It was bad enough
for Shechem to violate Dinah but now to cover a wrong so casually, without even
an apology, was truly incendiary. When Hamor came to Jacob and his sons with a
proposal for Shechem to marry Dinah, they had indeed shown how lightly they
took the whole matter. While Shechem tried to make amend for his wrong, he did
not even think that what he did was wrong. Both father and son didn’t see the
rape as something offensive, and were careful not to mention what Shechem had
done. Verses 17 and 26 tell us that they had even detained Dinah in their
house. And here they had the audacity to think that they had a reasonable and
generous solution and didn’t even feel the weight of guilt for Shechem’s sin. He
was young and impetuous but what about Hamor? He was an older man and should
have known better that what his son did was down-right wrong. How unconscionable
could they be? All we can say is that sin has a way of making dull the human conscience.
Their proposal
to Jacob and his family was to let Dinah marry Shechem. They further enticed
them by offering intermarriage with their people. Here was an economic appeal
to his proposal as well. “Thus you shall live with us, and the land
shall be open before
you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” And Shechem
offered to give anything for Dinah. He said, “If I find favour in your sight,
then I will give whatever you say to me. Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give
according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.” What
an enticement! What a bait! They expected that what they proposed would be
accepted immediately.
But Jacob and
his sons had camouflaged their anger really well. We are told that in verse 13
that the sons of Jacob answered Hamor and Shechem deceitfully. They used circumcision,
instituted by God to effect a covenant, as an excuse and a ploy to exact their
revenge. They intended to abuse the act of circumcision, the cherished symbol
of faith, as a tool for their inhuman act. The brothers of Dinah were not thinking
right. Their minds were filled with the idea of revenge. Their goal was to
commit mass murder and not to evangelise for God. For Hamor and his son, what
they needed to do was to get the consent of the populace of Shechem. This father
and son pair was master of deceit. They covered the fact that Dinah was raped by
Shechem. They only made known to the populace of what they would gain and not
what they had promised to Jacob and his sons for the hand of Dinah. Verse 23 made
known their bottom line. For they had a hidden agenda to acquire what belonged
to Jacob and his sons. And with that everyone in Shechem was bought and every
male was circumcised.
In the first
place had Dinah been more careful in her movement and Jacob had been obedient,
what we read here would have been avoided. Now all we read are anger, deceit
and revenge. We can see that anger and seeking vengeance do have a blinding
effect. They cause one to stop at nothing till revenge is exacted. They cause
one to even use what is meant to honor a relationship with God as a tool for
violence. It is needful for us as God’s people to think soberly and reflect carefully.
In our moment of anger always remember that God has said, “Vengeance is mine
and I will repay it.”
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