Bible Study Online Article

In the last article we learned that after Jacob had settled in the city of Shalem (which was a city of Shechem), Dinah his daughter becomes curious and ventures out to explore their new area in which they now lived.

Dinah decides to attend a festival that was taking place that night and while she was there, she runs into the "prince of the land" who went by the name Shechem.

It would be during that same night that Shechem and Dinah would end up laying with each other: "And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and defiled her." -- (Genesis 34:2)

Now in the previous article I stated that I believed that Shechem didn't force himself on Dinah, for I'd pointed out that with Dinah being between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, that she could have easily fallen for Shechem's sweet-talking advances.

Now understand that I'm not suggesting that Shechem actions are justified for what happen that night, I'm just simply pointing out, that he wasn't the only one who was at fault during this whole ordeal. Be that as it may, Dinah would lose her innocence that night and Shechem would be charged with defiling her, by the Holy Scriptures. However, I truly believe that the prince was in love with Dinah. And because of this "love" that Shechem had for her, he convinces his father to go before her father Jacob and make a proposal for Dinah's hand in marriage.

Needless to say, Hamor would agree to help his son - so they both went to Jacob and made a proposal for his daughter Dinah: "Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife." Shechem asked of Jacob. But keep in mind that Dinah's brothers, especially Simeon and Levi had became enraged after hearing what Shechem had done to their sister that night.

So after they had heard the proposals that had went forth by Shechem and his father, they responded by saying: "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister a man who is not circumcised. This would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you are daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."

The proposal that Simeon and Levi gave to Shechem and his father seemed good. So the prince wasted no time, for he was delighted and in love with Dinah. Soon after, Shechem and his father went to the gate of their city and spoke with their fellow townsmen:

"These men are friendly towards us. Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their property and all their animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." Shechem and his father told them.

After hearing this, the townsmen would eventually agree and every male would be immediately circumcised. Two days would pass and on the third day, while the Shechemites were still in pain from being circumcised, the Holy Scriptures reveals to us that Jacob's sons, which were lead by Simeon and Levi - would enter the city and they came against the ailing Shechemites.

Simeon and Levi would be successful when it came to putting all the men to the sword. And because of this, every male Shechemite would fall, including Shechem the prince and his father Hamor. Afterwards Simeon and Levi would look for their sister Dinah and when they found her, they took Dinah from Shechem's house and they left the city.

In the meantime the rest of Jacob's sons would soon enter the city and they looted the bodies of the men that had been slain. And they plundered the city in which their sister had been defiled. They took their flocks, herds, donkeys and everything else that belonged to the Shechemites that could be found within the city and out of the fields. They also carried off all their women and children and everything in the houses.

Now when Jacob had heard about all the things that his sons had just done, he became enraged and responded by saying: "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and the Perizzites (dwellers or villagers in the fields), the people living in this land. We are few in number and if they joined forces against me and attack me, I and my household would be destroyed."

But his sons felt like their actions were justified: "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?" They shot back. Now remember back when Jacob's sons had made the counter proposal to Shechem and his father? Know that this was done under the design of trust between the two parties. But as we would soon find out, Dinah's brothers would have different plans when it came to the proposal and the Shechemites.

Now with us knowing this, one could bring forth the question: "So why did God allow for all the Shechemite townsmen to fall under the sword of Jacob's sons? And why would He allow it to happen because of the sin from one man?" And of course this is a valid question, so let's explore this tragic ordeal a little further and let's see if we can find some clues as to why it happened.

First off, we must keep in mind that Shechem's intentions were honorable and honest when it came to atoning for his actions with Dinah and asking for hand in marriage. Now remember that earlier I'd pointed out that Dinah had played a role in this whole ordeal as well, for she was young and naive and it's very possible that she fell for Shechem's sweet-talking advances, so therefore, allowing herself to be defiled. Know that I don't believe that Shechem had forced himself upon her, like some would teach and preach. And I'm not suggesting that he shouldn't be held accountable either.

But keep in mind that Shechem loved Dinah very much and was willing to do all that he could to earn her hand in marriage. But when one takes a closer look at his actions after he'd made the proposal with Jacob and his sons, one would notice that he'd made a terrible mistake when he took that "proposal" back to his townsmen. Notice the "corrupt condition" that he'd added: "Won't their property and all their animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us"

Now instead of Shechem presenting this proposal to the townsmen as a simple act of loyalty for the sake of their prince, he added another condition into the mix, that wasn't initially agreed to between the two households. Know that Shechem would offer a "corrupt condition" in order to persuade the townsmen to go along with the "circumcision condition" that was initially agreed to in the agreement between Shechem and Jacob. And by doing this, Shechem had put him and his people in a position of trying to deceitfully take something away from Jacob.

Know that this was a huge mistake on Shechem and his father's end. Also understand that God will never have allowed this to happen, being that Jacob is His servant, and so therefore under His protection - in spite of his sons sinful intentions against the Shechemites. Remember that it was Jacob's sons who'd planned and carried out the murderous plot against the Shechemites - not Jacob.

I believe that it was for this reason that God allowed the Shechemites to be destroyed under the wrath of Jacob's sons. The Shechemites would lose everything, including their lives, instead of trying to gain all that Jacob had gained under the providence of the Lord:

"In the meantime the rest of Jacob's sons would enter the city and looted the bodies of the men that had been slayed. So they plundered the city in which their sister had been defiled. They took their flocks, herds, donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out of the fields. They carried off all their women and children and everything in the houses."

Now that all of this had happened, we find that Jacob is now fearful of some type of retaliation that may come from others from within the land. So what will Jacob's next move be? Will God eventually punish him for what his sons did? Or will Jacob's sons reap what they have sown on their own?

The Introduction of Abraham

The Birth of Isaac

The Birth of Esau & Jacob

Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty

**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**

Joseph the Favorite Son

Joseph the Overseer of Egypt

The Unveiling of Joseph

54) Jacob the Prosperous

55) Jacob departs from Laban

56) Rachel the Thief

57) Jacob's Mistake

58) Laban's Pursuit

59) The Friendship Covenant

60) The Host of Angels

61) Jacob Wrestles with God

62) The Reconciliation of Jacob & Esau

63) Dinah the Daughter of Israel

64) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE->

65) The Forgotten Vow

66) The Season of Passing

67) The Descendants of Esau

68) Joseph the Favorite Son