loving!

Genesis 34: 5-7: Disgraceful!

^“5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home. ⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. ⁷ Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.”

‘’Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter’’ Isaiah 5:20

In our culture, the boundary line of things ‘’that should not be done’’, of ‘’disgraceful’’ behaviours, is getting pushed further and further back. More and more things are regarded as acceptable, where once we would have seen them as shameful. Because there is a Holy God, that means there are moral absolutes: things which are clearly right or wrong. The society that forgets this is as liable to come under God’s judgment as those civilisations we find in the Bible.

What Shechem did was wrong. However, the way her brothers sought to repay was also wrong – and ‘two wrongs do not make a right.’

Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary, makes the point that the Name of the Lord isn’t mentioned once in this chapter, and that the wisdom of the Lord is surely absent also. When we disobey the Lord, he says, we put ourselves and our loved ones in danger.

Genesis 34:1-4: Guard your heart

“Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³ His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” NIV

Jacob’s decision to move close to the city of Shechem may have been a pragmatic choice (33: 18-20), as he tried to keep a safe distance from Esau. There is no indication that he was specifically led by God to this location. He may have ‘’arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan’’ (33:18), but it proved to be a dangerous place for his daughter, Dinah (and her brothers – in a different way). Although Jacob prayed and worshipped in the place (33:20), should he have been there? ‘We make our decisions, then our decisions turn around and make us.’  Shechem, reading between the lines, was a spoilt brat. He was used to getting what he wanted. No doubt he had been brought up with a sense of privilege as ruler’s son, and he thought he could have any girl he wanted. It’s a brutal opening to the chapter, but what started out as lust turned to love (3) – quite an unusual thing to happen.

‘’His heart was drawn…’’ (3). Shechem’s problem was with his heart. It is everyone’s dilemma. Jesus taught that sins of behaviour and speech start in the heart; overflow from the heart. In an excellent book entitled ‘You can change’, Tim Chester shows that our challenge is not to change our behaviour but to have our hearts changed. Love is not automatically sinful, but disordered, inordinate affections will lead us astray. We can love too much and set up idols in our hearts. The heart will be ‘’drawn to’’ whatever it is we love. Let’s set our hearts on God.

Steve Green, on one of his discs, has an unusual, but powerful, song about adultery, and it has this refrain:

‘Guard your heart, guard your heart, Don’t trade it for treasure, don’t throw it away.Guard your heart, guard your heart, For a moment of pleasure, it’s a high price to pay. Guard your heart.’

PRAYER: Help me Lord to always guard my heart

Genesis 33:8-20: Old ways.

^“8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. ⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” ¹⁰ “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this giftfrom me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. ¹¹ Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted,Esau accepted it. ¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” ¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” ¹⁵ Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. ¹⁷ Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechemin Canaan and camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹ For a hundred pieces of silver,^[c]he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of groundwhere he pitched his tent. ²⁰ There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.” NIV

The Bible is a realistic book. It’s heroes are not ‘plaster saints’. They are flawed.

It is possible to have a powerful encounter with God, and not be sinlessly perfect. You can meet with Him unmistakably and still have relapses. This is what happened to Jacob. Not long after his ‘’face to face’’ meeting with God (32:30), we find him returning to his old scheming ways. He again deceived his brother. It should have been obvious to him, surely, that he had nothing to fear from Esau; that God had graciously answered his prayer. But it seems that fear still dogged his steps.

Jacob may have been a different man, and a better one, by this stage, but he was not yet the finished article.

If you ever find yourself despairing over your temporary backslidings, remember Jacob and take heart. This is not to excuse any kind of declension, but the Bible shows it happens, and it doesn’t have to be the end of anyone’s story.

PRAYER: Today, Lord, I simply want to thank you for your amazing grace and abundant mercy, and say how much I need it – need you.

Genesis 33:8-9: Not necessary.

^“8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”  “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.  ⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” NIV

Jacob hoped he could ‘buy’ ‘’favour’’ in his brother’s eyes; he sought to win him over with his gifts. People try to do this with God. He must look at our religious observances, charitable acts and the like, and respond: ‘What’s the meaning of all this? Do you think you can win my approval with good deeds?’ The truth is many people think they can.

Norman Grubb, in his book ‘The Spontaneous you’, says we try to cover our tracks with religion, or a bit of good philosophy. But God has to bring us to a place where we realise we are helpless to save ourselves. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. We can’t purchase it by trying to be as good as possible. Jesus has paid the price in full. We have to trust Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Prayer: ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.’

Genesis 33: 4-7: An unexpected turn of events.

^“4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. ⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down.⁷ Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.” NIV

This reminds me of the story in Acts 12, where the church was praying earnestly for Peter to get out of prison, but could hardly believe it when he did! Jacob had prayed desperately to be saved from the hand of his brother (32:11), but it appears he didn’t have too much faith. There is something quite human and touching about these honest accounts, both in Genesis and Acts.  But we must believe prayer did make a difference, and it should encourage us as we ask for mountains to be moved today. God still changes the hearts of people. I need to be reminded of this fact just now, do you?

‘Many things, like this meeting with Esau, are worse in anticipation than in actuality…The holy transactions of the previous night had induced this change in the atmosphere…We must win power with God, by yielding to him, before we can have power with our Esaus and prevail.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.27.

Genesis 33: 1-3: Respect.

“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ² He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.” NIV

Jacob thought (or at least feared) that Esau came to meet him as a foe. We are all capable of creating monsters in our imaginations. However, it does seem Jacob would have had every reason to fear his brother but for God answering prayer (32:11,12).

However, note the respect Jacob showed Esau. I believe we should treat everyone with esteem, and especially those we might regard as enemies of the Christian faith. We don’t have to agree with them, but let us endeavour to treat them with the utmost respect.

Genesis 33:1-3: Leaders lead.

“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ² He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.” NIV

I heard about a senior Australian officer who said, ‘The problem with Australian soldiers is that they don’t like to take orders. But, if you step out of the trenches first and say, ‘’Follow me lads’’, they’ll be with you heart and soul.’

The way Jacob organised his family reflected his priorities. His greatest love was for Rachel and Joseph, and it appears he placed them where he imagined they would be safest – at the back. One of the main lessons I learned, when part of a creative writing group, was, ‘show rather than tell.’ This is what the writer is doing. We can see who Jacob most wanted to protect.

But note that ‘He himself went on ahead…’ (3). Leadership has to go out in front. We have to lead by example; we must step into the ‘danger zone’ first. As a general rule of thumb, leaders cannot ask followers to take risks; to make sacrifices; to do difficult things they themselves are not prepared to do. Leaders lead. They go over the top first.

PRAYER: We pray, Lord, for the leaders in your church, that they may lead with wisdom and courage.

Genesis 32:22-32: Broken.

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,  and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

Here are some final thoughts on this passage from Tom Hale:

‘If we too would hope to know God in this way, we must not try to approach Him on our own terms. We must allow Him to ‘’disable’’ us, to ‘’break’’ us. We cannot develop an intimate relationship with God without first being broken, without first allowing our self-will and self-centredness to be made ‘’lame’’ by God. Only then will we be able to gain God’s deepest blessings and to know Him ‘’face to face’’….To be ‘’broken’’ by God is one of the deepest experiences of our Christian faith. We cannot be the kind of people God wants us to be without having been broken. God has to break us before we will surrender to Him; He has to break us before He can mould us and fill us with His Spirit. As self-centred human-beings, we naturally resist such breaking; this was what Jacob was doing when he struggled with the angel. But God in His mercy did not let Jacob keep on struggling; He touched Jacob’s hip (verse 25). Suddenly all the things in Jacob’s earthly life were no longer so important: he had been touched by God. Instead of struggling for earthly blessings, Jacob now sought the highest blessing of all, God Himself: ‘’I will not let you go unless you bless me’’ (verse 26). Each of us needs to pass through our own Peniel, where we can meet Jesus face to face and be transformed from self-willed strugglers to Spirit-filled channels of blessing to the world.’ ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p. 179.