In Genesis 34, the Bible records one of the stories that is not neat and tidy, so it is often overlooked in Sunday School and ignored from the pulpit. How do you explain rape of a young girl and the slaughter of the entire village of the offender at the hands of those that are supposed to be righteous? I hope you see my point. Unfortunately, by avoiding this story, we also miss out on the opportunity to learn the many lessons from the story. One such lesson is important in our day.
According to the account, Jacob and his sons lived near Shechem and the prince of the land became infatuated with Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. Over the course of time, the prince decided that he would not be able to court the young lady, so he decided to rape her instead. Afterward, he decided he wanted to marry her and went to his father to go and make the arrangements with Jacob. Jacob’s sons came in from the field to find out what had happened and were wroth (King James for very angry).
When Jacob’s sons were confronted with the offer of marriage, they came up with a way to get revenge. They told the prince he would have to be circumcised to be acceptable to them for marriage. Furthermore, the rest of the men of the town would also have to do likewise. The prince went and convinced them to do so. After they had complied and were too sore to defend themselves, the sons of Jacob slaughtered and plundered the whole town and took their sister back home. This caused Jacob to make them leave the region because of fear of revenge.
In the middle of this account, we find a very peculiar verse. Verse 19 tells us that Shechem (the prince) did not hesitate to do what they had asked (be circumcised), because he was delighted with Dinah. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.
Imagine this! The most respected and honorable man in the household was guilty as a rapist! Does that mean that the people of Shechem were all even more evil than that? I hardly think this is the point. The point is that the most honorable among them fell into sin. This challenges us to think, like Paul instructed, that we should all take heed lest we fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12) Shechem allowed his lust for Dinah to lead him into a sin that was heinous by any society’s standards. He saw it coming and did not resist. He allowed himself to be in that situation over and over until his resistance was worn down to nothing and then he committed the sin.
Perhaps we can learn from this as well. Instead of standing before a disappointed spouse, boss or even nation and having to confess to wrongdoings, should we not be more like Joseph and realize what is going on and what the sin will cost and then run away? (Genesis 39:8-9) Shouldn’t we follow Paul’s instructions to Timothy and flee from temptation? (2 Timothy 2:22)
What temptation are you struggling with today? Cheating on your spouse? Stealing from your employer? Falling back into alcohol or drugs? RUN AWAY!
Or maybe you think you are too strong for anything to overtake you. I imagine the prince thought so, too!