Read Gen. 34:1-31
Leah had one daughter named Dinah whose name means “justice”. Her family lived close to the Hivites and one day Shechem, the prince of their country saw Dinah and took her and raped her. Being a prince in that country meant he could have any woman he wanted so he didn’t consider what he did as wrong. He decided that he loved her so he asked his father, Hamor to get her for his wife. That was not the way it was done in Jacob’s family and when they found out that their daughter had been defiled, they were not happy. Her brothers were ready to fight. Hamor came out to ask Jacob’s sons for Dinah’s hand in marriage for his son. He not only asked for Dinah’s hand in marriage but for there to be marriage between his people and their people. He was willing to pay whatever bride price they came up with. Jacob’s sons deceitfully told Shechem that if he would have all the men circumcised then they would intermarry. This sounded like a good thing to them and they agreed. (I think I would have rather given money!) Anyway, they went back home and bribed the men of their city with all the wealth of Jacob which would be theirs too if they made a covenant with him, so they agreed. They all got circumcised on the same day and on the 3rd day when they were good and sore, the sons of Jacob came and killed all the men. They took Dinah from Shechem and took all their belongings. They took their wives and their children also. When Jacob found out he rebuked them for making him an enemy to all the people around him. His sons had not been concerned with the outcome; they were looking for justice, not peace. Actually, they were seeking vengeance. I wonder how it would have ended up if they would have sought peace instead.
Lord, you say that vengeance is up to you and not up to us. Help us to not take matters into our own hands, but let you punish our enemies.
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