LESSON 19
Genesis for Today: Chapters 34-35
by Herb Drake

An Interlude

If this were a stage play, this is where there would be an intermission. We have seen the first act of the Patriarchal History that started when God made himself known to Abraham. Jacob is established in Canaan and his twelve sons are all present. The remainder of the play answers the question, "who will be the one to whom Jacob passes the blessing of Abraham?" Again and again we will see the promise threatened. All of salvation history depends on this promise, which is eventually passed on to the church in Acts 2.

Just about every kind of human behavior, both good and bad, will play out among these twelve brothers and their aging father. There will be places where God sets the stage or becomes part of the action, but they may be subtle. We will encounter the verse: "Even though you intended to do harm ..., God intended it for good...," echoed in the New Testament in Romans 8:28. It would not be unfair to say that the entire balance of Genesis is devoted to the question of the bearer of the promise, so as we proceed you might keep a mental score card. As the story continues, you will see the kinds character traits and attitudes that are rewarded and those that are not. Remember, the leading candidate at this point is Reuben, as he is the first-born.

The Rape of Dinah

A Hitite named Shechem fell for Dinah and forced relations with her. Jacob and his sons were outraged at this defiling of their sister (the noun nevalah here means "serious sexual deviation" in context), but Shechem's father, Hamor, came to Jacob in an attempt to defuse the situation. He proposed that his family ally with Jacob's family, noted that Shechem loved Dinah, and requested that they be allowed to marry.

Jacob's sons gave a deceitful reply; they would accept Hamor's proposal but only on the condition that Hamor and all of the men of his family first were circumcised. The agreement was accepted and the procedure took place as agreed. Jacob's sons took advantage of the situation and killed all the circumcised men with the sword while they were recovering from the procedure and unable to resist. Jacob blames the Simeon and Levi, probably the ringleaders. His objection come from his fear of revenge, not because of the immorality committed by Shechem. It is remarkable that the sons are the ones that are outraged, rather than Jacob, who was the father of the victim. If there is a message in this for today, it would probably be that evil is not to be attacked by either the sword or by deceit.

(Mark your score cards: Simeon and Levi go to the bottom of the list of potential promise bearers.)

Jacob moves his family to Bethel

God orders Jacob to move to Bethel, the place where he dreampt of "Jacob's Ladder," giving three direct commands:

Arise and go.
Dwell there.
Make an alter.

This will be a solemn trip, as they are getting ready to meet God. By way of preparation, all of Jacob's belongings, and those of his family, are to be cleansed. Any and all teraphim, including Laban's teraphim which Rachel had risked her life for, along with other forbidden objects, were buried. This was the first of four burials that took place in this chapter.

God protected them as they traveled, as they were in danger of reprisals from the Dinah incident. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried. She had also probably nursed Jacob and Esau, and her passing added to the sorrow that accompanied the family as they traveled.

God again blesses Jacob, and re-affirms his name change from Jacob to Israel. As Genesis continues, Jacob of often referred to by his old name, probably an indication that he continued to have lapses into his old self. There is a message here for today: We need to apply grace and forgiveness when we see occassional lapses among our fellow believers.

Adding to the sorrow of the trip, Rachel dies in childbirth. As she dies, her spirit (nephesh) leaves her body as she suggests a name for the baby. The baby, who Jacob named Benjamin, survives and becomes, along with Joseph, a favorite of Jacob. This took place in Bethlehem, and Rachel was buried there. She was a woman who had everything except fertility, and it should be noted that this was NOT the family burial site at Mach-Pe'lah.

Reubin's Sin

Reuben had relations with Bilhah, Rachel's maid, a serious violation because he was making a play for authority upon the death of Rachel. He goes to the bottom of the list of potential promise bearers.

At this point in the narrative, an enumeration of Jacob's sons re-appears. It may be there to remind us of the promise-bearer theme, right after Reuben's sin.

The Death of Isaac

As was the case when Abraham died, Isaac's sons buried their father. Remember that he lived 80 years past his botched blessing, a nearly blind and broken old man. There is no mention of Rebekah's death, which had probably taken place earlier.