LastCall: (Genesis 34:1-31) Human Depravity -Bob Caldwell

Human Depravity Proven   “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.’ But they said, ‘Should he treat our sister like a harlot?’” -Genesis 34:30-31 The scriptures portray the honest facts of biblical history. However, in so doing, it does not in any way justify acts in that history that are sinful. This account of tragic sexual abuse and the corresponding revenge of Simeon and Levi paint a picture that is altogether too real. Tragically, throughout human history and around the world these events are all too common. Accounts such as this say more than a thousand sermons ever could concerning the need for what Jesus Christ came into the world to do. His coming brought God’s solution for this unending cycle of tragedy. First, He came to remove the just judgment directed against us all for our sins against each other and God. Secondly, He provided a way to break this tragic cycle through spiritual rebirth, which gives us a new life in the Spirit that can do God’s will. This rebirth is the only pathway out of our death march of destruction. A new nature, given to us in salvation, makes us children of God. We are destined to be conformed into the very image of Jesus Christ. From accounts like this in scripture to those in the daily news, we are reminded of why we must proclaim God’s solution in Christ’s salvation for a fallen humanity.
Genesis 34:1-31   The Dinah Incident 1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. 10 So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.” 11 Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”
v. 1 Dinah – She would have been 14 or 15 years old at this time. This is based on determining her birth date in relationship to the age of Joseph who would be sold by his brothers at the age of 17 (Gen. 37:2). Daughters of the Land – Dinah left home and may have placed herself in a vulnerable position whereby the following tragic events occurred. v. 2 Shechem – He was named after the city, and as a prince would have been a person of power and position in the area. Violated Her – This refers most likely to having forced her to have sex. v. 3 Strongly Attracted – This prince wanted Dinah as his wife and asked his father to assist in bringing it to pass (v. 4). v. 8 Hamor Spoke – He does not confess or seek forgiveness for the sin committed against Dinah, only that she would marry Shechem. v. 9 Make Marriage With Us – Hamor offers what he feels is a great concession. He will allow intermarriage and the free flow of trade and wealth. v. 11 Whatever You Say – Shechem must have sensed a reluctance and offers even more than his father had offered.
13 But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. 15 But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, 16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.” 18 And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: 21 “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”
v. 14 A Reproach – Circumcision was commanded by God in Genesis 17:9-11 as a sign of separation of God’s people from the rest of society. v. 15 Circumcised – Jacob’s sons sought to deceive these men (v. 7) into being circumcised. They made it appear as if this was a case of religious conviction when, in fact, it was so they could attack while Shechem and his men were suffering from the painful effects of the operation. v. 23 Their Livestock...Be Ours – The covetousness of these men seems to have been the snare Hamor used to get them to submit to the rite of circumcision. v. 25 Killed All the Males – This act of revenge carried out by Simeon and Levi (likely with the help of their servants) was unjustifiable. v. 27 Plundered – The other brothers followed behind the murder of these men by taking all of the city’s valuable property. Because Their Sister...Defiled – This is the reason they gave, but it was an insufficient one. To seek justice for their sister and punishment for Shechem through the proper channels of law would have been what should have been pursued. v. 30 Making Me Obnoxious – Jacob had lost the credibility of being a man of God and blessed by God. He knew he and his family would be perceived as a people of deception and cruelty. I Shall Be Destroyed – He adds this to drive home the point that he and the ones who committed this act against Shechem could now have the same thing happen to them: they would reap what they had sown. v. 31 But They Said – Simeon and Levi were not convinced of their error in the way they had handled the matter. Revenge often blinds a person to a just way of dealing with a wrong committed.

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