Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION
From last week’s study we learnt the power of forgiveness from the most unlikely person, Esau. It was rather a good note for someone that even up to quite recently, most people write off as godless. From the study of today, split into two parts, we see the story shift to Jacob’s family and from it we learn that God’s people often face moral chaos and deep pain, yet He calls them back to purity, worship, and renewal.

PART 1: DINAH’S STORY - TRAGEDY AND JUSTICE (GENESIS 34)
• The Rape of Dinah. (Verses 1-4)
A terrible crime was committed against Dinah the daughter of Leah, but she was exposed to this when she went out to see the daughters of the land.
From last week study, Jacob brought his family to a region in the Promised Land that can be implied that God didn’t really want them to be in. From Genesis 31:13, it seems God directed him to return to Bethel not the city of Shechem. Jacob chose a place to live for all the wrong reasons. He wanted to be close to the city (Genesis 33:18), though the city had a strong and ungodly influence. God called him to Bethel, and Jacob’s poor choice of a place to live left his family open to ungodly influence.
So when Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land unsupervised and protected, such socialization in an immoral community, was not only a poor decision on her part, but also a failure of responsibility on the part of Jacob and Leah. Especially in a corrupted city in which promiscuity was not only common but, in fact, a part of the very religious system itself. “Unattached” young women were considered fair game.

• Jacob’s lack of outrage; the anger of Simeon and Levi. (Verses 5-7)
Jacob’s refusal to do what is right regarding his family encouraged two of his sons to do something, something terrible in response. When God-appointed heads do not take appropriate leadership, it creates a void, which is often filled in a sinful way.

• Hamor and Shechem seek to arrange the marriage of Dinah. (Verses 8-12)
The Canaanite’s proposal to marry the daughter of Jacob was a dangerous challenge to the covenant family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family that held such an important destiny in God’s redemptive plan.

• The counteroffer of Simeon and Levi (Verses 13-17)
The sons of Jacob answered…and spoke deceitfully: Their response to Shechem and Hamor was a planned, calculated deception. From the beginning, Simeon and Levi planned evil against Shechem and Hamor and their people. Yet they covered their evil plan with spiritual words, and they used Dinah as an excuse for their intended evil.

• Hamor and Shechem convince the men of the city. (Verses 18-24)
The father and son (Hamor and Shechem) had to convince the men of their community to receive the painful and possibly dangerous procedure of circumcision. They convinced them
it was worth it because they could then take their daughters to us as wives and take their livestock, property, and every animal of theirs. The potential gain of wealth made it worth it.

• The murder of the men of the city of Shechem. (Verses 25-29)
This was not only a brutal, deceptive act, but it also disgraced God’s covenant of circumcision. Surely, with this clever act of violent deception, Simeon and Levi showed themselves to be the children of Jacob, and raised in a bitter, competitive home environment.

• Jacob’s weak response (Verses 30-31)
In response to the terrible massacre and plundering of Shechem, Jacob seemed to only be concerned with himself and the danger of retribution against his small family (I am few in number). There was no concern for right and wrong, for God’s righteousness, or for the death and plunder of innocents. This was Jacob, not Israel in action.
Jacob brought that trouble on himself. He passed his own deceitful nature into his children. They heard him lie to Esau at Peniel and start northwest after he went southeast. They saw his interest in the fat pastures when he pitched his tent in Shechem. And then, said nothing when Dinah was violated.

PART 2: THE RETURN TO BETHEL - RENEWAL AND DEATH (GENESIS 35)
After the moral chaos of Shechem, God calls Jacob to return to Bethel, where he first encountered the Lord. There, God renews His covenant, Jacob renews his devotion, and the family faces both new beginnings and deep losses.

• God speaks to Jacob, calling him back to Bethel. (Verse 1)
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
Genesis 34 does not mention God once and is one of the most shameful chapters in the history of Israel’s patriarchs. Genesis 35 mentions God more than 10 times, plus 11 more times in names such as Bethel and Israel. This reflects a renewed focus on God.

• The cleansing of Jacob’s family. (Verses 2-4)
Jacob’s family only got right with God after Jacob himself did. This again shows us the tremendous leadership role men have within the family. A man resisting God will see the same effect in his children. A man who gets right with God will see the positive effect in his family. Jacob’s children kept foreign gods because their mother did. Rachel kept the household idols of her father (Genesis 31:19). No matter how hard we try to teach our children godly conduct, they will continue to do what we do, following the life example of the parents.

• With God’s protection, Jacob comes to Bethel. (Verses 5-7)
The terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob: This was God’s protection on Jacob and his family. It would have been fair of God to leave Jacob to the consequences of his sinful lack of leadership in the family at Shechem (Genesis 34). Yet God’s grace covered Jacob even when his sin had made them vulnerable.

• God again speaks to Jacob at Bethel. (Verses 8-15)
When Jacob finally arrived at the place God told him to go, he immediately found great blessing. God appeared to him, God blessed him, and God called him by his new name (Israel). The reminder of the new name (first given in Genesis 32:28) was important, because Jacob had acted like the old Jacob instead of Israel. Yet God wanted to set his mind on the new man God made him to be. God does the same with the believer, reminding them of who they are in Him. God wants His people to remember and live in the great names He gives to them.

• The birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel. (Verses 16-20)
Rachel named him Ben-Oni, meaning “son of my sorrow.” But his father called him Benjamin: Jacob wisely changed the name of the child to Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” It is important that we do not give room for negativity. Rachel’s death was a tragic fulfillment of the curse Jacob himself pronounced on the one who stole the idols of Laban (Genesis 31:32).

• Jacobs’ 12 Sons (Verses 21-26)
Reuben’s sin with his father’s concubine. Reuben was the firstborn. We might expect better conduct from him and might expect him to receive the covenant of his fathers most seriously. This was a severely dysfunctional family. God would use this family, but not because they were such great or spiritual men. He chose them and used them by His grace alone.

• The death and Burial of Isaac (Verses 27-29)
There seemed to be nothing dramatic between Isaac and Jacob at this meeting. There are recorded no further words or blessings. It was possible Isaac was hindered by his old age. It was during this visit that Isaac died and the formerly estranged brothers had already been brought together by God’s hand. Now they worked together again, united by the death of their father.

CONCLUSION
Today’s study reveals the human condition how sin, pain, and misplaced justice can collide with God’s unwavering purpose. Dinah’s tragedy exposes the darkness that unfolds when human passion and pride rule without God’s guidance. Simeon and Levi’s violent retribution, though born of righteous anger, reveals how easily zeal can become destruction when not anchored in divine wisdom. Jacob’s silence, fear, and eventual obedience trace the journey of a man learning once again to trust the God who called him. But in all of these we learn a very important truth - God does not abandon His people, even in their moral failures or family chaos. But we must confront sin, not cover or avenge it.
Finally, there are consequences to every of our actions. But our story does not end in disgrace or grief if we will rise and return to Bethel. The God who met Jacob there still calls us today — to leave behind compromise, to cleanse our hearts, and to walk once more in covenant fellowship with Him.