Getting Back on the Right Track

Continuing my chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 35:1) And 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."

In the last chapter, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi had just deceived and killed Shechem and his father Hamor and all the men in their city because of Shechem's rape of their sister, Dinah.  Once again, Jacob found himself in a place where he was not safe where someone might want to kill him, so God told him to go to Bethel.  God reminded Jacob that that is where He appeared to Jacob when he fled for his life from Esau.  In sending Jacob back there, God was sending Jacob back to the place where he made a vow to God; God was reminding Jacob of his vow from Genesis 28:20-22, that if God was with him, protected him, gave his provisions, and allowed him to go back to his father's land in peace, then Jacob would recognize that the Lord was his God and he would tithe a tenth to him.  Jacob had declared that the pillar he had set at Bethel would be God's house.  God had certainly done His part in protecting and blessing Jacob; now it was time for Jacob to return to God and remember his vow.

(2) Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. (3) And let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way which I went."

After God spoke to him, Jacob then told his wives and children and all the servants and those of his household to put away all their strange gods and cleanse and purify themselves.  The word translated as "strange" is as a stranger or a foreigner, so should be thought of as "foreign" gods.  His family had obviously picked up foreign idols living in this pagan land.  Rachel herself had stolen gods from her father's house if she still had them at this time.  Dinah had wanted to be worldly and see what those other young women experienced and may have picked up some of their idols.  It could be the servants who had the strange gods, Cannanite servants who came into service later, like the ones Jacob's family acquired through the plundering of Shechem's city.  Jacob announced that it was now time to put away all those foreign idols and get cleansed and go to Bethel where Jacob would make an altar to God, and he stressed that this is the God who has been with him when he was in distress and wherever he went.

(4) And they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

All of the household of Jacob did indeed give up their foreign gods.  The earrings they handed over were surely not regular jewelry worn by women but were the kind that were worn as amulets or charms decorated with magical characters and images of some pagan god, as was the practice back then.  When you think about it that way, Dinah could have easily picked up that fashion statement when she went out into the world to see what the other young women were doing.  Think about how many bad symbols and images and customs a young girl could pick up in our present culture!  These earrings were symbols of pagan gods and had no place in Jacob's family.  I'm not sure why he hid them in a particular place.  I am assuming he buried them to hide them from anyone who might return to retrieve them, and he purposely left them in (or by) Shechem and away from his household and Bethel and their altar to God.

(5) And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Despite Jacob's fear that what his sons had done to the Shechemites would make him despised by the other Canaanite cities and make his family easy prey to their enemies, God protected Jacob and his company as they traveled.  For whatever reason God projected to them, the people of these cities greatly feared what Jacob and his God might do to them, and they let his family be.

(6) So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people who were with him.

The place was formerly called Luz, but Jacob had named it Bethel.  He and his family and all who were with him came safely to Bethel.

(7) And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

As instructed by God, there Jacob built an altar in the place where God had appeared to him when he had fled from Esau.  He now called the place El Bethel, which meant "God of Bethel" or "the God of the House of God".

(8) But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak, and the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

There is much speculation among Biblical scholars as to how Rebekah's nurse came to be with Jacob and his family, but the passage doesn't say that the nurse was specifically with them when she died.  I believe this may have been merely an explanation of another name by which this place was also known, something the early reader would have understood better than we do now.  Because a beloved nurse also died and was buried at Bethel, the place was also known as Allon Bachuth, which literally meant "oak of weeping".

(9) And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came out of Padan Aram, and blessed him. (10) And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." And He called his name Israel.

It seems to me that verse 9 is a continuation of the thought started in verse 7--Jacob built the altar because that is where God appeared to him when he fled from Esau and he also appeared to him when he came out of Padan Aram, and that is when He told him he would be called Israel.  It seems to me that this is a retelling of how Jacob first came to call this place Bethel.  God had brought Jacob back to this place so that Jacob would remember all that God had done for him.

(11) And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come out of your loins. (12) And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you will I give the land." (13) And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. (14) And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. (15) And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

I still believe this is a retelling of the original meeting with God when he named this place Bethel, which meant "House of God".  However, most of the Biblical scholars I have read believe God is renewing His covenant with Jacob.  It is certain that God wanted Jacob to return here so that he would remember his vow to God, and to remember God's promise to him, even if He did not speak to him again, but He probably did; who am I to argue with those scholars?  It doesn't change the essence of this passage; God either told Jacob again or made sure it was all clear in his mind and his heart again.  He renewed the Abrahamic covenant and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would inherit this land and that nations and kings would come from him.

As I am following a chronological Bible study designed by Skip Andrews, I am now going to Genesis 38:

(Genesis 38:1) And it came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

There is some discrepancy among Biblical scholars as to when Judah started his own family, but it is of Mr. Andrews's opinion that it happened after, or maybe about the time of the rape of Dinah, and before the birth of Benjamin.  As I am already in the midst of this chronological order, I don't want to change now and risk missing anything, so I will continue with this assumption.  As Dinah wanted to go explore the customs of the other young women in the world, so it looks as if Judah desired to meet and make friends with new people--he departed from his brothers.

(2) And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shuah, and he took her, and went in to her.

Shuah was the name of the Canaanite, not the daughter.  It appears that Judah took the daughter of Shuah to be his wife, with hers and her father's consent, and not by force, but we can be sure that Judah did not consult his father, as the marriage to a Canaanite woman would have been greatly discouraged.

(3) And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

Judah's firstborn son was Er, a name that literally meant "watchful". 

(4) And she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

The daughter of Shuah bore Judah another son, and called his name Onan, which literally meant "strong".  I don't know if there is any significance to this, but the scripture said that Er was named by his father Judah, and Onan was named by his mother.

(5) And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah, and he was at Chezib when she bore him.

Judah's wife bore him a third son, and his name was called Shelah, which literally meant "request" or "petition", according to my sources, Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs.  However, Dr. John Gill, in his commentary, said it signified "tranquil, quiet, peaceable and prosperous, and is a word that comes from the same root as Shiloh, that famous son of Judah that should spring from him".  I saw that Albert Barnes wrote that it meant either "request" or "rest".  I then did a little more digging and saw that there is another word "shelah", perhaps pronounced a little differently, but spelled the same way, which did mean "at rest" or "at ease".  I really don't know which meaning was meant by the parents of Shelah, other than Dr. Gill's opinion, but at least I know why there could have been such discrepancy in the meaning of the name.  Shelah was born at Chezib, which I read in one old commentary, would have been important to the early reader and descendants of Shelah.  The birthplace of the other two sons was not mentioned because they did not have any children. 

In my chronological study, it is assumed that Judah married a Canaanite woman and had children about the same time as the rape of Dinah, and may be one of the reasons that Jacob saw "sin in the camp" and recognized his family's need to return to Bethel and remember their Lord.  Now the study returns to Jacob and his family leaving Bethel.

(Genesis 35:16) And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to go to Ephrath, and Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

Jacob and his family now left Bethel after they had returned for Jacob to build an altar and remember his vow to the Lord.  There was just a little way to go to Ephrath, which we learn in a later verse is the same as Bethlehem.  I will reflect on the meaning of the name when it is mentioned again in that verse.  Meanwhile, they were almost to Ephrath, or Bethlehem, when Rachel went into hard labor.

(17) And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."

The midwife may have just been trying to comfort Rachel with these words, but she was surely aware of Rachel's words at the birth of Joseph, that "the Lord shall add to me another son", especially since the meaning of the name Joseph was "Jehovah has added" or "let Him add".  Now the midwife comforted Rachel with the words that she would indeed have another son.

(18) And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.

Rachel died in childbirth, but she did give birth to another son she called Ben-Oni, which literally meant "son of my sorrow".  She probably named him this because of the pain and sorrow with which she brought him into the world, or maybe because of her sorrow when she realized she was going to leave him and this world as she was dying.  I can't help but think of how Rachel had so desperately wanted children that she had told Jacob to give her children or else she would die (Gen. 30:1), and now she died giving birth to one.  I can certainly understand why Jacob would rename the child, so that the name was not a constant reminder of the pain and sorrow with which the boy's mother died.  He renamed the child Benjamin which literally meant "son of the right hand", which meant someone very dear and much loved.  The child would be as his right hand or maybe he literally meant the child was the son of his right hand, the son of someone very dear to him.

There is something else, something rather amazing when I think about it, in this scripture.  The verse did not merely say that Rachel died; it said her soul "was departing".  The soul departed from the body "for she died".  Her body obviously didn't depart or go anywhere, but her soul is said to have departed.  Is this not beautiful proof that there is an immortal spirit in man that exists separately from the body?  Indeed Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it."

(19) And Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, a name which literally meant "fruitfulness".  Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions defines it as "ash-heap: place of fruitfulness".  I don't know whether the name of the place was always Ephrath, or if Jacob called it that because out of the ash heap of pain and sorrow came fruitfulness, but it came to be better known as Bethlehem, which literally meant "house of bread", and it was the birthplace of our savior, Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

My chronological study now takes me to Genesis 48:

(Genesis 48:7) And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little way to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

This was Jacob's retelling of the event of Rachel's death to his son Joseph when he was an adult with children of his own.  I do find it interesting that Jacob recalled the time as "when I came from Padan", even though he had already left Padan, journeyed to Succoth where he built a house and booths (though this must have been a brief stay), went to Shalem, a city of Shechem, where he bought land and had to have lived for awhile before the rape of Dinah because she couldn't have been more than a little girl when they first left Padan.  I had read that Demetrius the Chronographer, a chronicler of Jewish history who lived in the third century B.C., seemed to have written with preciseness as he gave the date of every incident in Jacob's life, even giving a birth month and year for each of his children.  He reported that Jacob had lived with Rachel for 23 years when she died.  Jacob worked the second seven years for Rachel after she became his wife and then worked an additional six years for Laban for the speckled cattle; therefore it was ten years after he left Padan Aram that Rachel died.  I guess a little 10-year detour away from where God would have him is unimportant at the end of Jacob's life.  However, if this is the way that this time is thought of, as when Jacob "came from Padan", then I can see why scholars believe that God appeared to Jacob "again, when he came out of Padan Aram" (Genesis 35:9), and renewed his covenant with him.

Now back to Genesis 35:

(Genesis 35:20) And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

The monument or pillar on Rachel's grave continued to stand to the day of the writing of this book in Genesis, and it is mentioned even later as a landmark in the book of 1 Samuel, the tenth chapter.

(21) And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

After he buried Rachel, Jacob, or Israel, as he was now called by God, moved on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Edar, the name which literally means "tower of the flock", and was said to be a shepherd's watchtower about a mile from Bethlehem.  Some scholars have written that this was the place where the angel came to the shepherds and reported the birth of Christ.

(22a) And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it.

During the time Jacob dwelled in that land, his oldest son Reuben lay with Rachel's maid, Bilhah, who had become Jacob's concubine and the mother of some of his children.  I purposely divided this one verse into two parts because it is said that there was a great blank pause here in the original text.  I don't know why it would have been transcribed as one verse.  The early commentaries look at the pause as there was nothing else that could be said about this despicable act.  Jacob heard about it and surely received the news with great grief of heart and was not able to speak of it.  However, he did remember the incident when he blessed his sons when he was old (Gen. 49:4).  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes points out that this shows "that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults."

(22b) Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: (23) The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; (24) The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; (25) And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; (26) And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher; these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

The twelve sons of Jacob, who became the twelve patriarchs, heads of twelve tribes, are named.  A general statement is made that they were all born in Padan Aram, but of course, we know that Benjamin was born on the road, thought of as "on the way" when Jacob "came from Padan" (Gen. 48:7).

(27) And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, to the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Finally Jacob made it "from Padan Aram" back to his father's land.  Most scholars assume he must have surely visited his father before this time as he had been in the land for ten years, and he was now returning, either because of the death of his mother or because his father was getting very old.  However, as this is the first mention in scripture, and the fact I have found the whole ten-year trip "from Padan Aram" sort of suspect, I am taking scripture literally here and assuming he is just now getting back "from Padan Aram" and to the land of his father.  It certainly appears that Jacob thought of it that way when he referred back to it (Genesis 48:7).  Mamre was a plain that belonged to a man probably of the same name as gathered from another scripture (Gen. 13:18), and where we were told that Abraham once lived.  The plain was near the city called Kirjath Arba (Gen. 23:2) or just Arbah here, and the city was also called Hebron.

I haven't seen any indication that the early scholars saw this as I did.  Oh sure, they all saw that Jacob had seen his need to get back to God and remember his vow to Him, but I see a little more.  I believe that perhaps Jacob was lax and took his time in getting back to his father's land which was what God had told him to do.  That may be why he had so many problems with his children in the land--Dinah going off to see the other girls in the land and subsequently being raped, Judah associating with the Canaanites and marrying a Canaanite woman, and Reuben sleeping with his concubine--all these things occurring before Jacob finally made it to his father in Mamre.  Perhaps if Jacob had just gone straight back to his father as God had told him to do and when He said He would be with him (Gen. 31:3), maybe none of these things would have happened.  Perhaps they dawdled in the Canaanite land too long.  Not only did Jacob need to remember his vow to God, but he had to be reminded to do as God had told him.  He needed to remember what God had done for him and of God's promise to be with him and of his promise to make God his Lord.  God did His part and was always with Jacob, but Jacob had forgotten his vow and let his family get involved with foreign gods and they had to be spiritually cleansed.  I believe the point of this chapter is that Jacob sort of got off track for about ten years.  I believe that he saw it that way and that is why when he spoke of this time later in life, it was just a detour on the way from Padan Aram back to the land of his father.  It must be pointed out that God was still with Jacob during that ten years and protected him from being killed by the Canaanites after the Shechem ordeal, just as God may help us through some stupid mistakes.  God is still with us, but things would be easier and a lot less messy if we would just do it His way the first time.  And thankfully, God will mercifully remind us of that fact and prompt us to get back to Him!

We Have Hope and Confidence Because of the Messy Lives Recorded in the Bible

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 34:1) And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

In the last chapter, Jacob had bought a parcel of land near Shechem.  At least a few years have passed, because when Jacob first settled in the land, Dinah couldn't have been more than a little girl, as she was the eleventh child born in the 13 years he lived with his wives after he served the first seven years for them.  Now Dinah was surely a young woman in her teens.  It looks like she had some curiosity about the other girls of the land, and went out to see for herself.  I suppose something could be said here about the "wisdom" of youth, and why Jacob's young daughter should have been more supervised and protected and not allowed to venture out by herself.

(2) And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Shechem was the person for whom the land of Shechem was named.  It would seem that his father Hamor was king of the country and named the place after his son, who was prince.  Shechem saw Dinah on the occasion that she ventured out in the land.  It looks as if he may have taken her forcibly and lay with her.

(3) And his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke kindly to the damsel. (4) And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this damsel as wife."

It looks as if Shechem sincerely loved Dinah, but he had taken her by force.  He spoke kindly to her which may mean he spoke sweet nothings, or maybe he was trying to calm her and gain her affection after he had raped her.  Either way, he loved Dinah and he told his father the king to get her for his wife.

(5) And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob held his peace until they came. (6) And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

Apparently Jacob heard the news about his daughter, but did not act on it immediately.  His sons were out in the field and he held his peace until they had come.  Meanwhile, Hamor the father of Shechem went to speak to Jacob, surely about the affair with Dinah and to get his consent for his son to marry her.

(7) And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and they were very angry, because he had done wickedness in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

The sons of Jacob came out of the field, either because they heard the discussion between Hamor and Jacob, or because they had also heard the news, as Jacob had, about their sister.  They were upset and very angry.  The original translation was that they were angry because Shechem had "wrought folly" in Israel.  "Folly" doesn't seem a strong enough translation of the original word "nebalah".  It means "foolishness" or "senselessness", but when spoken of morally, it means "wickedness" or "villainy".  At this time, Israel is not the name of a place, but the name of Jacob, so this must be translated as "in Israel's land".  However, since Moses is the one who presumably wrote this account later, he may have written "in Israel" as he viewed Israel as not only a place, but a church and a people.

(8) And Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife. (9) And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you. (10) And you will dwell with us, and the land will be before you; dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it."

Hamor appears to be very sincere when he spoke with Jacob and his sons.  He told them that his son loved Dinah and he asked their permission that she become his wife.  Not only Dinah, but he asked that they all dwell together and intermarry.  As king, he offered the family of Jacob to dwell and trade and prosper in his land.  Hamor seems very sincere and generous.  He obviously offered these things in an attempt to gain approval for his son to marry Dinah, but he appears upfront, honest, and honorable.

(11) And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find grace in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. (12) Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you will say to me; but give me the damsel as a wife."

Now Shechem, who had apparently come with his father to speak to Jacob, spoke for himself.  He also seems sincere in asking for favor, which surely required forgiveness for what he had done to Dinah.  He offered to give Jacob and his sons whatever they asked for dowry and gifts for the hand of Dinah.

(13) And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

We are told that what the sons of Jacob were about to say was deceitful.  Once again, we find the people of God acting deceitfully!  Although this looks to be not Jacob himself, but his sons, it appears they may have learned the deceitful ways of their father and of their grandfather, Laban.  They may have felt that they were justified because of what Shechem had done to their sister, but these pagans did not have the same values as Jacob and his family supposedly had.  In this case, the pagans may have been more sincere and honest than Jacob's sons! 

This may be a good place to insert a general synopsis of Jacob's life given by John Nelson Darby in his Synopsis of the Old and New Testaments.  At the time of Jacob's wrestling with the angel of God, I suppose I was giving Jacob a little more benefit of the doubt than does Darby, with regard to the desire of his heart being to follow God.  Again, I will say that I realize these are Jacob's sons and not Jacob himself, but since deceitfulness always seems to be a part of this family, this seems a good time to refect on Darby's opinion of the life of Jacob.  He sees the wrestling with God as the dealings of God with a soul that does not walk with Him.  He contrasts the relationship of God and Abraham with the relationship of God and Jacob.  With Abraham, who was called a friend of God, there was a calm communion with God, where Abraham interceded for others, instead of a wrestling with God for himself.  Even after Jacob wrestled with the angel and received the blessing, he appeared to be deceitful when he said he would go to his brother in Seir, a brother who was most sincere and loving, but there was no evidence that he ever did.  Now his sons acted deceitfully to Hamor and Shechem who appear to be sincere and honest. 

To continue Darby's thought, God was still dealing with Jacob.  Jacob thought about God, but really wasn't in proper communion with Him.  But God was with Jacob anyway.  Jacob constantly had to live with the consequences of his actions, but God blessed him through it all.  What a hope this should give us.  Don't we often do things our way, the hard way, instead of giving it all to God, and doing it His way?  Do we not wrestle with God?  This is a beautiful picture of the love and mercy of God for His imperfect and selfish children.  God does show mercy for us, but if we could learn to live His way and be in communion with Him, our lives would be much more peaceful and calm.

(14) And they said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. (15) But in this we will consent to you, if you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, (16) Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. (17) But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and we will be gone."

The brothers of Dinah told Hamor and Shechem that they could not intermix with uncircumcised people, but if they agreed to become circumcised, they would agree to become one people.  We have already been told that this was a deceitful statement.  But how reasonable and sincere it sounded!  That makes it all the more terribly deceitful and wrong.  It would be one thing to speak in sarcasm and to be honest about their anger, but these comments appear to come from the heart; they are obviously trying to gain the trust of Shechem and that seems so much more wicked than just laying their honest feelings out for Hamor and Shechem to see.

(18) And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. (19) And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was more honorable than all the household of his father.

Indeed, Hamor and Shechem believed and trusted what the sons of Jacob had told them, and Shechem did not delay in getting circumcised and in encouraging the rest of the men to do the same, as revealed in the next verses.  Verse 19 states that Shechem was honorable, at least more honorable than all the others in his father's household.  Even though he had done a terrible thing in raping Jacob's daughter, he sought to marry her, and do anything requested of him to make up for the injury he had caused, and he seems honest and honorable in keeping his side of their covenant by acting on it immediately.

(20) And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying, (21) "These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for indeed the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. (22) Only in this will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. (23) Will not their cattle, their possessions, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us." (24) And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Shechem and his father encouraged all the men of the city to do as Jacob's sons asked.  They convinced them that they were peaceable and that it would be ultimately to their advantage to become as one people with them.  All the men consented and were circumcised as requested by their king and his son. 

(25) And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. (26) And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

From what I have read, evidently the third day after circumcision was the worst--the pain was at its worst, the part was most inflamed, and the person was even feverish at this point.  With such pain and inflammation in that area of the body, and even in the entire body as fever would make the person weak and hurt all over, they were not that aware of their surroundings in the first place, and were not able to defend themselves once they were aware of what was going on.  Simeon and Levi came easily into the city and killed all the adult males, as we are told later that they took all the little children captive.  They also killed Shechem and Hamor, and took Dinah from Shechem's house.

(27) The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. (28) They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, and what was in the city and what was in the field, (29) And all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

Not only did they kill all the men, but they plundered the city, and took all their livestock, all the women and children, and took all their possessions.

(30) And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house."

Jacob was not happy with what Simeon and Levi had done.  He feared he would be considered abominable and hated by all the people round about them.  He and his family, being a small number of people in the land, would be easy prey to the Canaanites who could easily have destroyed them over this thing if it was not for God's promise to protect Jacob.

(31) And they said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?"

Simeon and Levi felt perfectly justified in their actions because of what Shechem had done to their sister.  They may have even felt that Jacob had not shown the proper regard for his daughter's honor, and they had to take matters into their own hands.  It might have been more easily understood if it had been Jacob who had said that the men must be circumcised and that they could then become one with his people, and then Jacob's sons who would have no part of it, then killed the men.  But this was premeditated murder on the part of Simeon and Levi.  They intentionally gained the trust of Shechem and Hamor and then took advantage of the men in their weakened state, and killed an entire people because of the actions of one.  The act cannot be excused, and in fact, when Jacob blessed his sons near the end of his life, he recalled this event and cursed their anger and their cruel wrath.

As I reflect on this chapter, I am first grateful that I and my entire family do not have to be perfect in order to receive the love, mercy, salvation, and blessings of my Lord!  The Bible is full of imperfect and sinful people; many seem much worse than we could imagine, and yet we see how God could love and forgive and bless those who tried to follow Him.  That should give us hope!

I also think about how some people use incidents like this in the Bible to refute the whole book.  They claim the Bible is full of sex and violence and murder, so why would you want such a God?  But this is exactly the thing that should make the unprejudiced reader realize that the Bible is true.  It is historical fact, no matter how messy and imperfect.  If the Bible were the fabricated book that atheists try to tell us it is, would not the fabricators have used less embarrassing examples of God's people?  It is because these things actually happened, that they are recorded in the Bible, as messy as they are.  Once again, it should give us great hope, and also great confidence that the Bible is true.

I Am Not Ashamed

This and most of my blog posts of late are my study notes from a chronological Bible study I am currently doing.  As I truly believe that all the world's problems could be solved by intimately knowing God and His plan for our salvation in Jesus, I write to share His Word with my personal thoughts, and also sharing some insights I receive from some of the great commentaries from centuries past.  I prefer the older teachings, because I truly believe in recent years we have lost our way.  We want to mold scripture into what we believe for our current culture.  We want to worship a god of our own devices.  There is only salvation in the one true God of the Bible, and I know when we truly seek Him, He will be found and He will reveal His truth to us.  This blog is my little way of saying I know this to be true and I am not ashamed to tell the world this is how I try to live privately and publicly.  I wish everyone would seek the true God of the Bible and discover what He said about Himself, and that is why I repost Bible scripture, even though it is out there in millions of places.  God's Word is life, and I truly wish it for everyone.

Picking up in the 30th chapter of Genesis:

(Genesis 30:1) And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" (2) And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God's place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

The beautiful Rachel who had the true love of her husband now envied her sister.  She made the unreasonable demand to her husband that he give her not just one child, but children, or she would fret herself to death.  Her ugly jealous demands made Jacob angry.  It was not his fault that she had had no children; it was, of course, God who had withheld children from her.

(3) And she said, "Behold my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear upon my knees, that I also may have children by her."

Perhaps Rachel was not being as unreasonable as it first sounded.  She surely knew it wasn't in Jacob's power to give her children of her own, but it was in his power to take her maid and give her children that way.  Bilhah would bear a child upon Rachel's knees which sounds like Rachel would be there in labor receiving the child immediately and taking it as her own. 

(4) And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. (5) And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. (6) And Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and has given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

Jacob agreed to take Bilhah as a wife, and she conceived and bore a son.  Rachel named the baby Dan, which literally meant "judge", because she felt God had judged her and her situation.  God had heard her plea for a child and gave her one through her maid.  She felt righteously judged by God in that He had blessed her with a child according to her plan.

(7) And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. (8) And Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed." And she called his name Naphtali.

Rachel's maid had another son, and Rachel named this one Naphtali, which meant "wrestling", because it represented the great wrestlings she felt she had had with her sister.  Obviously, there had not really been wrestling on the part of Leah; she just naturally bore children.  But with the envious human nature of Rachel, she saw herself in a contest with her sister, and she had prevailed.

(9) When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.

So now it appears it has become a contest!  Leah, not content with the first four sons she bore to Jacob, witnessed what Rachel had done in giving her maid to Jacob, and it would seem decided she might have more children that way, too.  It might be argued that Leah simply did this as a natural next step because she had stopped bearing, but I don't think so.  With the great dramatic emotion Rachel first used to get Jacob to take her maid as wife, it doesn't seem that that was the routine way of doing things.  I am pretty sure we can assume that Leah has taken her place in this rivalry.

(10) And Zilpah Leah's maid bore Jacob a son. (11) And Leah said, "A troop comes", and she called his name Gad.

Leah's maid did bear Jacob a son, and she called his name Gad, meaning "troop" or "fortune".  She herself explained her choice of names by saying, "A troop comes".  It appears she meant her good fortune with a troop of children, whether she meant at the present, or that they would now come with Zilpah helping her.

(12) And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. (13) And Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." And she called his name Asher.

Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob another son, and Leah called his name Asher, which meant "happy" or "blessed".  She spoke of both meanings when she explained her choice of names.

(14) And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." (15) And she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."

Meanwhile, Jacob's firstborn son, Reuben, has grown, and was in the field one day during harvest and found some mandrakes, and Rachel asked for some.  Apparently, Leah still felt slighted, even after her maid had given Jacob more children.  As for Rachel, some scholars think the mandrake mentioned here was an aphrodisiac that would help with conception, so that may explain why she wanted them so.

(16) And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night.

Ironically, Jacob, who had taken his brother's birthright in exchange for food, was now himself traded for mandrakes. 

(17) And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. (18) And Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." And she called his name Issachar.

God heard Leah's prayer and granted the desire of her heart, that she should have another child.  She called this son's name Issachar, which literally meant "there is recompense" or "he will bring a reward".  She decided herself that God had paid her for her mandrakes and rewarded her because she had given her maid to her husband.  Of course, God requested no such thing of her, but that was her reasoning.  However, it is true that God blessed her with another child.

(19) And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. (20) And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." And she called his name Zebulun.

Leah bore another son, her sixth, and Jacob's tenth.  She named this son Zebulun, which meant "habitation" or "dwelling", because she believed that surely her husband would live with her all the time, since she had borne him six sons.

(21) And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

After bearing Jacob six sons, Leah bore a daughter she named Dinah, meaning "judgment" or "justice".  She probably not only thought God had judged her favorably, but maybe decided He had even judged in her favor over Rachel, by giving her so many children.

(22) And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb. (23) And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach." (24) And she called his name Joseph, and said, "The LORD shall add to me another son."

Then God remembered Rachel--not that He had ever forgotten her, but He now answered her prayer and gave her a son.  She considered her barrenness a reproach and a disgrace, but felt God had taken that away.  She named the child Joseph, which literally meant "Jehovah has added", because indeed the Lord had done just that.

This is not the end of this chapter, but as I am following a chronological Bible reading schedule by Skip Andrews, this is where the study ends for now.