Year 7, Day 33: Genesis 34

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Genesis 34 is yet another chapter ripe for the plundering as to what we can learn about humanity.  First of all, we have the young son of Hamor, Shechem.  He sees the daughter of Jacob, Dinah, and lusts after her.  He finds her attractive, and follows his natural impulses.  He forces her to have sex with him.  The reality is that we all have human urges –sexual and non-sexual.  The question that we must all ask and be accountable to is simple.  Do our urges control us or can we control our urges?

Next, notice that Hamor comes to Jacob to bargain for the rights to Dinah.  Whether he is trying to make right the sin of his son or not we can’t tell.  For all we know, Hamor could be trying to smooth over the tension caused by such a violation.  However, Hamor could just as easily be trying to purchase the rights to Dinah because his son finds her attractive.  We don’t really know.  In any case, what we see is Hamor trying to discover Dinah’s price.  Of course, we know that something is odd, here, because normally it is the bride’s family who pays a dowry.

Notice also that Hamor attaches good will among the native people of the land.  He wants this to be a prelude for more marriage and genetic blending between Jacob and his own people.  He is attempting to use this as an opportunity for economic development as well.  This isn’t just about the love of his son, it is in every way a business deal.  Hamor is an opportunist, seeking his own gain wherever possible.

Now, look at Jacob’s sons’ actions.  They are incredibly disingenuous with the truth.  What they say is based on truth.  They are told by God to only marry among those who are god-fearing people.  God’s followers are supposed to be circumcised.  From this perspective, Jacob’s sons are speaking the truth.  If Shechem does want to marry Dinah, He does need to be circumcised.

The problem is that is no place do we hear about what the circumcision means.  Jacob’s sons are not concerned with Shechem and his obedience to God.  They are using this ritual as a means to weaken their enemy.  They know that when Shechem and those near him are circumcised, they will be unable to fight for a few days while they heal.  It is during this time that the sons of Jacob go among them and kill them, plundering their goods.  Jacob’s sons use a legitimate regulation of faith as a means to their own end.  They use the things of God in a manner that has nothing to do with God and faith. 

They are corrupting the ways of God.  After all, think of what will happen when this message gets around to the rest of the native people.  How many of them are going to be willing to be circumcised after they hear what Jacob’s sons did to Shechem?  How many of them are going to want to submit to God in obedience?

For me, this is the greatest sin in the chapter.  Jacob’s sons leave a horrible witness against God’s ways.  They taint what should be a tremendous display of faithfulness.  They do it for their own gain.  They do it for their own sense of revenge.  They don’t care about God; they are seeking the will of their own heart.

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