Crimes, Consequences, and New Beginnings

Jacob eventually settles in or outside of Shechem in the land of Canaan; here he buys a piece of land:

It turns out that one of these sons (the “most honored of all his father’s family” as he is described) is interested in more than a real estate transaction … something that isn’t honorable at all:

As if this weren’t already disturbing enough…

he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” From Genesis 34:3-4

I’m having a hard time reconciling loving and tender with the rest of this including the audacity to ask his powerful dad to go “get” her as if she’s an acquisition that can be bartered or bought.

Arranged marriages are one thing, but what kind of father would marry off his daughter to a man like that?

Dinah’s brothers had been in the fields with their father’s livestock and came home as soon as they heard what had happened:

An understatement if there ever was one!

Shechem’s father is there trying to make a deal:

Then Shechem himself weighs in, offering to pay whatever price they asked.

There’s a problem (aside from the obvious!) to this one big happy family scenario, as the brothers point out here:

I can’t imagine any man being too keen about undergoing circumcision, but it’s an otherwise attractive proposal that Hamor and Schechem present to the men of the city:

 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.”

I’m not sure what to make of the fact that they believed this, but apparently, they did. Every male in the city was circumcised and then, 3 days later, killed in a surprise attack by brothers Simeon and Levi.

Looting the city, Jacob’s sons took everything … animals, wealth, women, children. From the city to the fields to the houses, whatever had belonged to the men of Shechem was seized by the sons of Jacob.

So much for Hamor’s and Schechem’s plan.

When Jacob confronts Simeon and Levi about the dangerous repercussions their actions could bring upon the family, they responded: “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

Well, there you go!

Of course, they now must leave the area, and God tells Jacob to go and settle in Bethel. BETHEL. It’s an important place to remember. Starting with the early travels of Abram in Genesis 12 and 13, it is mentioned 69 times in the Old Testament. Jacob has a history there, too. Way back when he’d initially fled from Esau, he’d camped there en route to Uncle Laban’s.

Using the ground for a bed and a stone for a pillow, he slept and had a dream in which he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven with angels going up and down…

The next morning, Jacob turned that stone “pillow” into a monument and called the place Bethel (“House of God”).

Now he’s about to go back.

Interestingly enough, at least some of Jacob’s folks had brought along their alien gods, but those gods aren’t going to Bethel!:

Before moving on from Bethel, Jacob is again visited and blessed by God:

Eventually, Jacob makes it home to his father and was there along with Esau to bury Isaac when he died at 180 years old.

Sadly, Rachel never got to meet her father-in-law, as she died along the way while giving birth to Jacob’s 12th son, Benjamin.

Just to recap, here are the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel:

Any student of the Old Testament is familiar with the sons of Rachel, but there’s also something notable about each of Leah’s 4 older sons.

The oldest, Reuben, at some point after the death of Rachel, went in and slept with her maid, (who was also mother to two of Jacob’s sons), an action which ends up costing him his rights as firstborn. (See 1 Chronicles 5:1.)

When Israel assembled his sons to bless them before he died, he had this to say to his eldest:

As for Simeon and Levi, who’d exacted such ruthless revenge for their sister, their descendants would be scattered throughout Israel. This is what their father said about them:

There are a couple of interesting stories about Judah that will come up later; also, his is the line from which Jesus came.

Jacob settles in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac had stayed. In the years since their separation, the brothers had become too wealthy for the land to support them both, so Esau takes his people, possessions and animals and moves a distance away, settling in the “hill country of Seir.” His family line is listed in Genesis 36.

The stage is set for the fascinating story of Joseph, one of the most beloved of Bible characters. It’s where we will pick up next time.

May God bless you with all good things until then, Kim