From Safety to Calamity (Genesis 34)
From Safety to Calamity (Genesis 34)
Ming Jir. 16 October 2015
More intriguing than Korean drama!
Gen 33 - In the encounter with Esau’s entourage, Jacob and his family avoided bloodshed. They separated amicably.
Gen 33:18 – And Jacob arrived safely to the city of Shechem….There he erected an altar called El-Elohe-Israel (which means God, the God of Israel).
Who was Dinah?
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She was the 7th child of Jacob and Leah, and the only daughter. She was also the only girl among all of Jacob’s children. Her full brothers are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
How old was she when the defilement took place, likely to between 12 (after puberty) to 16 years of age.
Gen 34:1 - …went to see the women of the land
According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to produce the strong attachment that Shechem had for her. Dinah going forth to see the daughters of the country, is abused and defiled by Shechem, son of Hamor.
1) In the world but not of the world
As I reflected on these few verses – it dawn upon me that the parallel in current times, is that Dinah could be any of our daughters. (Speculating) Being the only girl in her family it is likely that she wanted the company of the other girls and women in Shechem. Just like our children, or our daughters in particular, they have their own social life and circle of friends. They need to have their own space BUT we need to give them boundaries and guidelines. Teach to be as gentle as a dove and as cunning as a fox.
2) Was it Dinah’s fault that she was defiled? Was she too naive and vain that she was drawn by the attention given to her? Parallel
a) How do we bring up daughters to be godly and wise? Can we shield them from the negative influence of the world around us? Yes or no? if not, how do we equip them to deal with the ‘dangers’ of the present world?
b) Leah is not mentioned in the few verses. Who’s primary duty is it to teach and instruct our children, particularly our daughters? The mum or the dad? Pastor Kai’s sermon a couple weeks back he mentioned that;
a. Jacob led by initiating
b. He led by communicating
c. He acknowledged God in his communication
d. He took decisive action
3) v5 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.
a) Was Jacob afraid or was he plainly indifferent? Since he ‘disliked’ Leah from the beginning (though she bore him 7 children), it could be indifference mixed with fear.
b) Leah is not mentioned in the few verses. Who’s primary duty is it to teach and instruct our children, particularly our daughters? The mum or the dad? Pastor Kai’s sermon a couple weeks back he mentioned that;
a. Jacob led by initiating
b. He led by communicating
c. He acknowledged God in his communication
d. He took decisive action
c) As a husband and a father, I have a lot to work on form these 4 points.
4) Defending Dinah’s honour and taking things into their own hands
a) Where is God in all this? Why did they not call on His name and ask for guidance? Were thery overcome by fear and fury?
b) Who should take charge? Her full brothers or Jacob? According to some commentators it was the custom of the Near East for full brothers to avenge the honour of their sister, not the father. A man can divorce his wife for adultery but a sister is forever.
c) Nevertheless the father should take the lead role
d) In this complex work of wheeling and dealing, we need the wisdom from God.
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