Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying “Get me this girl for my wife.” (34:1–4)
This was a horrible situation, and it was mishandled. When Jacob hears of it, “his sons were with the livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came” (Genesis 34:5). His sons heard of it and came in from the field, outraged. Shechem offers them any bride price that they name, and Hamor, his father, proposes that they freely intermarry as it will benefit both people groups.
Note that it is not Jacob who answers Shechem and Hamor, but his sons. They say that they will only intermarry with them if all their males are circumcised. So, Shechem and Hamor convince their people that it would be a good thing for them all to be circumcised, and they do so. When they are still sore from the procedure, Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s full brothers (all from Leah) kill every single male, take their sister Dinah out of Shechem’s house and plunder the city, taking their animals, their wealth, and their wives and children. Jacob rebukes them, because he is afraid that the inhabitants of the lands around will attack him and destroy them all. Their response is: “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” (Genesis. 34:31).
I don’t have an answer to what the best solution to this situation should have been given the culture of the time. But at the very least, there should have been some communication between Jacob and his sons on the best way to handle this situation. And above all, God should have been consulted. The outrage of the sons was understandable, even appropriate, but acting on our outraged feelings is never wise.
When we hear or see something upsetting and are tempted in our anger to act immediately, to make a phone call, or to fire off an email, we would do well to calm down and pray about the matter. That includes disciplining our children or speaking to an employee. We would do well to cool down and seek God first before addressing something, or we will likely cause more damage than good.
Prayer: Lord, help me to consult you in difficult situations, seek wise, godly counsel, and not immediately act on my strong feelings. Amen.
