Genesis 34b Commentary
Jacob’s immediate concern was the safety of his own family. Simeon and Levi probably didn’t think about it. Therefore, it appears Jacob didn’t care too much about Simeon and Levi’s error except for the small matter of family safety.
We are wrong.
Jacob’s mouth would later describe Simeon and Levi’s actions as “violence…, and anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel!” 49v5-7.
At the root of this cruelty is anger. It provided the fuel.
Commentators have zoomed in and traced Moses’ angle to his ancestor, Levi. We can also see how Simeon and Levi have bettered their own father Jacob! The deception they employed to trap Shechem and the entire nation would make old Jacob envious! Sin can be a family situation!
The combination of rape and love is impossible to conjecture. Lust and rape would go together but love would refuse to accompany rape! But the world of sin is complex and impossible to unpack!
Similarly, justice would refuse to be part of Simeon and Levi’s mob. Only anger would gladly accompany Simeon and Levi on their trip.
Saints must draw a line between justice and injustice. But it is a thin line. What we call justice can easily become vengeance. You will have overstepped your authority. Justice that leads to more injustice and wickedness isn’t justice at all – not according to the holiness of the Creator God.
The saint can check their own definition of love by looking at what they do to their “loved” ones. Shechem shouldn’t have raped the woman he so dearly loved!
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4 to 7
Shechem’s love wasn’t love at all! It failed on all fronts! It wasn’t patient. It wasn’t kind. It dishonored Dinah. It was self-seeking. It easily delighted in evil (rape). It didn’t protect Dinah’s dignity.
There is one character in this chapter who isn’t mentioned, the LORD God. He has His own take. He has ordered a change in Simeon’s destiny and Levi’s destiny based on events in this chapter. We shall know more about these changes soon.
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