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When Tragedy Intrudes

Words of Faith Final

When Tragedy Intrudes
Words of Faith 6-20-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 34
Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. [2] When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. [3] His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. [4] And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."
[5] When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home.
[6] Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. [7] Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter--a thing that should not be done.
[8] But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. [9] Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. [10] You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."
[11] Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. [12] 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."

The story of Dinah is a tragic and strange one. Dinah was the one sister among eleven brothers. Just imagine! Dinah went out to visit the women of the land probably because she desired some social interaction with women! Who could blame her? While visiting the women of the nearby town, a terrible thing happened. Dinah caught the eye of Shechem, the son of the Hivite ruler, and he took her and violated her.
The Hebrew language here is clear that Shechem forced himself upon Dinah. This was a matter of rape. But then, in a bizarre twist, Shechem claimed to love Dinah and desired to have her for his wife. Apparently, such a barbaric approach to marriage was not uncommon among the Shechemites or generally in the ancient world.
At first glance, the response of Jacob is quite puzzling. The text says that "when Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home." Jacob kept silent instead of going into a warlike rage or calling in Esau's troops. He seems to have wanted to avoid a violent confrontation with any of the neighboring peoples of the land.
Some scholars have suggested that because Dinah was the daughter of Leah, he did not hold her in as high esteem as he might have. We don't know. He may also have realized that there would be divisions among the brothers regarding how they should respond. The bottom line, there was not a good way to respond to this horrible event!
Suddenly the family found themselves confronted with the bizarre proposition that Dinah's attacker not only gets away with the assault but be rewarded with her hand in marriage! This situation set up a terrible dilemma. Dinah was the only sister. This violation defiled her such that she could never have a proper marriage. Marriage to her attacker would solve that problem and serve as a treaty with the Shechemites. Jacob never seriously entertained this proposal. The brothers of Dinah by Leah were left seething because the offense was not punished.
Interestingly, some commentators have pointed to Dinah as the source of all this difficulty, saying it was her interest in "the world" that led to the attack and consequent dilemma. There may be some legitimate danger in interacting with the world but blaming the victim is clearly the oldest cop-out. Please, let us not go there!
Some scholars tell us that chapter 34 functioned in ancient Israel to remind the Israelites of the dangers of intermingling with the peoples of the land. Perhaps more importantly, it shows us that life is difficult and complicated. Some tragedies intrude, and the answers are not simple. Sometimes there are no reasonable solutions, and we simply must find a way to move on.
At first glance, we may think that Jacob is at fault here because of his passive response. In reality, vengeance might have brought a bloody end to Jacob and his clan. A violent retaliation is not always the answer!
Have you been confronted with a terrible intrusion in your life, family, or community? Sometimes there are no easy answers. There are no solutions that "fix" things. These are times in which we draw near to God and trust Him for the next step.

Lord, give me Your grace in the tough times of life. Give me the faith to trust You even when there do not appear to be any good answers. Give me the hope to walk with You and know that You are still in charge even when bad things happen, and evil intrudes. You are my Rock and my Salvation. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.