Tag: indignant

38.e. “Because he had defiled their sister Dinah”

 

 

Genesis 34:1 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………..Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done……….The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah……..On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

We remember that Jacob brought his family to a region in the Promised Land that God didn’t really want them to be in. It seems God directed him to return to Bethel (Genesis 31:13), and his time spent in the city of Shechem did much harm to his family. The Canaanite’s proposal to marry the daughter of Jacob after she was raped was a dangerous challenge to the covenant family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family with such an important destiny in God’s redemptive plan. Worse yet was the retribution of Simeon and Levi using deceit to carry out their plan of killing all of the men, taking captive the women and children, and plundering their livestock and homes. Their outrage is understood but their sense of what is just is not. 

When we are led in a specific direction by God, we do well to follow that lead. Though we may feel safe and secure in our decision we can never know the full impact of that decision and the harm it will bring in the future. It is common for us to rely on ourselves for plans that seem right and for our good. Would it not be better to seek the counsel of God and rely on His leading, protection, wisdom, and leading us in doing what is best for His honor and glory?  Nothing good comes from rejecting God’s leading or neglecting seeking His leading.

15.m. “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

John 5:10   Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Isaiah 58:13    “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

Luke 13:14    But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Carrying a bed (actually a sleeping-mat or a bedroll) was in fact a violation of the rabbis’ interpretation of the commandment against doing work or business on the Sabbath. It was not a breaking of God’s law of the Sabbath, but the human interpretation of God’s law.  “Jesus persistently maintained that it is lawful on the sabbath to do good. He ignored the mass of scribal regulations, and thus inevitably came into conflict with the authorities.”  Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that the Rabbi’s wanted to know who told the crippled man to carry his bed-mat rather than who had healed him?  To the healed man, Jesus would have been seen as a miracle worker and healer.  To the Jewish leaders, a Sabbath Lawbreaker.   

It is important to note that when Jesus found the healed cripple in the temple He said “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”   What could be worse than 38 years being crippled? What was Jesus referring too?  A person who goes on knowingly sinning and rejecting God’s warning will experience the wrath and anger of God.  Hell is a place of eternal darkness and torment of the soul.  It is a place from which there is no return and no relief for eternity.  The road to hell is very wide and it is lined with all sorts of excuses for the reason a person is living, acting, thinking, and talking.  Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak and actions will be taken.  When there is rejection neglect of God’s Word in your heart, mind, and soul, something else from this world will surely fill it.  This filling will seem to satisfy but in the end, it will rob you of eternity in heaven.  Our lives ought to be Jesus-honoring reflections of continued growth in faith, love, mercy, hope, and grace.  Do not fill your heart with what this world has to offer.  Seek and desire God’s Word with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and purpose to honor, glorify, worship, follow, trust, and obey Him now and for eternity.