LIFE SCRIPTS

1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” 5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home. 6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. 8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.” 11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.” 13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.” 18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.” 24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised. 25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” 31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
Genesis 34:1‭-‬31 NIVhttps://bible.com/bible/111/gen.34.1-31.NIV.

The story sort of detours to a unique scenario. We’re told of Jacob’s daughter, Dinah who Leah bore to him. Dinah seemed like a gregarious young Lady. She ventured into the neighborhood to socialize with other young women. However she was being watched carefully by a secret admirer by the name of Shechem. Shechem was the local prince, the son of the local ruler. He came from a privileged background and seemed to get whatever he wants. In this case, he lusted for Dinah so much that he grabbed hold of her and raped her. He then boldly proceeded to her family together with his father to ask for her hand in marriage! Privileged backgrounds carry with them entitlement. It takes a deliberate effort for one who’s privileged to refuse to be obsessed with a spirit of entitlement. A spirit of always wanting what we desire and getting it at whatever cost even if it means trampling on others. This was the space Shechem was in. But it’s also a space we venture into when we mistreat women and treat them as sexual toys. Numerous women recount stories of how their bosses withhold privileges and even opportunities to them in exchange for sexual favors. This is displeasing to God. But as the story carried on, we see Jacob getting the news of the raping of his daughter and being silent about it. Scripture does not tell us why. However his silence led to a chain of events beyond his control. We can choose our actions and inactions but not the consequences they produce. Jacob was Dinah’s father. He was her protector. At this time even though he must have been ageing he was in a position to reign down on things before the sons got involved. Passivity especially for a man can ultimately cause tremendous damage. As men, we are not called to be passive but assertive. We are not called to be agreeable but responsible. We’re not called to be apologetic but to please God. But the last scene in this chapter is about Shechem and his father coming to ask for Dinah’s hand in marriage. As if the raping incident wasn’t scornful enough, they chose to pour salt to the wound. Understandably Dinah’s brothers were angered by the whole situation but chose to play cool and dictate some terms. In this case, their terms were that all the men of Shechem were to be circumcised. As odd as it looked the men agreed to the request. Whereas circumcision was to be a covenant between Yahweh and His people Israel, Simeon and Levi used it as a means to confine the men of Shechem in bed so as to reign terror against them as vengeance for their sister. They used it as a deception to trick the men of Shechem in order to slaughter them. But the bitterness that grew in their hearts was compounded more by their father’s inaction and Shechem’s provocative visit with his father. Had Jacob stepped in and took charge, probably the situation would have been different. But this entire episode put Jacob on the wrong footing in the community as stated in verse 30. A cycle of violence and revenge always sows more seeds of violence. But it pays to step between the belligerents, call a truce and initiate a path towards reconciliation and forgiveness. Peacemakers always win.