Genesis 34:19-31 NKJV
19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.
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 at peace 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 as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition 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 livestock, their property, 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; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, 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 from Shechem’s house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”
31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”
The Hivite men believed the lies they were told by the sons of Israel. They believed that, if they allowed themselves to be circumcised, then Jacob’s family would gladly join their people forever, allowing the Hivites to take possession of all the flocks and herds that Jacob had accumulated. There was greed on the Hivites’ part. There was deception on the part of Jacob’s sons. Worst of all, the sign of circumcision, which God had instituted among the descendants of Abraham as the sacred sign of His covenant with them to be their God, had now been turned into a means for the people of God to commit unsanctioned murder and theft against an entire race of men.
Surely Jacob would reprimand his sons for their deception! Surely Jacob would discipline his sons Simeon and Levi for the genocide they committed! Surely Jacob would call his sons to repentance and to the fear of the Lord again! But no, that is not how the chapter ends. Yes, Jacob is upset with his sons, but only for the bad reputation it would give him and for the violence it threatened to bring down upon his house. As we saw yesterday, so we see again today: There is no thought given to God throughout this chapter.
Let this be a lesson to every Christian home. It is not enough for all the children to have been baptized. The name of God and the fear of God must continually be promoted within the home. The Word of God must be taught to children by their parents. Parents must be examples of faith and godliness. And they must not only discipline their children when their children misbehave; they must also teach their children to repent before God when they sin and to seek His forgiveness for Jesus’ sake.
Where parents or children have failed to give a thought to God, let there be repentance. Let there be a return to the Lord, who has proven Himself to be merciful and full of grace, and always ready to forgive. And let our thoughts be continually turned toward the Word of our God, that our families may be worthy, not of contempt, but of imitation. Let us pray: O Lord, bless the homes of Your people who are called by Your name, that we may serve You faithfully and be the lights of the world You made us to be. Amen.