LIVE AND LEARN

Genesis 33:18-34:31
Bob Bonner
February 25, 2007

While I was on vacation, Keith Heck preached a timely message from Ephesians 6:4-6 on the important role parents, more specifically, fathers, have in raising up godly children. In that message, he gave us several statistics concerning the evidence of poor fathering in our community.

Interestingly, in the rest of our study of Genesis we will see the results of what happens when men fail to take their responsibility for giving Godly leadership to their home and the raising of children. To know how to spiritually lead in godly wisdom, compassion, mercy and from respect...with firmness, is a missing component today, as it was in Jacob’s day. In Genesis, we find many lessons as to what we can do that is right, and what we must avoid doing, if we want to be godly leaders and impactful followers of Jesus Christ. Today, we look at Exhibit “A” of Jacob’s failure in leadership and learn something from his life. This failure is the first thing Moses records about Jacob’s life after he has safely returned to Canaan and has established himself as the patriarch of the household. His relationship with Esau has been reconciled and now he is ready to lead. Approximately seven to ten years has passed between Gen. 33:17 and 33:18.

Let’s begin our study of God’s Word, at 33:18, by looking at God’s historical setting for the context of the drama to come. “Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, [meaning “safe and sound” back home, across the Jordan] which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.”

This is the first-recorded event of Jacob, the new patriarch, following his separation from his brother Esau. Since then Jacob had been living in Succoth for some seven to ten years before crossing the Jordan River into Canaan and moving outside the city of Shechem. This city was perched up on Mt. Gerizim, just above a major trade route into the land of Canaan. Whoever controlled the city controlled this route. In one sense, it was a great place to set up the “capital” for Israel. It overlooked the fertile plain of the Jordan valley. Jacob decided that he was going to make his stand there for the Lord, even dedicating this land as God’s by naming it “El-Elohe-Israel” in effect declaring to the Canaanite neighbors that “God is the mighty God of Israel.”

The key person around whom this unfolding drama centers is Dinah, Jacob’s first daughter and the beloved little sister of her eleven brothers. She is of marriageable age at this point, which began in that culture around the age of 14 or 15. That means her brothers ranged in age from somewhere around 16-22. They are young men who know much about what is morally right, and they are quite capable of fighting for what they believe to be right. Keep in mind, most of our American military forces today are made up of men and women whose ages typically range about the same.

Having just mentioned that Jacob had given this name “El-Elohe-Israel” to his new home it is important to point out that Moses intentionally leaves out any other mentioning of God throughout this drama, until it is all over. He does so for a very good reason. Jacob, by setting up house and home in Shechem, broke a previous vow he had made to God back in Genesis 28, where he promised to return to Bethel to re-establish worship of God. Jacob is reminded by God of his failure in Genesis 35:1. 

This is very significant to all that follows. Had Jacob not camped at Succoth so long and had he not deliberately purchased property just outside the Canaanite settlement of Shechem, and had he immediately pushed on to Bethel to fulfill his vow to God, this tragedy would not have happened. This failure on Jacob’s part is an indicator of Jacob’s spiritual passivity. Like many followers of Jesus today, Jacob did not consider the Lord’s instructions concerning the details or various facets of his life to be important. Jacob had not yet learned the importance of praying unceasingly, checking in with God throughout his day, every day so as to invite God into the process of leading his life. Instead, Jacob puts his young daughter’s life, and really, the entire family’s spiritual life in jeopardy.

In response to this tragedy, the very first word from God to Jacob, in 35:1, is no anemic or insubstantial statement. God, after this drama is over, deliberately gets hold of Jacob and commands Jacob “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” This is God clearly spanking Jacob’s conscience, reminding him that he was never to stop and settle anywhere until he had met with God in Bethel, as per his vow, in 28:20-22. The passage we will be studying is based upon a typical Hebrew writing style. The purpose of this Hebrew style is to emphasize, through a mirrored style, the atrocity of both of the events that take place in this chapter.  In verses 1-24, the focus is on Jacob’s daughter, Dinah and the reactions to her being taken by force. In verses 25-31, the focus is the city of Shechem and Jacob’s family’s reaction to taking it by force. In the first half of this drama, the tension is between Jacob’s family and the Shechemites. In the second half of this drama, the tension is between Jacob and his own sons.

Throughout this drama there is an interesting comparison and contrast going on between the character of Shechem and the character of Jacob’s sons. For instance, in the first section, you will see how Shechem speaks rudely to his father, and the son’s of Jacob speak rudely to their father. Both fathers fail to give proper leadership to their families, even though Hamor and Shechem are united in their purpose to satisfy his son’s wishes. Their unity stands in stark contrast to that of Jacob and his sons. 

Now, let’s start looking at the events that surround the first moral atrocity. “Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.” Sarna, a scholar of Hebrew customs of the day, cites, “Girls of a marriageable age would not normally leave a rural encampment to go un-chaperoned into an alien city.” In other words, this was a very imprudent act on her part, which may reflect more on her father than it does on her. It was absolutely dangerous in those primitive times for an unprotected daughter to be out alone. Jacob had not taught her the importance of distancing herself from these Canaanites.

“When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this young girl for a wife.’”

Note that Hamor’s first son Shechem, his favored son, and according to verse 19, a son who was held in high esteem by the rest of the family and citizens of Shechem, both have the same name. Probably, Hamor’s first son was named Shechem in the hopes that he would one day take his father’s place and rule the Hivite territory, of which Shechem would be its capital.

Let’s continue: “Now Jacob heard that he [Shechem] had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.”

Jacob appears indifferent to what has happened, to the kidnap, captiv ity and defilement of his daughter. He offers no response or appropriate action. He doesn’t even attempt to rescue her! By the way, Dinah is being held captive against her will at this time, for she is not released until verse 26, when her brothers attack the city and rescue her.

Beginning with verse 6, we read about Hamor’s initial reaction to the news of what his son had done, and the reactions of Dinah’s brothers. “Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they 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.”

 We are not told when or how Jacob’s sons had heard about this tragedy, but apparently they and Jacob had met together before they all met with Hamor. From that meeting, the boys could tell that their father was going to remain his typical passive self, just as he did with Laban, his father-in-law’s outrageous treatment of Jacob and their family. Hence, in the void of Dad’s silence and refusal to respond, the boys, outraged and grieved, had already discussed what they were going to do before this meeting ever took place. So that when their father didn’t speak up to Hamor, they were ready to take over the negotiations.

By the way, according to Dr. Bruce Waltke, the Hebrew word used here for “grief” is used elsewhere only for God’s reaction to human wickedness. In other words, the brothers’ anger is righteous anger. It turns into sin, but begins righteously.

Not to defend the brothers’ over-reaction to this situation, it must be understood that every surrounding culture at that time recognized that Shechem’s actions were wrong and worthy of punishment. If appeasement of the parents couldn’t be reached, death to such a perpetrator as Shechem would have been guaranteed. As Sarna, a sociologist of these times states, “For society’s own self-protection, such atrocities can never be tolerated or left unpunished.” And as we will soon see, Dinah’s brothers planned to confront such a hostility with hostility. 

Likewise, Hamor, knowing full well that Jacob’s family should respond violently, hopes to cut off at the pass any retaliation against his family for this action which was considered evil even in his own culture. He tries to excuse his son’s actions as motivated by love. And to prove it, Hamor asks for Dinah’s hand in marriage, along with an invitation to Jacob’s family to come live peaceably among them. We read in verse 8, “But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.’ Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, ‘If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.’”

There is no question in anyone’s mind that what has happened was a perverse act. But Hamor and Shechem want to present it as an opportunity for cooperation. They would like all to believe that they all could come out as winners, if they could settle and trade peaceably with each other. But Dinah’s brothers will have nothing to do with these men and their nonsense. They set their trap. “But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. They said to them, ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.’ Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ‘These men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.’”

To most men, Hamor’s suggestion to the rest of the males of this family clan is no slight, inconsequential request. Knowing that, Hamor shows how they will benefit from such a proposal. He says, “Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours?” In other words, he panders to their greed and potential business profitability of having these wealthy people move in with them. By the way, don’t overlook the fact that Hamor is telling them something a little different than his offer to Jacob. Hamor has no plans to live and trade amicably with Jacob’s family. His plans are to take over all of their possessions! Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us. “All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.”  The rest of the clan liked Hamor’s get-rich-quick scheme. So, every man who could have protected the city from a raid agreed to the plan, left the city to be circumcised and to recover, and thus, they left their city undefended.

That closes the book on the first atrocity...or, at least that’s what Harom’s family thinks. But in reality, it is the beginning of the second forceful takeover. “Now it came about on the third day, when they [the men of Shechem] were in pain [from their circumcision], that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, [both of them were her full brothers] each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. Jacob’s sons [meaning his other sons] came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.’ But they said, ‘Should he treat our sister as a harlot?’” 

As odious as the original taking of Dinah to both the Canaanite culture and Jacob’s family was, so was the taking of the city of Shechem to the Canaanites in such a deceptive, destructive and forceful manner. I also believe that it would have been just as reprehensible to Jacob’s forefathers. Abraham and Isaac would never have done such a thing. Abraham would have solved the problem by simply demanding the death of Shechem from the beginning. He would not have lied or made a deal with someone, only to catch them off-guard so as to slaughter his enemy. But Jacob didn’t have the backbone to do what he should have done, and that was to demand Shechem be put to death for his crime.

notice that Dinah’s brothers respond to Jacob by calling Dinah their “sister” and not Jacob’s “daughter” as in the first verse when this whole drama began. This is deliberate and closes this horrible tragedy symbolizing the vast family rift that has occurred as a result of Jacob’s failed leadership. The brother’s took responsibility for their sister’s welfare since their father had failed to do so.

What a contrast between father and sons. In a sense, both were wrong and both were right. Jacob rightly reproves his sons for their going overboard; they scold their father for his lack of moral indignation. They justify their slaughter of this family clan as just punishment in the face of their father’s lack of moral outrage.

It appears that Jacob’s rebuke of them reflects more of his concern for himself than it does for Dinah’s humiliation

Let’s stop there to consider a few implications that this study of God’s Word has for us today.

The first implication I want us to consider involves the topic of genuine worship. In this case, genuine worship or the lack of genuine worship is revealed in Jacob’s refusal to fulfill his vow as he had promised God. When we make a vow to God, we are to make our best attempt to fulfill that vow. Unless God gives us permission to cancel that rash vow or a clear biblical exception as to when it is permitted to cancel or break that vow, we are to fulfill it. When we don’t, we bring discipline, not blessing, to us and those around us. Rather than Jacob bringing a blessing to the nations, like the Hivites, he brings a sword and uncalled for hurt and destruction. 

God takes our worship of Him seriously. Worship is more than just singing songs, praying and having a correct theology. Later in Israel’s history, there is a time when the nation of Israel was going through the motion of worshiping God with their words and religious traditions, while at the same time sacrificing animals to idols. In response to their false worship, God said this to them through the prophet Isaiah. “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws learned by rote” Isaiah 29:13.

Interestingly, this is not the only time God says this to His people. About six-hundred years later, in the New Testament, Jesus is quoted twice as saying this to the Jewish religious leaders of His day. For instance: In Mark 7:6-7, the religious leaders of the day were upset that Jesus was not doing things the way they have always been done traditionally. Jesus spoke differently and did things that offended them socially as well as violated their religious traditions. When calling Jesus to account for His actions, Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’

Wow! Talk about not mincing words! I often wonder how Jesus would respond to some of our hang-ups with our traditions and politically or socially correct or acceptable expressions. While these hypocrites were worried about maintaining standards and holding up appearances, they lost sight of the fact that others around them were going to hell, and quite possibly, even themselves.

The point is simply this: True worship comes from the heart, and it manifests itself most clearly in our obedience, exact obedience to what God calls us to do and vows we have made. The prophet Samuel made this point clear to King Saul, when King Saul, for selfish reasons, offered an improper sacrifice on behalf of the nation, rather than waiting for Samuel the priest to make the proper sacrifice. When caught, Samuel said to King Saul, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams” 1 Sam. 15:22.

Hence, from these verses and from this tragedy that we have witnessed in Genesis 34, we quickly see that one cannot worship God just any ol’ way one pleases. We are to worship God in those ways He commands us to worship Him. And that begins with our obedience to Him.

The next implication we can draw from this drama comes not so much from what is said here, but from what is missing. Did you notice that not once does Moses ever use Jacob’s new name, “Israel”? Throughout this passage, Moses refers to Jacob as Jacob. Why? Because Jacob didn’t act like Israel or the patriarch who is expected to depend or wait upon God, so that God would strive for Jacob on Jacob’s behalf. You see, this use of Jacob, rather than his new name Israel foreshadows Jacob’s passivity and failure as a spiritual leader and father. 

Let’s make no mistake about this: When it comes to parenting, God holds fathers responsible for their action and inaction as it concerns their spiritual leadership of the home. Their role is absolutely necessary. As it concerns Jacob’s role as a leader and father, it will become painfully obvious in the chapters ahead that this leader failed over and over as it concerned his family, before he ever became the godly father God intended him to be. As a consequence, his children suffered greatly, and the family was torn apart by jealousy.

However, let’s not be too hard on Jacob. Yes, he failed and had to live with the consequences of his failure. But let’s also grant him the mercy that God does as well. Let’s try to understand how he could have failed so badly, and offer him a little compassion.

Okay, he was a failure as a Dad. But I don’t for one minute believe that he wanted or intended to be a failure as a Dad. Consider his upbringing, as it relates to his leadership as a father. I mean, what can we expect from him with the kind of modeling he had growing up? Yes, he is responsible for his actions, and he was held responsible for his actions. But whose spiritual leadership had Jacob copied both in the home and out in the world? Out in the world, as the family patriarch, Jacob mirrored the leadership practices of his father, Isaac. Remember that the only recorded spiritual leadership example we have of Jacob’s father, Isaac, concerned his conflict with the Philistine King, Abimelech. In his conflict with Abimelech, Isaac was passive. He did not stand up strong against Abimeleh. He rolled over.  God delivered Isaac in spite of himself. In the very same way, Jacob didn’t stand up against Laban or Hamor. 

And look at Jacob’s role models for parenting. Both Isaac and Rebecca were very unwise parents and are to blame for setting the stage for the conflict to come, not only between Jacob and Esau, but also in their own grandchildren. By their own practice of showing favoritism toward Jacob and Esau, they led Jacob to being a permissive parent who played favorites with his wives and their children.  There is no Scriptural evidence that Isaac and Rebecca ever stood up to or disciplined Jacob and Esau, even up until the boys were full-grown men in their 80's!

In addition to poor role models for leadership, Jacob didn’t have what you and I have today. He didn’t have the written Word of God that gives clear instruction and godly examples to follow.

Don’t misunderstand what I am proposing. I’m not letting Jacob off the hook. He could have broken the family pattern if he had stopped to ask God for help as to how to be a godly head over his household. But he didn’t figure that out until he was almost dead, and by then, it was almost too late. But as the saying goes, “Better late than never”! Sometimes, it takes some of us an entire lifetime to learn the basic lessons of how to depend upon God in various areas of our lives.

Dr. J. Vernon Mcgee adds this to the obvious failure in Jacob’s life. He states, “There is a lesson in this for us today. Don’t expect, as a Christian, that you are going to become full grown overnight. It is true that God takes you into His family as a full-fledged son. You are able to understand divine truth, and the Holy Spirit becomes your Teacher as soon as you are in the family of God. But growth is slow....in our lives we are stumbling here and falling down there. We go through experiences very much like Simon Peter did. But thank God, though Simon Peter would stumble and fall, he would also get up, brush himself off, and go again. Finally, there came the day when he had a very close walk with the Lord....So we need to recognize in our own lives, and in the lives of others that growth is slow.”

Recently, I have been thinking long and hard about Proverbs 24:16. I’m considering teaching on this verse in light of its context. Once I understood the context, I saw God’s grace and man’s self-righteous attitudes and quickness to condemn others all over it. Proverbs 24:15-18 reads, “Do not lay an ambush as a wicked person against the dwelling place of the righteous, do not plunder his [the righteous’] resting place; for if a righteous person falls seven times, then he rises; but the wicked stumble in calamity. When your enemy falls, do not rejoice; when he stumbles, do not let your heart shout in exultation; otherwise the Lord will see, and it [your rejoicing over the righteous person’s failure] will be evil in His eyes; and he will turn away His wrath from him [the righteous man who failed].

This inspired Word of God is talking about how I am to respond when a good-intentioned Christian fails. God says that I am not to move in quickly to condemn and rejoice or gloat over his failure and the negative consequences it has brought to that brother’s life and others. I’m not to try to take advantage of his failure to make my life look better. 

God makes it very clear here that sometimes even the righteous fail big time and suffer grievous consequences for it—like Jacob. One day they may die in their failure, but God will raise them up in the last day, because they are still righteous in His eyes. 

But characteristic of the wicked, characteristic of a false believer is one who rejoices at his brother’s failure. He makes himself look better in light of his brother’s failure. If that is how we treat a brother in his failure, God says that He looks at that condemning brother as having done a greater evil than the righteous brother who fails. And to the self-righteous who is quick to condemn and gloat over the failure of the righteous, God says, “Boy, aren’t you going to be surprised when I don’t turn my wrath toward that righteous brother who failed but, by My Grace, I resurrect him!”

I believe what Dr. Mcgee and this proverb teaches as well as the rest of Genesis as it concerns Jacob’s life is this simple encouraging admonition: Give everyone room to fail and time to grow in God’s grace. In other words, let’s allow and encourage one another to “live and learn.”

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