Sin's Devastating Ripple Effects
a commentary on Genesis 34
This week’s Biblit covers the sad and dark story found in Genesis 34. Just as with life, though, God can bring light into any darkness! I will do my best to shine a light in this heartbreaking passage in Genesis 34. Let’s start with the context.
Context
First, let’s recap where we are. Remember Jacob had his epic wrestling match with God and survived, and then has a peaceful reunion with his brother. Jacob parts ways with Esau and heads back towards Bethel to fulfill his vow. However, Jacob first settles in a house in Succoth which is near the Jordan river for some time. It does not specify the time period, but at some point, Jacob then moves across the Jordan into the land of Canaan and settles in Shechem. This is where we leave off when we jump into Genesis 34. Now, before we move on, I want to take a second to explain why this chapter is already off to a bad start.
Jacob is breaking a vow to God. Let’s look at a map for a second:
If you recall back in Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob made this vow to God: “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Jacob vowed to God to return to Bethel. When God came to Jacob 20 years later he said: “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.”
If we look at the map, Jacob’s first stop is not even in the promised land. It is near the border, but not quite a full commitment to God yet. Why? We don’t have a full reason. One potential is that he is still driven by fear. The last time he saw his father, he swindled him. Another potential is that he loved the prosperity God gave him and didn’t want to risk it. The land nearest the Jordan is fertile and great for the livestock. The land near Bethel is mountainous. Either way, Jacob stays in Succoth and then moves to Shechem. Shechem is in Canaan, so at least Jacob is “in the promised land.” However, he is still not fulfilling his vow to God. He is not where God wants him to be.
I wanted to preface with that to show that Jacob and his family are not relying on God, not obeying God, and living in sin and corruption. Now we can jump into Genesis 34. Jacob has a daughter, Dinah, if you recall. She wants to make some new friends and goes out to the land of Shechem to meet the women of the land. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing wrong here. Dinah is then seen by Shechem the son of Hamor (the ruler of the city) and he seizes her and rapes her. Shechem then justifies this heinous act by speaking tenderly to Dinah and claiming he loves her. He asks his father to get Dinah for his wife, and Hamor jumps into action and meets with Jacob and the family.
Now when Jacob hears of this horrible thing that happened to his only daughter, he doesn’t do much. There is no recorded response, not even a recorded emotion. He is seen waiting for his sons to return from the field and then we lose track of Jacob until the end of the story. When Dinah’s brothers hear about the defilement, they are filled with righteous anger.
Hamor then comes at them with the justification and offer. He says that Shechem loves Dinah and wishes to marry her. Not that they are sorry, guilty. It is a confession of “love”, not sin. He goes a step further and offers their daughters for Jacob’s sons to marry, essentially joining communities and becoming one nation together. Shechem adds that he will pay anything to marry Dinah above the normal bride price. Deuteronomy says that the typical bride price was around 50 shekels. The price in this specific time might or might not be the same, but it was a widely accepted ideology and rarely ever changed. Here we see Shechem offer above and beyond the accepted bride price to try and cover his sin and create an economic gain for his people.
What do Dinah’s brothers do with this offer? They “agree” to it. As to not confuse us, the Bible says they “deceitfully” agree. Simeon and Levi crack a plan and tell Hamor that they cannot offer Dinah to marry Shechem unless all the men of Shechem are circumcised, as is custom.
Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants. Using that special sign in an act of deception is deplorable and an insult to God! Well, Hamor agrees (crazy). Hamor meets the men of his city at the gate of the city. The city gate is often where legal transactions took place in that area, which is more evidence that this deal was not about love at all but in fact a scheme for economic gain. All the men of the city agree and fall into Simeon and Levi’s trap. On the third day of recovery, when the pain would be at its highest, Simeon and Levi come into town, kill every single man, save Dinah, and plunder the city.
When the brothers return home we finally hear from Jacob again. He is furious with the brothers for their extreme acts of cruelty and revenge. He tells them that they are all in danger from the Canaanites and Perizzites because of their actions. The brothers blow Jacob off, feeling justified in their actions.
Wow! That’s the end of the chapter. What can we gleam from this?
Interpretation
Before we dive in, I want to note that God is not mentioned once in this passage. When God is not mentioned, bad things happen. When we leave God out of the equation of our own lives, bad things happen.
Isn’t it such a dark and sad story? The ripple effects of sin are tremendous throughout the story.
A very important note is that there is only one innocent person in this entire chapter: Dinah. She was an innocent, young woman hurt by the sins of all those around her. Let’s break down all those people’s sins:
Shechem sinned by lusting after Dinah, raping Dinah, and then trying to cover it up by disgracing the name of love.
Hamor sinned by trying to cover up his own son’s sin and then using his sin to create a legal matter that would benefit himself.
Jacob sinned in a few ways. He should have never broken his vow to God and stayed in Shechem in the first place. He is then distant and offers no aid or comfort to Dinah; a poor leader and father. He also does not lead a good example for his sons and they believe they have to take matters into their own hands!
Simeon and Levi sin as well. Is their anger sinful? Not at all! When Jesus saw that the temple of God was being used for sinful acts, he drove them out in Matthew 21:12. Jesus felt anger. How many times does God show anger throughout the Bible? Countless. Our sin angers Him! There is nothing wrong with the emotion of anger. It is the aftermath, the action we take in accordance with that emotion that creates sin. Romans 12:19-21 says this:
“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”
The scripture he is quoting is found in Deuteronomy 32:
“Vengeance and retribution belong to me. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”The sin of Simeon and Levi is not their anger, but revenge. They sought revenge on not just Shechem (who according to Mosaic law was deserving of death) but on the whole city! They also had the audacity to abuse the sacred ritual covenant of circumcision to aid in their own deception to make their retribution that much worse!
To sum up, everyone but Dinah was sinful. Everyone’s sin caused a ripple effect that shattered everyone it touched. Jacob should have moved his family back to Bethel and then to Isaac, but he stayed in Shechem. This allowed Shechem (the person) to defile his only daughter. Hamor was then given the leverage he needed to try and make a legal transaction with Jacob’s family. Jacob’s lack of leadership made way for his sons to lash out in revenge. This had a ripple effect of giving Israel a bad name and putting the family in danger. The ripple effects continue throughout the whole book of Genesis! So what can we apply to our own lives from all this sin?
Application
I’ll start with what we learn from Dinah. If you or someone you know has ever had a traumatic experience similar to Dinah, it is not your sin that caused it! It’s almost cliche to say “don’t blame the victim,” but it is so true and needs to be said in a serious manner. Yes, there can be more complicated issues out there, but the bottom line is that Dinah was innocent and suffered the sin of another person. She should not have been abused or shamed further either; she should have been comforted and shown love.
The second thing to think about we learn from Simeon and Levie’s sin. How should we respond to a tragic sin like this? Romans and Deuteronomy show us that revenge is God’s. That we should respond with good and grace instead. That’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes. It’s important to remember that any sin we commit is of the same despicable level in the eyes of the Lord.That is also a hard pill to swallow. How can I by bragging at a dinner party be just as sinful as Shechem raping Dinah? However, any action that does not bring honor to God is deplorable to God. The good news is that God forgives us our sins, and we ought to forgive others theirs. This does not come naturally. That is why Jesus sanctifies us because only through Jesus can we even have the ability to forgive and show grace!
It can still be difficult to live with grace when we’re talking about something like rape. But God said in Deuteronomy, “in time their foot will slip.” God will give his judgment in his own time!
Take a moment and ask this question of yourself: If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, aren’t you ecstatic that God did not speed up His judgment for you? In Revelation 6 we see a picture of the saints crying to God asking how long until God enacts his judgment and avenges their blood. God responds and tells them “to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete.” We do not know God’s timing, but we can rest assured He will enact his judgment and avenge the innocent.The final takeaway is that sin causes ripple effects. Sometimes when we sin, we assume it only affects us. I can’t think of a single sin where this is actually the case. Sin causes a ripple that will grow stronger and bigger the more it is not controlled. The beauty here is once again, Christ has died for our sins, and we can rely on him to sanctify us and redeem us! God has the power to vanquish sin here and now!