...there but for the grace of God...

Genesis 34

The Rape of Dinah

“1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the region. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the girl, and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this girl to be my wife.’

5 Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him, 7 just as the sons of Jacob came in from the field. When they heard of it, the men were indignant and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.

8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The heart of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. 9 Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall live with us; and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it, and get property in it.’ 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, ‘Let me find favor with you, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Put the marriage present and gift as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me; only give me the girl to be my wife.’

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised.

16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.’

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his family. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 ‘These people are friendly with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will they agree to live among us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live among us.’ 24 And all who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Dinah’s Brothers Avenge Their Sister

25 On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city unawares, and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. 27 And the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.’ 31 But they said, ‘Should our sister be treated like a whore?’

Genesis 35

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’ 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; 3 then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.’ 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.

5 As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.

9 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 10 God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ So he was called Israel. 11 God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.’ 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink-offering on it, and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had a difficult labor. 17 When she was in her difficult labour, the midwife said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; for now you will have another son.’ 18 As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

The Death of Isaac

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” Genesis 34 & 35.

Dear friends, one of the major lessons of these chapters concerns how God is able to use the evil that people do to bring about positive results, even though there are some negative results. This idea continues as a major theme throughout the remainder of the book of Genesis. 

Another major lesson concerns God’s ability to overcome obstacles, a recurring theme throughout all the chapters of the bible. Our evil sins God overcame on the Cross. 

There is also another major lesson that concerns the issue of buying God’s favors. Are God’s favors for sale? When the rich young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life, he was ultimately told to sell all that he had and give it to the poor (Luke 18:18–30). This doesn’t mean that the kingdom of God can be bought. Rather, it indicates that the man’s wealth posed an obstacle to his entry into the kingdom. In fact, when Simon (not Simon Peter) (Acts 8:18–24) became so impressed with the apostles that he tried to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit as a “commodity, he was soundly rebuked. God cannot be bought!

This is the same lesson that the Israelites must learn when they are inclined to adopt the typical thinking of the ancient world that God has needs and that his worshipers can often fill those needs. God reminds us that our sacrificial gifts do not buy His favor (Psalm 50:9–15). Yet God rebukes us for not bringing our tithes, for in our neglect we are robbing God of what rightfully belongs to Him (Malachi 3:8–12).

There is a fine line between enjoying God’s favor when we give him his due and seeking to procure his favor as if we are purchasing goods. When we make a contribution to a community event, we are subsidizing the event and helping to provide for our community. We are contributing to something that we consider worthwhile. When we pay our taxes, by contrast, we have every right to expect community services in return.

God owes us nothing, and nothing He has to give can be bought from Him. That is one of the issues that provoked the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses targeted the sale of indulgences. The indulgence system that operated in the Roman Catholic Church endorsed the idea that forgiveness could be bought. The system was entirely corrupt and preyed on the people’s fear of eternal damnation. The most crippling aspect is not to be found in the fact that attempts to buy God’s favors do not work; it is rather found in the decrepit view of God that such attempts expose. God is not offended by our money (or whatever else we try to use to buy His favor); He is offended by our supposition that He can be bought. The Beatles had a hit song in the 1960s called “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and we continue to prove that true.

There are many lessons to be learned in the stories of Genesis. But always remember this: Any time we do something good in life, any time we give our tithes to help our church or someone in need, any time we support an event in our community, we do so because God has graced us to do so. We thank God for the ability and means to do so. Such personal generosity are acts of grace from God. We do them out of humble gratitude to God. And yet, any time we sin, just a little or in huge ways, we have no one to blame but ourselves. God forgives us and rewards us only out of love and grace.

Take time today to thank God for all he has done in your life — out of love for you. And ask God for His merciful love and forgiveness.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.