Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-Eight
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
We left off yesterday with Jacob wrestling with God, getting a new name (Israel), and then going off to face his brother. That turns out better than Jacob had feared. Rather than meeting him with a sword, Esau met him with an embrace and a kiss and tears of joy. (Gen. 33: 4) Wow! Seems that God is at work in ways that we cannot see!
As we move on to Genesis 34, it will be helpful to glance back at the “baby contest” between Rachel and Leah. Remember that? Well, somewhere, almost lost in the jumble of sons, there is a baby daughter named Dinah. (Gen. 30: 21) Dinah heads out from home one day to hang out with some girlfriends, and this guy, Shechem, raped Dinah. Scripture tells us that Shechem’s “heart was drawn to Dinah….and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her…and Shechem said to his father Hamor (ruler of the land), ‘Get me this girl as my wife.’” (Gen. 34: 3) Let’s just pause here and be clear: Rape is still rape, even if the person who commits it is the king’s son.
Hamor, Shechem’s dad, went to Jacob and said, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.” (Gen. 34: 8) He also makes the offer to have all their Hivite daughters marry his sons and acquire property and live among them. There are a couple of problems with that. (1) God did not want the Israelites intermarrying with them and adopting their idolatrous ways. (2) Shechem raped Dinah.
Dinah’s brothers overheard the “proposal” that Hamor offered Jacob, and unbeknownst to Jacob, they went and spoke deceitfully to Shechem. They said something like, “Hey, we would really like to intermarry with y’all, but we can’t do it because you men have not been circumcised.” (Gen. 34: 13-17). Shechem and all the men discussed it, and decided that circumcision was a small price to pay in order to have the Israelites settle among them. So, every male in the city agreed to be circumcised.
While they were still in pain from the…uh…”procedure,” Dinah’s brothers attacked and killed all the men of the city. They not only took back their sister, Dinah, but they plundered all the houses and took all the women and children. When Jacob found out, he said, “What have you done? Now all the Canaanites will come against us!” And they said… “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
Reflection: Have you ever wanted to take revenge? How did that work out? In Exodus 21: 24, we read, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” Can you see how that would have been preferable to Dinah’s brothers’ reaction?
Action: Read the following Scriptures: Matt. 5: 38-39; Rom. 12: 17-21
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
We left off yesterday with Jacob wrestling with God, getting a new name (Israel), and then going off to face his brother. That turns out better than Jacob had feared. Rather than meeting him with a sword, Esau met him with an embrace and a kiss and tears of joy. (Gen. 33: 4) Wow! Seems that God is at work in ways that we cannot see!
As we move on to Genesis 34, it will be helpful to glance back at the “baby contest” between Rachel and Leah. Remember that? Well, somewhere, almost lost in the jumble of sons, there is a baby daughter named Dinah. (Gen. 30: 21) Dinah heads out from home one day to hang out with some girlfriends, and this guy, Shechem, raped Dinah. Scripture tells us that Shechem’s “heart was drawn to Dinah….and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her…and Shechem said to his father Hamor (ruler of the land), ‘Get me this girl as my wife.’” (Gen. 34: 3) Let’s just pause here and be clear: Rape is still rape, even if the person who commits it is the king’s son.
Hamor, Shechem’s dad, went to Jacob and said, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.” (Gen. 34: 8) He also makes the offer to have all their Hivite daughters marry his sons and acquire property and live among them. There are a couple of problems with that. (1) God did not want the Israelites intermarrying with them and adopting their idolatrous ways. (2) Shechem raped Dinah.
Dinah’s brothers overheard the “proposal” that Hamor offered Jacob, and unbeknownst to Jacob, they went and spoke deceitfully to Shechem. They said something like, “Hey, we would really like to intermarry with y’all, but we can’t do it because you men have not been circumcised.” (Gen. 34: 13-17). Shechem and all the men discussed it, and decided that circumcision was a small price to pay in order to have the Israelites settle among them. So, every male in the city agreed to be circumcised.
While they were still in pain from the…uh…”procedure,” Dinah’s brothers attacked and killed all the men of the city. They not only took back their sister, Dinah, but they plundered all the houses and took all the women and children. When Jacob found out, he said, “What have you done? Now all the Canaanites will come against us!” And they said… “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
Reflection: Have you ever wanted to take revenge? How did that work out? In Exodus 21: 24, we read, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” Can you see how that would have been preferable to Dinah’s brothers’ reaction?
Action: Read the following Scriptures: Matt. 5: 38-39; Rom. 12: 17-21
Recent
Archive
2022
March
2021
February
Lenten DevotionalsWeird is the New Normal: Day OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisDay 5: Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: Day SixWeird is the New Normal: Day SevenWeird is the New Normal: Day EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis: Day TenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day ElevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day Twelve
March
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day 13Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day FourteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis-Day FifteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day 16Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day SeventeenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day EighteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day NineteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day TwentyWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis-Twenty-FourWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-FiveWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-SixWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Twenty-SevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Twenty-NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day ThirtyWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty-ThreeWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty-FourWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-FiveWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-SixWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-SevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Forty
August
September
2020
2019
June
Sermon Notes3D June 10, 20193D June 11, 20193D Sermon Notes- June 16, 20193D Devotional 6.13.193D Devotional 6.14.153D Devotional 6.17.193D Devotional 6.18.19Sermon Notes 6.23.20193D Devotional 6.21.193D Devotional 6.24.20193D Devotional 6.25.193D Sermon Notes, 6 30, 20193D Devotional 6.27.193D Devotional 6.28.19
July
3D Devotional 7.1.20193D Devotional 7.2.2019Sermon Notes, 7.7.20193D Devotion 7.5.20193D Devotional 07.08.193D Devotional 7.8.20193D Devotional 7.10.20193D Devotional 7.12.20193D Devotional 7.15.20193D Devotional 7.16.20193D Sermon Notes- July 21, 20193D Devotional 7.18.20193D Devotional 7.19.20193D Devotional 7.22.20193D Devotion 7.23.2019Sermon Notes for Sunday, July 28, 20193D Devotional 7.25.20193D 7.26.20193D Devotional 7.29.20193D Devotional 7.30.2019Sermon Notes Sunday, 8.4.2019