Genesis Chp 34
On the heels of Jacob reuniting with Esau, Jacob found himself and his family in Canaan where they had not been for some time. Dinah, Jacob's daughter from Leah was exploring the land and sought to meet some of the women (Gen 34:1). She caught the eye of Shechem, son of Hamor. The two slept together. This was a disgraceful thing in Israel (Gen 34:7).
Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, were filled with rage. They sought revenge and then deceived and killed Shechem and Hamor. They also killed every male in the city, plundered all the material goods and took the women and children.
Clearly a wrongful act, Jacob lashes out at them:
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
31 But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"
Throughout our lives, others will wrong us, in ways perhaps significant, but definitely many times in insignificant ways. For myself, I know that a hardened heart does no good...revenge may produce short term boost to our ego and give us a sense of righteousness but long term this righteousness will not eliminate a hardened heart, which only leads to either shame, selfishness - certainly not love. We end up separated from God.My Prayer: Lord, I pray that I can as you say "turn the other cheek". Help me avoid anger against another child of God. We are all made in your likeness and we need to see others as you see them not as we see them.
