Genesis 34:1-4 1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” This tragic story offers some contrast to the account of David’s son Amnon and his wicked violation of Tamar. Both brought devastating results, but here, Shechem doesn’t despise Dinah after his wicked act. Instead he wants her for a wife. Now, it’s a little difficult to project modern ideas of morality on this ancient culture, but it’s clear that Shechem got things out of order. Even if he had wanted good things, his actions proved catastrophic to his intent. Because he violated her and then sought to marry her, his sin is too great for Jacob’s sons to ignore. Okay, this is a mess, but it points to a lesson, even for the modern mind. If you think you want the right things, taking steps in the wrong order will ruin your chance for the greatest happiness. For example, a guy can go too far with a young woman, even though he may want a future with her. The resulting relationship will then usually fall short of the dream. Getting things in the wrong order is almost always costly in some manner. No matter what you seek, taking it for yourself is usually the wrong approach. We can’t know if Shechem’s desire for Dinah could have played out in a better way, but we can be determined to want what is right and to pursue what is right in the right way.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 10:44:28 +0000
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