34.1-31

Genesis

There are betrayals of every manner in this chapter. It begins with a betrayal of virtue (v2). Jacob's daughter Dinah is violated by the prince of the land, Shechem. This is followed by a betrayal of reason (v12) as Shechem is willing to give anything as a bride price for the woman he cannot resist. The sons of Jacob next betray honesty (v13) as they act deceitfully when speaking with Shechem's father. They then commit their father, Jacob, to a betrayal of the covenant with God (v14) by agreeing to give his daughter to a people other than their own. Hamor then betrays the spirit of the agreement and the physical constitution of his men (vv20-21), when he convinces them to be circumcised for future material gain. Then Simeon and Levi (vv25-26) betray this agreement and slaughter every male in the city, with Hamor and his son Shechem, taking Dinah back from the people with whom they had just made a covenant. Surely, no one is without guilt here. But if, as the previous chapters have illustrated, we are to see Jacob as a type for Christ, then what does this betrayal portend for the people of God toward those who are not of His house? These actions had immediate consequences. Simeon and Levi lost their right to lead in succession after Reuben [1 Chr 5:1] later lost his (leaving Judah as the son of the birthright). And they brought disrepute to the House of Jacob in the region (v30). But they also reflect the legacy of betrayal committed through time by people who know God toward those to whom they are bound to share the blessings of the rewards from God - the Gospel. This was far from the last atrocity committed by God's people against those to whom they might have served. This is a warning today for we who love God and might yet fail to honor Him, failing also to love "all" those He died to save.

CHAPTER 34

Simeon and Levi Deceive Shechem

1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2 Then Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her and took her and lay with her and violated her.
3 And he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke to the heart of the young woman.
4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl as a wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.
6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
7 Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing 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 soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him as a wife.
9 “And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 “Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and take possession of property in it.”
11 And Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me.
12 “Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl as a wife.”
13 But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, and thus they spoke, 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 “Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that 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 with you and become one people.
17 “But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
18 Now their words seemed good in the sight of Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more honored than all the household of his father.
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 men are peaceful with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us as wives and give our daughters to them.
22 “Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.
23 “Will not their livestock and what they acquire and all their cattle be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.”
24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 Now it happened on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the unsuspecting city and killed every male.
26 And they killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went away.
27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and plundered the city because they had defiled their sister.
28 They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
29 and they captured and plundered all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”
31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”