Jacob Drags His Feet
1. Recap
Today we come to Genesis 34, where a lot happens that seems out of the blue after the happy events we saw in the last chapter.
In chapter 33, after returning from 20 years in Paddan-aram, Jacob reunites with his brother in an unexpected reconciliation. Instead of wanting to kill him, which had been the whole reason Jacob ran away in the first place, Esau wants Jacob to come and live with him.
But Jacob can’t do that. And one of the reasons is because God told him to go back to the land of Canaan—the land of his people, the land God promised him. The land God promised to bring him back to.
But God’s promise to bring Jacob back to the land isn’t the only promise on the table. There’s also a promise that Jacob made to God. On His way out of the land, after God met him and promised to bring him back to the land, this happened:
“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you’” (Genesis 28:20–22).
If God keeps His word—which is almost a dare, given that God promised to do this—then God will be Jacob’s God, and Jacob will set up that stone to be God’s house.
Perhaps he means to make a temple for God there, or even just build an altar. The point is, He’s promised to come back to this place when God brings him back to the land in peace.
And look what God has done. He’s brought him back to the land—and He’s done it in peace. He’s given him peace with Laban, peace with Esau.
So what should Jacob be doing next? I mean, he knows how kind God has been to him. Before he met Esau, he said, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps” (Genesis 32:10).
He should be heading straight for Bethel. But instead, he seems to be dragging his feet. We saw last week that after Esau leaves him, he settles for a time in Succoth, on the far side of the Jordan, not even in the land of Canaan officially, and he stays there long enough to build a home and booths for his animals. He was in no rush.
And then we were told he came peacefully to Shechem, in the land of Canaan (33:18). A step closer. He buys some land and builds an altar, which is good, but he still hasn’t come all the way back to Bethel.
It seems like he’s on his way there. But he’s taking his time. God has kept His promises to Him, but He’s not showing any urgency to keep his promise to God.
And it’s here, on the outskirts of Shechem, almost-but-not-quite where he should be, that a terrible thing happens to his daughter.
2. Conflict
• Dinah & Shechem
“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.” (34:1)
Besides their births and meanings of their names, none of Jacob’s children have been mentioned to this point. Now, we’re reintroduced to Dinah as the daughter of Leah. We’ve already seen that Jacob didn’t care much for Leah and didn’t care as much about the children that Leah had borne to him.
In this time in history, for a young woman to go out alone was dangerous. Remember how Boaz told Ruth to stay close to his servants so that nothing bad would happen to her? So why is Dinah, with a dad and twelve brothers, going out by herself? Does this suggest some neglect from her family?
Whatever the case may be, we do know that she is seen by Shechem, who we read to be the son of Hamor the Hivite, and prince of the land (34:2). In verse 2, we read that when Shechem (who was a young man—34:19) saw Dinah (who was a young woman—34:3) – “ he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.” (34:2)
Shechem saw Dinah, and he took her, and he forced himself on her, and it’s probably accurate to view this as an act of rape. His behavior follows the same pattern as Eve in the garden, who saw that the fruit was good, and took it and ate of it. Lust follows the same patterns.
But here, it’s another person involved. And what Shechem does is awful.
There is no excuse for what Shechem did, and nothing Dinah did made her deserve or cause this to happen. She is a victim here of a violent, lustful aggressor. Shechem treated Dinah in a way that no man should ever treat a woman, no excuses.
What’s interesting is that after Shechem’s shameful act, we read in verse 3 that his soul was drawn to Dinah, and that he loved her, and even spoke tenderly to her. This almost seems like phrases that we would hear in a romantic love story, not in the following of this terrible event.
Shechem may be seeing more of Dinah than he did before for him to now treat her in a “loving” matter. Although, this use of “love” by the author is up for interpretation, and it is debatable if Shechem loved her more than just a first glance, and is experiencing anything more than just empty feelings.
His behavior towards her certainly doesn’t suggest genuine love. Nevertheless, in the grip of these romantic feelings, verse 4 tells us that “Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife” (34:4). He wants Dinah to now – be his wife.
It seems like Shechem totally ignores his awful actions towards her, and has no remorse or regret. His lust is still very strong—he still wants Dinah, but he just wants her for keeps now.
• Family Responses
So as Shechem goes to his father, there’s another father who hears this – being Jacob. Jacob hears of this news from possibly a witness or servant, and we would expect him to be fuming with anger after hearing of his daughter’s abuse. We’ve seen Jacob angry before. Dads, how would you respond if you heard this kind of thing happened to your daughter?
How do we see Jacob respond? “But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.” (30:5) For Jacob, a man of initiative, strength, and willfulness as we’ve seen throughout his life so far, it’s surprising to see here that Jacob doesn’t act, at all – but stands still until his sons get back. Does this possibly show a lack of care for Dinah?
Now at the same time, Hamor, Shechem’s father is making his way out to speak with Jacob, in following up on Shechem’s strong request. Hamor may or may not of heard the whole story of what happened between Dinah and Shechem – but seems that if he did, he turns a blind eye to it.
What does give us a sense of balance in the midst of Jacob’s slowness, and Hamor’s quickness to action, is verse 7: “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…” (30:7a).
Them being indignant displayed a recognition that what was done to Dinah was awful, and they were 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.” (30:7b)
At this point, we can understand and relate to, and even cheer for their anger. Their anger appears righteous, because they are responding to the outrageous thing that had been done to their sister. It’s good to be angry when someone else is wronged, and certainly the brothers, who hear and rush home in anger, appear more to be in a positive light than their father at this point.
3. Proposals
As the story continues, Hamor the Hivite comes to Jacob’s land. “But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.” (30:8)
In this time in history, families—and fathers in particular—had more of a role in securing marriage partners. Hamor speaks to “them,” verse 8, which we find out includes Jacob and his sons.
We’re not sure if it was normal for the brothers to be part of these negotiations, but at least it seems like a good thing at this point because of their greater concern for Dinah, than Jacob appears to demonstrate.
And it does seem as though Jacob’s sons have an important role to play here. Hamor’s use of the term “your daughter” in verse 8 is plural, meaning that Hamor is attributing to Jacob and his sons the role of being the father to Dinah. As the record displays, the sons are now representatives of Israel, and will have a part to play in how this proposal pans out.
• The Hivite Offer
In following his son’s request, Hamor then makes one of his own in verses 9 & 10. He proposes three things: intermarriage, trading opportunities, and land acquisition. Hamor wants his people and the people of Israel to join together as one. That way, the whole Dinah and Shechem incident can become an effective way for both groups to profit.
We should give some credit to Hamor for his cleverness, making a proposal to Jacob’s house that would give them much more land than they had currently, and perhaps greater protection and prosperity.
But we should also be concerned about this, because Jacob and his sons are clearly the smaller group here, and so if they mix with these people, it seems like they will be absorbed into the Hivites and cease even to exist as a distinct people.
This offer is not in line with what God had promised to Jacob.
And as Hamor finishes his offer, Shechem, who apparently had come along with his father, says, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask for a great bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” (34:11b-12)
Shechem is trying to give an offer to Jacob’s house that they cannot refuse. This bribery of Shechem may even be giving an incentive to what his father proposed, in the financial and territorial gain that Jacob’s household would receive.
He offers them as great of a bride-price they would ask, in which can be understood as a gift given either before or after a wedding, and even offers an additional gift that may have just been for the brothers and Jacob themselves.
It's difficult for us not to see a sense of great desperation on behalf of Shechem, coming underneath of his father’s proposal, and making an offer himself. “Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” (34:12b) If there’s one thing Shechem wants – it’s her, and he’ll give up everything that he needs to, so that he can have her.
• The Counter
In the case of negotiations, typically if an offer is made, there’s an option to counter for a better deal. And here in the counter offer we see how much like their father – Jacob’s sons really are.
Verse 13 says that “The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.”
The term that is used here as “deceitfully” in verse 13 is the same term that is used both in Jacob’s tricking his way into the blessing, and Laban’s act of switching his daughters when it came time for Jacob to marry Rachel. Jacob’s old ways have now been taken up by his sons. You know what they say – Like father, like sons.
Their deceit here, like all good deceit, has an element of truth. They say that they can’t give up their sister to an uncircumcised man, for as they say, “that would be a disgrace to us” (34:14).
The condition for them to accept the Hivite offer is in verse 15: “Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised” (Genesis 34:15).
Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham (Gen 17). It was to be a sign, and a symbol, for every male throughout the generations of Abraham, whether born or bought into Abraham’s house – so that those in the covenant would be known. Any male that was not uncircumcised would be considered cut off from the covenant.
So there is some truth here. They couldn’t intermarry with the Hivites unless the Hivites were to get circumcised. The problem is that the sons of Jacob are being deceitful.
They say in verse 16 “Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people,” even though this is a lie. They threaten to take Dinah and leave in verse 17, even though that’s what they’re going to do anyways.
They mix the truth with a lie, and the holy sign of the covenant with a plan to cause harm. This is kind of like offering to baptize someone in order to drown them.
And it’s important to note here that Jacob’s sons are doing all the talking here. Jacob isn’t even mentioned until the end of the chapter. Jacob’s sons have taken control into their own hands, Jacob has withdrew from the situation, and things are now going to get even worse.
• The “Agreement”
Surprisingly, as the author of Genesis writes, “Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem.” (34:18) Hamor and Shechem responded to this counter quite cheerfully it seems, not expecting any signs of foul play.
For even the following verse features Shechem, the young man, eager to comply. He “did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter.” (34:19)
As required by the sons of Jacob though, Shechem and Hamor are to go to the men of the city to Shechem, and make a proposal. The author of Genesis gives us some helpful reminders in verse 19, that Shechem was the most honored in his father’s house. So, they take their place with the other men in the city gate, which is where the leaders of a city would gather to make decisions.
They seem willing to go along with the plan to get circumcised, although they have some secret plans of their own. Verse 23: “Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”
Either this seems like a good enough offer, or Hamor has a lot of authority here, but either way, verse 24 says that they all listened to Hamor and Shechem, and “every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city” (34:24).
4. Vengeance
It’s almost as if this is all too good to be true – and it is. For 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” (34:25-26).
What happens here is devastating. Can you imagine the shock on behalf of the city of Shechem, after what seemed to be a peaceful agreement? None of them expected this. The fact that they all were circumcised at once, and “felt secure,” shows how much they trusted the sons of Israel.
This vengeance is exacted by two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who are, as verse 25 tells us, Dinah’s brothers. Her full brothers, sons of Leah. They killed all the males in the city, who were unable to defend themselves, including Hamor and Shechem with whom they had negotiated this deal.
And as they do so, they rescue their sister from the city. Was she being held captive? Or simply waiting for her marriage to be formalized?
It’s good for them to want to rescue their sister. But their treachery against this city is awful. What would have been the look on Hamor or Shechem’s face, moments before their death, as they realized how terribly they had been played?
Not only to Jacob’s sons kill, but they also plunder the city in verse 27.
“Because they had defiled their sister,” they take everything —“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” (Genesis 34:28–29).
Were Jacob’s sons right to be protective of their sister, and angry at Shechem? Yes. Would they even have been justified in seeking Shechem’s life for raping their sister? Yes.
But were they justified in deceiving these men and then killing every male in the whole city while they lay vulnerable and defenseless? No. Not in the slightest. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and these brothers have overreacted hugely to the sin committed against their sister. Their actions are way out of proportion.
Just think: this chapter began with a Hivite capturing a single daughter of Israel, and it ends with the sons of Israel capturing an entire city of now-single wives.
The sons of Jacob have done to this city what Jacob feared Laban or Esau would do to him. There is no reconciliation here, only violence.
And finally, we now hear from Jacob. But instead of displaying fatherly leadership to redeem his passivity throughout the chapter – Jacob responds in self-pity and fear.
Verse 30: “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household’” (Genesis 34:30).
Jacob doesn’t seem worried about what happened to Dinah, and he doesn’t seem worried that what his sons did was wrong. Jacob only seems worried about what will happen to him.
Here Jacob’s words here: “You have brought trouble on me… My numbers are few… gather themselves against me and attack me… I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” (34:30)
Though his sons need a fatherly rebuke, and his daughter is most likely still in great need of the comforting presence of a father – Jacob seems to be thinking of himself instead.
The chapter ends with a rebuttal from Simeon and Levi: “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” (34:31).
Obviously the answer is no, but that doesn’t mean that what they did was appropriate, or right, at all. But the sense we get is that Jacob says nothing. He holds his tongue, and the family moves on from these events with an uneasy peace.
5. Application
So what are we to make of this story? Why is this even recorded here at this point in Genesis? Some have asked this question.
And there’s a couple of layers we can use to look at this story. We can think of what happened here in the city of Shechem as the first layer. And most of the application here is going to be negative. Which is to say, the lessons we learn are by not following the example of the people in the story.
Fathers should not imitate Jacob’s example. They should care for their daughters, protecting them and making their purity a priority. They should show concern by speaking up for their children when they should, unlike Jacob’s indifference and passivity in this area. They should take initiative to lead their families and think of others before themselves, unlike Jacob.
This goes for older Christians in general, as well. There may be times that you are tempted to hold your tongues, when you know that younger people around you are headed for trouble – due to sin (or are in sin already).
And this passage is telling us that there is such a thing as selfishly “holding your peace” in the name of patience, much like Jacob thinking of himself over his children.
Speaking of children: young men should not imitate Jacob’s sons. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” says Ephesians 4:26. Even when you’re bothered by legitimate sin – that does not give you an excuse to right the wrong by committing more sin – like acting out in anger, and sinning in your anger – while claiming that it’s in the name of righteousness and justice.
And for all of us, certainly let us all flee from the lust of Shechem, who saw and desired and took for himself what was not his to take. Instead of lust, let us pursue love, which will never cause humiliation or harm, but will value and protect others and bring safety instead of shame.
So that’s one layer that comes from seeing what happened at Shechem.
But there’s another, deeper layer in this story. And this layer asks, why was Jacob’s family setting up shop outside of Shechem in the first place? Why was Jacob dragging his feet so much? Why wasn’t he keeping his vow and worshipping God at Bethel?
Could all of this have been avoided if Jacob had kept his word to the Lord? Could Dinah’s shame, and Simeon and Levi’s bloody vengeance, all been avoided if Jacob had just headed to Bethel like he should have?
Now, we should be careful here. We don’t want to assume that just because hard things happen to us, that we must have done something wrong to deserve them. But the way that chapter 34 fits in to the story of Jacob’s life seems designed to make us ask these questions. It seems like we’re supposed to recognize that Jacob’s delay provided the opportunity for these things to happen.
That’s especially clear with how chapter 35 opens up. Instead of recording Jacob’s response to his sons, we hear God saying to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau” (Gen 35:1).
And so we’re left to wonder, what if Jacob had just obeyed all the way the first time, without delay? Could all of this have been avoided?
And if so, then the question for us is, could we invite serious pain in our lives by being slack and slow in obeying the Lord? Can we make things harder on ourselves, and others, by waiting to do tomorrow what we’re supposed to do today?
It’s interesting, in this connection, to consider how the New Testament compares our spiritual journey to a race. Instead of dragging our feet and moseying along at a comfortable pace, we’re told to run.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Runners in a race don’t drag their feet or wait until tomorrow. Running to win means pursuing God and obeying His commands with energy and urgency. It means not putting off until tomorrow what must be done today. Wasn’t that Jacob’s mistake? “I’ll get to Bethel, eventually.” He had good intentions, but he procrastinated.
And in contrast, we hear the book of Hebrews calling us to “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12–13).
If we keep putting off obedience and faith until tomorrow, we might find that there is no tomorrow in terms of our relationship with God.
Now, perhaps you listen this morning and you can identify times in your life when you experienced some pain or hardship because you didn’t do this. These aren’t just questions for you—these are your realities.
You don’t need to play the “what if” game. If you belong to the Lord, you can know that even the hard things He allows into our lives, even in response to our sin, are a part of His loving discipline. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” says Proverbs 3:11-12, quoted in Hebrews 12:5–6.
When God lets us experience the consequences of our actions, rather than being a sign that He’s given up on us, that might just be the reassurance of His love that we need. “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” says Hebrews 12:10.
So we don’t need to despair. Despite this awful experience in the lives of Jacob’s family, God hadn’t given up on them. He does visit Jacob and push him on to Bethel. God is going to keep His promises even though Jacob drags his feet.
But we certainly don’t want to beg His discipline. So, again, it’s good to end with a reminder: let’s run the race set before us. There is no point in the future when we will miraculously become mature or godly or patient or pure. Today is the day to believe God’s promises and obey His commands.
So, as we close, perhaps we should ask the Lord—is there any place in our lives where we’ve been delaying listening to God? Where we’ve been putting off what we know we should be doing? Where we’ve been hanging out in Shechem instead of getting to Bethel?
Is there a conversation you need to have? A relationship you need to initiate—or end? A habit you need to start, or a habit you need to end? Something you know you should be doing, but you’ve been putting off until later?
Let today be that “later.” Let today be the day to repent and lay aside whatever’s been tripping you up, and with God’s help and strength, leave Shechem behind, and run towards Him.