April 29, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Genesis? Here’s today’s reading:
Genesis 34 (NIV)
Dinah and the Shechemites
1 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.……Continue Reading
Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land and she was raped. She probably grew up with people that would protect her like her brothers and didn`t think twice that someone would harm her. She was innocent. It wasn`t her fault but she was surrounded by others when she went out that didn`t have her best interests. Instead she was raped by a selfish man named Shechem. This is such a sad commentary on the society at that time and even today. But at least in the Jewish nation and in Christianity women are lifted up and not treated like second class citizens. Look at all the other religions in the world. Look how badly women are treated. This isn`t God`s plan. The husband and wife are to be partners and their children are to honor them that the children may have a long life. One of the ten commandments. This makes me so mad when women are treated so badly by spineless men. Sin leads to more sin if it isn`t brought before God and dealt with. Two of the brothers of Dinah take revenge on not only Shechem but also on the men of the city. The two brothers were Simeon, and Levi. After all the men were circumcised the two brothers took advantage of their weakness and killed them all. Then the rest of the sons plundered the city, their animals, and took the women and children. Kind of what the men of the city said about the Jewish people. That the Jewish culture would be swallowed up into this pagan nation. Jacob complains to his sons that this will make them stink to the nations around them so much so that these other nations would destroy them. Their answer was: { should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?} I am sure that any good man would defend a woman in trouble. That is just who we are. The way God made us. The sons went to far in destroying all the men. And they shouldn`t had plundered or taken the women and children. But it is also possible that if they only killed Shechem maybe there would had been attacks from both sides. One thing that I thought of was this: They brought women and children that grew up worshipping false gods into their camp. How about the influence of these foreign women into the Jewish nation? God had warned through the prophets that they were not to take foreign wives. Even Isaac and Rebekah were grieved when Esau took foreign wives and insisted that Jacob not take a foreign wife. So this has happened with the sons taking the foreign women. But God tells Jacob to go to Bethel and all that is with him to put away false gods and change their garments. This is God`s answer to the foreign women. Thank God that we who once worshipped false gods, or idols no matter what they were have been brought to Christ through His blood on the cross. We have called upon His name and are now a new creation in Christ.
Great comments, Dennis…as you said, sin begets sin. If we would only submit to Christ in all things, imagine the society we could have…and indeed, this is the society that God will bring to pass as ultimately EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. We have received the Gospel have the wonderful and merciful gift to acknowledge Him and bow before Him today…this day, and every day until glory. Thanks be to God!!
Amen, Sean!
Many questions arise for me about Jacob’s relationship with Dinah. Why was she in an unprotected place where something like this could happen and why did Jacob take it so casually? The brother’s outrage over the rape seems more in line with what you would expect in this situation but they are younger and grossly handled their reaction to it. This was a situation that needed Jacob to be more involved to protect his daughter and to teach his sons the proper way to deal with such a horrible act. Such a sad chapter for so many reasons!
Genesis 34
Shechem raped Dinah when she went out to visit other women. Hamor, Shechems father went to Jacob saying they should join together and share their women. Jacob said if all their men were circumsised he would agree to them joining together. While all of them were recovering from circumcisions the brothers Simon and Levi carried out attacked the city who was totally unsuspecting city. They rescued Dinah. They killed every male and took all women children and animals.
Jacob was not happy with what they had done and said they had brought them stench to others living In this land. He said if they all turned on him they all would be destroyed. The bothers felt justified in what they did. They should have waited to hear from God but instead took things into their own hands.
Read todays chapter 😊
If I were a counselor, and I am not:
Mom, dad, didn’t you have “that discussion” with Dinah? These people are evil? You don’t explore evil places, especially alone.
Hamor, if you loved her, why force her? Is your love for Dinah really lust? Is not love to be mutual? Does marriage right the wrong?
Shechem, why did you not ask Israel, the father? Why ask his sons? Were you trying to circumvent Israel’s authority?
Israel, what is your problem? Dinah was raped, and is held still by Hamor. You do nothing?
Eleven sons of Israel, do you dare take such matters into your own hands? Do you not tell dad? Does he know?
Hamor, Scripture said you were more honorable than all the house of Shechem, was it not in your power to confess and submit to the mercy of Israel, for good or bad? Why gave daddy bear the burden?
Simeon, Levi, where were your other siblings on your slaughter plan? Did they consent? Were you the minority decision?
Israel, yet again, do you really fear these Hivites, after all the Lord God has done for you? Is pacification the proper response? Ignore a crime?
And BTW, and dare more importantly, have I ever made the same errors, or worse? Have I ever tried to fix a problem outside of God? Just some thoughts, -reb
And good thoughts they are Gordon!
Genesis 34 and John 4. Amen Dennis and Linda. After reading I definitely think the brothers should have stayed their hands. But they were clearly outraged and emotional like any of us get in our lives.
It brings out this point here to that “justice” is not for us but rather for God in the end and his will being carried out.
Correction to my last: Shechem, son of Hamor
Genesis 34
Genesis 34
Genesis 32-34
From a worldly perspective, doesn’t this happen all the time? A young man “falls in love” with a girl and pressures her for sex? We don’t value a young woman’s virginity or body anymore….so neither does she. It says that Shechem loved Dinah and sought to marry her and even says he was more honorable than all his household. So maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy. But should Dinah have been treated as a harlot? I wonder if that was her perspective.
I think that Jacob should have handled the situation. This reminds me of King David not dealing with his son who did this very thing to his own sister. If men are to be our leaders, then they should also be our protectors and defenders. I think Jacob should have had shechem dealt with according to the law. Would that be stoning?
An application for young men. Especially Christian men, don’t pressure girls for intimacy. You may love her and have the best intentions in your mind, but it can quickly become a violation of her and Gods desire for relationships.
Genesis 35
Genesis 34
What a very sad chapter. Shechem had lust for Dinah, but not love, for no man that loves a woman would force himself on her. And whenever I see this family operate in deception and cunning, I can’t help to think the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We can certainly understand the desire of her brothers to defend their sister’s honor, but they go way overboard and don’t ever consult God in the process. And as other’s have pointed out, Jacob is way too passive in the situation and only addresses his sons after they execute their justice. You could almost pattern your life and your family just by doing the opposite of how this chosen family operates.
But in all, I feel bad for Dinah both for what she went through as well as the burden she bore from what her brothers did to that city. We really haven’t gone too much further in men learning to honor a woman for what God has made them to be.