The cost of self

DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE COST OF SELF

Gen 34:13-24

13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go." 18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. 21 "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." 24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

NIV

This was an act of revenge that is certainly due, at least it seems in the eyes of men. Whether God would have them exact this revenge on Shechem and the entire tribe is entirely a different thing. God has said that revenge is his.

Rom 12:17-20

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge , my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

NIV

Yet here these brothers of Dinah are doing exactly that what the Lord would not want us to do. How did they get away from the anger of the lord for such a deceitful act of revenge? Knowing what they do next stirs this thoughts, but we should first deal with the truth that presents itself to us here. It is not about the sons of Jacob here, but rather about Shechem and his father Hamor. This man is even more deceitful then the sons of Jacob. Because his son wants what he wants, a woman who he should not have, they deceive the whole of the town people. We do not know the exact size of this city, this encampment of Hamor, who was the ruler of that area. But after agreeing to the terms the sons of Jacob put forth, they convinced all the men of his realm to get circumcised. The method of this convincing was one of material gain. His son wanted this woman and he proposed that if all the men would be circumcised then all the wealth of Jacob would be added to their wealth. How that would benefit each man is difficult to understand. Yet he also convinced them they could take daughters from the tribe of Jacob. We do not know how many other daughters there were in the tribe of Jacob other than Dinah. But Shechem wanted what he wanted no matter the cost to everyone else. This is a prime example of self-centered, self-seeking pleasure. Of course not one of them understand how much pain they would be in and for how long it would last. Yet the thought of having all of Jacob’s wealth added to theirs plus being able to take woman for themselves from his family was more than enough to do this circumcision. It always seem men are motivated by some kind of personal gain, even at the cost of others. The sons of Jacob seeking revenge certainly goes against the principles of the Lord. Yet this act of deception by Shechem and his father Hamor affect all the people of the land for the purpose of self-pleasure, which also is against the principles of God. First, as we have seen before, we should not seek revenge against someone who acts in some way against us, whether that be physical, mental or emotional. But we also see that we should not attempt to use others for our own purpose. We should not manipulate people using untruths, to gain something for ourselves. Even if we do not us untruths, but propose they will also again something, just to get want we want when we want it is not the way of God. If we love our neighbors as ourselves we will also deal with them in pure honesty and integrity putting their needs before ours. Shechem was putting his needs before his peoples. Ultimately they all paid the price for it, death. Surely it would seem that if we were to live in that same manner, always putting our needs before others, we might pay the same price, for that manner of living is not one of a believer in Christ. Let us learn this lesson well. Let us always be concerned about others, even at the cost of self.