Dinah (Genesis 33:18-34:31)
The first question arising from this passage is, “Why did Jacob buy land and settle in Shechem, instead of Bethel or Beersheba?” Bethel was where he had encountered God leaving his father’s house. Beersheba was his father’s land, and God had told him to return there. Instead, Jacob settles in a place quite short of his destination; the place where God wanted him. How often do I do that? I start out in obedience and headed in the right direction, but fall short. On the other hand, he is following the pattern of Abraham’s travel when he first came to the land. He too stopped at Shechem, then carried on to Bethel. We tend to follow patterns set up by our fathers.
Dinah, presumably Jacob’s only daughter, heads out to see the other girls her age in her new hometown. Shechem, the prince of Shechem, sees her and has sex with her. Dinah is a passive character in this entire chapter, and that makes it hard for us to see exactly how things happened. He takes her by force, but the passage also shows that he wants her for a wife. We don’t know what role she played in the whole story. It is ultimately irrelevant.
In today’s perspective, what Shechem did was inexcusable and wrong. In that day, it was sadly not as frowned upon. Even centuries later, when Israel’s law is given, this sort of thing was not a capital offense. In Deuteronomy, we read that a man who violated an unengaged virgin was simply commanded to marry her, without a right to divorce. He had forced himself upon her, so he was forced to be her husband. (Raping an engaged or married woman was a capital offense.)
Regardless of the propriety or impropriety of this situation, we are astounded at Jacob’s role in it. Why was he allowing his only daughter to get into this position? Why did he do nothing about it after the fact? Why did he let his sons handle things? Why did he barely reprimand them after the slaughter of a whole town? Shechem was trying to do right by Dinah. He did not deserve to be murdered. His townsfolk certainly did not!
Even after our conversion—even after we are declared to be a new person, a new creation—we have so much growing and changing to do. After this terrible story, Jacob will purge his household of false gods and get back on track to go where God had told him to go. This is a strong reminder that we are still broken people even after we trust God. We are still prone to mistakes that deliver terrible consequences in our lives. God does not shield us from all the evil in our world, or from all our own stupid mistakes. But, He does continue to work on us and change us. He has declared us His and we are, but we still need molding.
Dinah, presumably Jacob’s only daughter, heads out to see the other girls her age in her new hometown. Shechem, the prince of Shechem, sees her and has sex with her. Dinah is a passive character in this entire chapter, and that makes it hard for us to see exactly how things happened. He takes her by force, but the passage also shows that he wants her for a wife. We don’t know what role she played in the whole story. It is ultimately irrelevant.
In today’s perspective, what Shechem did was inexcusable and wrong. In that day, it was sadly not as frowned upon. Even centuries later, when Israel’s law is given, this sort of thing was not a capital offense. In Deuteronomy, we read that a man who violated an unengaged virgin was simply commanded to marry her, without a right to divorce. He had forced himself upon her, so he was forced to be her husband. (Raping an engaged or married woman was a capital offense.)
Regardless of the propriety or impropriety of this situation, we are astounded at Jacob’s role in it. Why was he allowing his only daughter to get into this position? Why did he do nothing about it after the fact? Why did he let his sons handle things? Why did he barely reprimand them after the slaughter of a whole town? Shechem was trying to do right by Dinah. He did not deserve to be murdered. His townsfolk certainly did not!
Even after our conversion—even after we are declared to be a new person, a new creation—we have so much growing and changing to do. After this terrible story, Jacob will purge his household of false gods and get back on track to go where God had told him to go. This is a strong reminder that we are still broken people even after we trust God. We are still prone to mistakes that deliver terrible consequences in our lives. God does not shield us from all the evil in our world, or from all our own stupid mistakes. But, He does continue to work on us and change us. He has declared us His and we are, but we still need molding.
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