Central Truth

Passions are powerful. When they are misunderstood or unrestrained, sin explodes and the consequences are often catastrophic.

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Reflections

Passion itself isn't a bad thing, but when we let our emotions drive our behavior, we can end up with a mess. Each of the characters in this story experienced passions that they allowed to get out of control:

1. Shechem was consumed with lust, possessiveness, or covetousness - perhaps all three - and he acted on those emotions. Various accounts imply that he had seen Dinah at a number of public festivals. Maybe he was stalking her. The attack was likely pre-meditated. Perhaps as the King's son, he figured he had a "get out of jail free" card.

2. Dinah's father, the bigamous Jacob ("Supplanter – Deceiver") appeared passive, waiting until Dinah's brothers returned from the fields. But Dinah's brothers by the same mother were consumed with grief and fury. It's easy to understand that reaction. Brothers are generally fiercely protective of the women in their families. When our son was in his first year of public high school, one of his male friends saw him with one of his very attractive female friends and asked, "Wow, who's that?" My son responded, "She's my sister." The other boy replied, "Oh, come on, she's not really your sister, is she?" "No, she's not," Josh answered, "But know this: I am watching you." While the brothers' emotions in this passage are valid, their subsequent actions created a disaster.

3. While Jacob's sons accepted the proposal to intermingle, they insisted on the outward sign (circumcision) and not on true worship of God. They misused this in order to incapacitate the native Canaanites so they could slaughter them. They used religiosity as a cover for heinous deception. Maybe the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree after all.

4. Hamor, Shechem's father, appeared motivated as a peace-keeper, but may also have desired to dilute the strength of the Hebrews. He certainly had an eye on the benefits that would accrue to them if they intermingled through marriage. Greed? It is easy to see Hamor as a reasonable peacemaker strictly from the text, since we are not privileged to have observed his body language while tendering his proposal. Yet, how did they react to his offer to pay any price? Was this a culturally acceptable bribe to get his son off the hook?

5. Nowhere in this account is there even a suggestion that Jacob, Simeon and Levi sought the counsel of the Lord or that they cared even a mite for the spiritual condition of the Canaanites. They let their emotions lead them into disaster.

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Discussion Questions

1. If you were Dinah's brother, what do you think God would have you do, and why?

2. What are some actions you have taken to successfully deal with intense emotions? Would you recommend these to others?

3. If your pattern is to react like Simeon and Levi, how is that working for you?

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