Abiding in God’s Kingdom of Love – Genesis 33-34

“Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were 400 men. So, he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah, and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.” Genesis 33:1-3

Proverbs 6:31 speaks of restoring sevenfold that which you have taken from someone. Jacob had taken respect from his brother. He had taken from his brother his birthright and his blessing. When Jacob met Esau, he bowed to him seven times, not as worship but as respect.

“But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, ‘Who are these with you? So, he said, ‘The children whom God has graciously given your servant.’ Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down. Then Esau said, ‘What do you mean by all this company which I met?’ And he said, ‘These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.’ But Esau said, ‘I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.’ And Jacob said, ‘No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.’ So, he urged him, and he took it.” Genesis 33:4-11

Jacob was prepared for the worst but hoped for the best reunion with his brother. The Lord blessed them to hug, kiss and shed tears together. No mention was made of the past by Esau. He asked Jacob about all the people with him. Jacob did not speak of his hard work and achievements, he glorified God, saying that his wives and children were God’s gracious gift to him. Esau questioned Jacob about the great company he had met. The company that Esau referred to was a rich assortment of 550 herd/flock animals. In Genesis 32:13-14, Jacob had sent these livestock to Esau by the hands of his servants. Esau encouraged Jacob to keep them because he already had enough livestock of his own. But Jacob insisted that Esau keep them. He compared receiving favor from Esau with receiving favor from God. Once again, Jacob testified that God had been gracious to him.

“Then Esau said, ‘Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.’ But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir. And Esau said, ‘Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.’ But he said, ‘What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.’ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore, the name of the place is called Succoth.” Genesis 33:12-17

So far, so good, but Jacob did not want to take any risks with his brother. There was always the possibility that after the initial joy of seeing each other had passed, bad memories would resurface. Esau wanted to escort Jacob to Seir, but Jacob declined his help. He did not speak of his distrust to Esau. He told Esau that his wives, children and herds needed to move at a slow pace. They were to meet up again in Seir, but Jacob stopped at Succoth and built a house and stalls for his remaining animals there.

“Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.” Genesis 33:18-20

Jacob moved from Succoth to Shechem. He pitched his tent outside the city on land that he purchased from the descendants of Hamor. This time, he built an altar to God, the God of Israel. Jacob set a good example for us. Wherever we pitch our tent, let it be a place of prayer.

“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this young woman as a wife.’ And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. And make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us and take our daughters to yourselves. So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.’” Genesis 34:1-10

King Hamor named his kingdom after his son Prince Shechem. Shechem enjoyed much freedom and influence among the people. Too much! He did not observe the personal boundaries of Dinah Jacob’s daughter. He raped her. Afterwards, he wanted to marry her. God’s Word says that his soul was attracted to her, he loved her and spoke kind words to her. Shechem’s father asked Jacob about a marriage arrangement between his son and Jacob’s daughter. Dinah’s brothers overheard the conversation between Hamor and Jacob and began to boil.

“Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, ‘Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.’ But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 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. But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.’” Genesis 34:11-17

The brothers of Dinah empathized with the humiliation that their sister experienced. They took over the conversation with Hamor and Shechem. They devised a scheme to make Shechem pay for his crime. They required all the males in the kingdom to be circumcised before Shechem’s and Dinah’s marriage could be approved.

“And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: ‘These men are at peace with us. Therefore, let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.’ And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.” Genesis 34:18-24

Shechem, the rapist, was more honorable than others in his father’s household. In other words, the men were not good men. Prince Shechem convinced the men in his kingdom to be circumcised. The sons of Jacob hit them were they needed discipline. But how did Shechem convince the kingdom’s men to support his plan? He said that they would get Jacob’s property and herds. That idea resonated with them!

“Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.” Genesis 34:25-29

Dinah’s brothers massacred the men, plundered their wealth and took their wives and children captive. This event prefigures what is to come later when Joshua conquers the Promised Land. And after Joshua, this event prefigures the day on which Jesus Christ destroys this current world with fire and creates a new heaven and a new earth where people only love God and one another.

“Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.’ But they said, ‘Should he treat our sister like a harlot?’” Genesis 34:30-31

Leah’s sons, Simeon and Levi, did the right thing. Jacob was concerned about the fallout from the nations around them. Yes, normally, as God’s people, we are patient and we trust God to deal with injustice, but Shechem’s intentions were abusive and exploitive. Swift and strong action needed to be taken before many people were defiled and their descendants for many generations would be negatively impacted. By God’s grace, two men defeated a city full of rapists and thieves. May God raise up more men who will defend the honor of their sisters, and fight for the future of godly communities. Amen.

The Lord graced Jacob with a wonderful reunion. His brother Esau, who 20 years earlier had planned to kill him, now, hugged, kissed and shed tears with him. The Lord graced Jacob with two valiant sons. They upheld their sister’s honor amidst a culture who did not respect a woman’s personhood.

In her book entitled, “God With Us,” Catherine Mowry LaCugna wrote, “The sin that lies at the root of all sin is whatever binds us to a pre-personal, impersonal or anti-personal existence. For, our strength is in our God and others-centeredness.”

Catherine also wrote, “Christ empowers us to live balanced between self and others. Free from fear, compulsions and obsessions, free from domineering or being domineered. He helps us overcome the extremes of self-possession and being possessed. Jesus is the perfect communion of divine and human. He shows us how to live in God and in humanity. The Holy Spirit is our transformer. He fills us and empowers us.”

The closer our communities come to Christ, the closer we come together. Perfect communion stems from every member abiding in Christ. Aligned with His Word! Filled with His grace! Focused on honoring Christ and not on indulging the sinful nature.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.” As God’s Spirit moves among us, we see reflections of God’s love, but in His Kingdom, His love is known and expressed in everything that is said and done.