Genesis 34:1-7 – Living in the centre of God’s plan

Jacob had chosen to settle for Shechem instead of Bethel, some 20 miles or so from Bethel. It was an indication of incomplete or partial obedience. And partial obedience is a euphemism for disobedience. Jacob even built an altar calling it El-Elohe-Israel, meaning the mighty God of the God of Israel. The building of the altar was of course a pious thing to do. But it became a blind spot that had masked him to being disobedient. His old nature was in full force and he had to pay dearly for his action. Choosing Shechem shows us that he was not trusting God fully. And that he was not attentive to the welfare of his family and their future. The decision he made was costly even as we read Genesis 34 of much depravity. His daughter, Dinah was raped by Schechem. His sons took to themselves and acted treacherously. They came up with a deceitful scheme to have the people of Shechem weakened and they committed mass murder. In all these, the grace of God would not let Jacob go. He pursued him relentlessly. Through his awful experience of the effect of the appalling sin, God awoke Jacob to his calling and helped him back to the path designed for him. God’s grace always triumph despite our sin and human weakness.  

Dinah was Jacob’s daughter born to him by Leah. Ordinarily, being the only girl, she should have had lots of attention from her father. But apparently Jacob had not shown much interest in her. This, together with the fact that Jacob and his family were not where God wanted them to be, left her vulnerable. So Dinah, without due consideration for her own safety, “went out to see the women of the land.”  She should never have left her tent without a proper chaperone. By going alone she had shown impropriety and the worst happened. She was raped. Verse 2 tells us that “Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.” She was violated against her will. But we are told that Shechem was totally besotted by Dinah and was consumed by her. Here we are told that he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her after the rape. He wanted her to be his wife, so Shechem spoke to his father Hamor about arranging a proper marriage to Dinah.

Meanwhile Jacob’s sons were in the field attending to his livestock. While the news grieved him, he did not do a thing till his sons returned from the field. In verse 6 we see that Hamor came to Jacob to propose marriage. The fact that he did not react in anyway reveals how little he cared about Dinah. That must have infuriated her brothers who felt that something had to be done to exact vengeance. To them the violation was a demeaning act not just to Dinah but also to Israel, as a people. Remember Jacob had become Israel in Peniel. The violation of Dinah was a violation against the people of Israel and their God. Unfortunately, Jacob at his low point here did not see it this way. He did not stand up for his daughter nor for his God. These verses remind us that we need to be where God wants us to be. Deviating from his plan and be in a place away from where he want us to be, can put us and the people we cared about in undue hazard. It is important that we stay tuned to God and be where He wants us to be.