Don’t blame Dinah, Put the blame on Jacob......

Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. (Micah 2:10)

In this article, We take a critical look at Dinah and who should be blamed, because many believe that the lady was careless. I don’t subscribe to their ideas. There is nothing wrong with Dinah trying to see the ladies of the land of Shechem. Instead this set of people should rather blame the man who couldn’t control his sexual urge. Anyway my discussion is not about the prince who raped Dinah but dwell more on Jacob the father of Dinah.

Jacob has twelve sons and one daughter, Dinah bored to him by Leah. Dinah was raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite (Gen 34:2)

I have heard many preachers put the whole blame on Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. But in my study of the word of God, Dinah wasn’t to be blamed. It was Jacob who supposed to accept responsibility for his daughter been raped by a foreigner.  I believe in this study, we see the reason .

Let us begin the study

Jacob fled from his father’s house because of Esau, his brother, who was plotting that he would kill him after the demise of Isaac their father. This plot was exposed to Jacob. Jacob had to flee to Padan-aram unto Laban, the Son of Betheul, the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, her mother.

While Jacob was fleeing, he got tired and had to sleep. In the course of dream, he had a dream. God revealed Himself to him.

Gen 28:10  And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

Gen 28:11  And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Gen 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

Gen 28:14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Gen 28:16  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.

Gen 28:17  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Gen 28:18  And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

Gen 28:19  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,

Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

God appeared to Jacob in his dream and told him what He (God) would do with and for him. Jacob on waking up from his dream made a vow to God  that if the Lord would keep him and bring back to his father’s house safely, that the Lord will be his God and then place where God appeared to him will be become the house of God. I want us to remember this portion very well. I mean the vow of Jacob unto the Lord

Gen 28:20  And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,

Gen 28:21  So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

From the statement or vow of Jacob, we can infer that Jacob would come to Bethel and also to his father’s house.

In Genesis 31:13, Jacob speaking to his wives about the instruction from the Lord, that he should leave Laban’s house and return to his own land.

Gen 31:13  I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.  

We  can also draw inferences that the Lord wants Jacob to return to Bethel and to his father’s house.

Truly Jacob left Laban’s house and pleaded with God to deliver him from Esau’s hand, which the Lord did for him, but alas where did Jacob return to Bethel after God’s miraculous deliverance from the hand of Esau. Did Jacob return to Bethel as he promised to God in his vow. Did Jacob returned to the land of his fathers as instructed by God. NO

Gen 33:17  And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

Gen 33:18  And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

Gen 33:19  And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.

Gen 33:20  And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.

Jacob did not keep to his promise, which he made to the Lord, instead Jacob turned aside and dwelt in Shechem.

In Genesis 34 : 1 – 2 , A record of disaster had befallen Jacob. His only daughter was raped. Had Jacob fully his own side of the bargain with God and return to Bethel, Chapter 34 of Genesis would not have been recorded for us. The whole of Chapter 34 of Genesis is full of disaster. Dinah was raped, the men of Shechem were deceived into circumcision, which the children of Jacob used as a means to wiped out the men of Shechen because they are weakened by the circumcision.

The Lord appeared to Jacob again, and desired him to returned to Bethel

Gen 35:1  And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

In my mind, I think God was telling Jacob

Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. (Micah 2:10)

I think God was telling Jacob, you would not cause all this trouble for yourself, if you kept your part of the bargain. Jacob, I the Lord, I am giving you another chance, return to Bethel or another crisis awaiting you if you stay Shechem.

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there.

God was telling Jacob, You and I never had an agreement that you will dwell in Sheechem

God was telling Jacob, all the preservation I gave you is so that you can return to Bethel and worship Me

God was telling Jacob, all the blessing and riches I gave you, is so that you will return to Bethel and worship Me with them

God was telling Jacob, I can’t defend you here in Shechem, check out to the place where called Bethel (The House of God).  Jacob, you are dwelling outside of  my house. You are dwelling in enemy’s territory.

Lessons

When we vow or make pledges to God, let us keep to the terms of our vows

Prayer

Lord, help me to keep to the terms of the agreement.