In yesterday's passage we read the sad story of the sexual assault that a young man perpetrated upon Jacob's daughter Dinah. When word comes to Jacob that she has been so horribly violated, he doesn't take immediate action but waits for his sons to come in from their work in the fields. While he awaits their return, the father of the young man is on his way to see Jacob.
"Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 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." (Genesis 34:6-7) A more accurate way to translate verse 7 is that "Shechem had done an outrageous thing against Israel"---Israel meaning the new name of Jacob, not the nation of Israel. Jacob (Israel) and his family have been living and working among the people of the city peacefully. They've done no harm to anyone and expected no harm to be done to any of them. Jacob believed his daughter was safe when she went out to visit her female friends. Should he have made certain she was always provided with an escort? Maybe, but I think the hospitality the people had shown him had lulled him into a sense of complacency. He is a wealthy and well-known man in the area and owns property there. I think he expected the people of the city to treat him as one of their own. I think he thought they would consider him and his family untouchable. Most of the people probably did respect him too much to do him any harm, but an impetuous and spoiled young man was the bad apple in the barrel.
Hamor, the father of this young man, is a prominent person himself. The Bible told us in our passage yesterday that he is a ruler in the region. He comes out to Jacob's house to try to smooth things over by sharing what he thinks is welcome news. His son wants to marry Dinah. His son hasn't used Dinah and then cast her aside. He wants her for his wife and Hamor is here to help his son's wishes come true. He presents his case in a way that he thinks will seem advantageous to Jacob. "But Hamor said to them, 'My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it." (Genesis 34:8-10) Have you ever heard someone speak words that sound like the smooth words of the devil himself? Right now I think Hamor is being a spokesperson for the devil, though he doesn't realize it. There's nothing Satan would love more than to entice Jacob to allow his family to intermarry with idolaters. He'd love to turn Jacob's family toward idols and away from the one and only living God.
As always, the devil disguises his true intentions. He presents this plan of Hamor's to Jacob in a very attractive light, trying to tempt him into thinking, "My daughter's honor has already been violated. She probably won't be able to make a good match now and she might even be expecting a child. The best thing to do is allow her to marry this young man who is a reckless heathen but who is also the son of a wealthy and influential man. Then she will be well-provided for at least. If we make this match we can always live at peace among these people. We will be joining our growing, wealthy family with another growing, wealthy family. We can keep adding to our flocks and herds and our land holdings. We can travel anywhere we please in this territory without fear because no one would dare lay a finger on anyone connected with me or with Hamor. Our family will be too powerful for anyone to even think of doing us wrong."
If Jacob had agreed to this request, it would have been his downfall and the downfall of his entire family. It would have changed the course of history. There would be no nation of Israel because Jacob's descendants would have blended with the heathen peoples around them and would have become just like them. They would have stopped believing in and following the one true God and would have been bowing their knees to gods who don't exist. In time, judgment would have fallen upon them for wickedness and idolatry just as it fell on the tribes of Canaan.
I believe this is one more Satanic plot to try to prevent the Messiah from coming. The Lord has said that the Messiah will come from the descendants of Abraham, through Abraham's son Isaac's family line. It has become evident that of the two sons of Isaac, Jacob is the one who has the blessing of God and from whose descendants the Redeemer will be born. There's nothing in heaven or on earth or in hell that could prevent the Lord from carrying out His plan to offer redemption to mankind, but Satan thought he might be able to lure Jacob and his family into so much sin that the Lord would abandon His intention to offer salvation to the human race through a descendant of this family.
Jacob and his family are not going to join themselves with the wicked people of Canaan, but Jacob's sons are not going to turn down Hamor's offer in a godly way. In their outrage and anger, they are going to resort to vigilante justice. Oh, if only Jacob had gone home to his family as the Lord instructed! His daughter wouldn't have been sexually assaulted in Isaac's hometown. But even after making the mistake of settling in a godless city, and even after having his daughter attacked, Jacob could have done more to prevent this situation from exploding like a powder keg. As the father and as the head of the family, it was his place to settle matters with Hamor. Jacob is not infirm in body or in mind and is perfectly capable of taking charge, but instead he lets his sons have the power that only he should wield. They may be grown men, but he is still their father and he is the father of the young woman who was violated. It's his place to make demands and it's his place to set terms that will restore honor and dignity to his family.
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