Beloved God

Author: Joseph

Date: May 13, 2018

Jacob had twelve sons and also had a daughter whose name was Dinah. She was born from Leah. While Jacob was sojourning in the land of Canaan, his daughter, Dinah, went out to visit the daughters of the land. Under untold circumstances, she passed nearby to the prince of the land, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite. When Shechem saw her, lust filled his heart and he immediately took action, giving in to his desire. Dinah was taken by force, raped, and he attempted to speak affectionately with her to comfort her. Helpless, the disgraced and violated daughter of Jacob was kept in Shechem’s house. Shechem and his father then went to Jacob to secure her as his wife.

"The sons of Jacob knew that they could not compromise..."

Jacob heard what had happened to his daughter and when his sons returned from being in the field, he told them what had happened. Shechem and his father, Hamor, attempted to bargain with Jacob and his sons for Dinah. They even offered to share their land, resources, and give their own daughters as wives. The sons of Jacob, however, were not convinced by this appeal and they stood firmly convicted that Shechem and his people should not be rewarded for his sin. The Bible states that Jacob’s sons were “very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.” They understood that compensation was not going to recover what was taken from Dinah and they rejected compromising to Shechem and allowing his sin to follow through.

The sons of Jacob knew that they could not compromise, but also wanted to act wisely in the situation in order to rescue their sister. They shrewdly planned their rescue. They made a verbal agreement with Shechem and Hamor, fooling him into thinking Shechem would be granted Dinah as a wife. After the agreement was made, the people of Shechem arrogantly boasted. They exclaimed to each other, “Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.” The people of Shechem agreed, however, to also be circumcised, which would leave all the men weak and unable to defend themselves. This is how the sons of Israel planned on rescuing their sister. Levi and Simeon went into the city after three days and slaughtered all the males, and rescued Dinah from Shechem’s household. All the sons of Jacob came upon the city and took spoils from the land, gaining much wealth in the process.

Jacob was appalled at their actions and complained to his sons out of fear of the people of the land. Jacob was afraid that the surrounding people would hear of their slaughter and gather together to attack him and his family. Jacob’s sons, however, were unafraid and responded to Jacob’s concerns with strong conviction, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?” They understood that compromising with the people of Shechem would have permitted their sin and further disgraced their own family, regardless of the promises from Hamor and Shechem. No deal was worth it. As they traveled on from Shechem, God protected Jacob and his family in the land. Contrary to Jacob’s worries, God caused a great fear to come upon those that they passed by so that the Jacob and his sons were not pursued and kept safe.

The love for their sister, Dinah, drove Jacob’s sons to seek justice and opened their eyes to the sin of the land. Their love caused them to stand firm in their conviction and reject the idea of compromising with sin. The sons of Jacob did this for their beloved sister.

The world often treats God the same way that Shechem treated Dinah. They defile His name, treat their sin against Him as a casual matter, and then attempt to bargain away the consequences by word or deed. As believers, we are to take a stand for God and against sin that is uncompromising because of our love for Him. We must be sensitive to the effects of sin and how it grieves God, no matter how small the world makes them appear.

If you treated your love for God as Jacob’s sons loved their sister, what would change? Would you still see sin in the world as a “little thing” or as something that you can compromise with?

Bible Passage: Genesis 34:1 – 35:5

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org