Lots of Trouble!

June 2, 2024

Genesis Genesis 34:1–36:43—Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen

“The Christian sufferer need not know why the blow was struck. He wants to discover what God is doing in the face of it.”

Austin Farrer

Guilt Vs. Shame Societies

OK imagine an Indiana farmer driving across the cornfields early in the morning. He knows exactly where the stop sign is and since it's super early in the morning and it's very unlikely anyone is going to be out there he looks right to left and sees that no one is coming so he drives right through the stop sign ahead he doesn't place anyone in danger but he recognizes that he is breaking the law and he feels just a little bit guilty right perhaps some of you who have lived in the countryside have done this yourself you've broken the law by sliding through a stop sign and you feel just a little bit guilty about it.

Here's an interesting reality if we take the same situation in southern France a driver pulls up to a stop sign in the middle of the French countryside he can see for miles and because of that he drives through the stop sign without giving it a thought. If however the french police just happened to be waiting behind a tree and pull over the driver that driver would be ashamed at being caught but he wouldn't actually think he's guilty of disobeying the stop sign. It's an entirely different way of thinking of guilt versus shame.

Around the world people and cultures are divided into guilt and shame societies. Guilt societies are those societies where people's consciences bother them when they break the rules even when there's no chance someone else will discover them shame societies are those where your conscience is not as big of a factor as the sense of disgrace you feel if you get caught.

One example that we see on a national level is China. China is very much of A shame society and what that means is a lot of the industry is very OK perhaps stealing intellectual property and doing whatever they can to grow their companies even using somewhat ethical means. It is not because everyone in China is a bad person it's because their society is built on a shame mindset. I means they don't feel bad about some of the actions they take to build their company they only feel shame if they do it in such a way that they get caught.

Whereas on the other hand here in America we expect people to feel guilty when they do something wrong. That's not a hard and fast rule that dominates China or America because everyone is individuals but this is kind of a different cultural mindset.

OK so why are we talking about it here today Jacob solidly lived in an honor and shame society. That means for so much of his lifetime he continued to ask and do things not whether they were right or wrong but whether he got caught or not. As much as Jacob tried to turned to God and as much as God tried to turn Jacob to obey him he continued to make choices that were defined more by expediency or what was convenient to him than by what was right or wrong.

so in this couple chapters we're going to see Jacob and his children experience some of the fruits of his lifestyle.

OK this next chapter that we are going to look at it's an ugly chapter bad things happen in this chapter. And honestly I'd rather not cover it but it's part of God's word and therefore it's worth us taking a look at. It's important for us to see all of God's word and see what God wants us to understand from the good and the bad things that happen.

In this chapter I want you guys to see that God's care and the blessings that he give they don't go to perfect people but sometimes they go to people that are struggling with very obvious failures. You don't have to be perfect for God to bless and work through you. That doesn't mean God endorses your sins or your screw ups but it doesn't mean he is asking you to be a perfect person in order for him to bless you.

The Mess at Shechem

Genesis 34:1–12 ESV

1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”

So as we get into this passage we know that Jacob and his family have camped and settled around this town called shechem. And now at the beginning of the chapter one of jacob's daughters goes out to visit the women of the land. And in verse 2 the Prince of the land sees this woman and does something with her that should only be done with a husband and wife.

The text says he humiliated her by what he did to her.

And after he humiliates this girl he believes he loves her and so he asks his dad to acquire her to buy her.

Now you see that Jacob hears what has happened but he bides his time until his sons get back.

Now hammer the father of this Prince shechem tries to negotiate a price to purchase this girl. He suggests that the families should marry each other and become one big happy family.

Basically they're trying to treat this like a business transaction and not a personal offense. But do you notice what they say in this last verse here? They say earlier in the passes they're willing to pay whatever it takes and then they add on a bride price a gift.

I imagine that's what pushes the brothers of this girl of Dinah over the edge. First of all shechem does something to their sister that she didn't want. Secondly they simply try to buy her like a harlot a prostitute who sold herself regularly.

This made all the brothers mad.

Genesis 34:13–23 ESV

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”

Sadly Jacob instead of taking the lead to try and get this situation solved he settles into the background and allows his sons to take over. They concoct a grand scheme saying the only hindrance to everyone getting married is the fact that the canaanites weren't circumcised. So they suggest that if all the men in the city get circumcised then they would Mary and all become one big family.

this totally makes sense for the men of the city because Jacob was an extremely wealthy man. But the real problem was that God had told the Israelites to be circumcised as a sign of their relationship with him. And they are using this sign of circumcision not to invite other people to follow God but to deceive and to cause harm to other people.

Genesis 34:24–31 ESV

24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

So all the men of the city go and get circumcised. This is a medical procedure that leaves a man hurting for several days. And so the sons of Jacob two of them take their swords and go through killing murdering all the males in the city. And then they come in and take away their sister and they plunder the city steal the wealth and ruin the relationship the family has with everyone in the area.

Notice what Jacob says in verse 30 he doesn't mention sinning against God whatsoever the only concern he has is the possibility that everyone around them will turn against them.

This chapter is full of deception deceit and sin. This is one of the ugly chapters in the Bible where we see how much people can harm each other. Virtually no one in this chapter did the right things. And this chapter is in the Bible as a reminder of the sinfulness of humanity. And also a reminder that God still works in and redeems very sinful people.

Back to Bethel

Genesis 35:1–5 ESV

1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. 5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

God has seen enough. And so he sends Jacob back to Bethel to settle and build an altar to God. And so Jacob responds to what God says by telling his family to put aside all the foreign gods and purify themselves. This might come as a bit of a shock because prior to this the only foreign gods or idols we've heard about are the ones that Rachel stole from her dad. This shows us that a decent number of people in jacob's family still held on to some form of Pagan religion.

As they continue traveling they have now left behind the symbols of their idolatry but now instead of just being known as good neighbors and peaceful shepherds they are also seen as a pack of thugs not to be messed with. God also intervened to protect them.

But what they are really doing here is turning back to God and finding renewal in their relationship with God after finding themselves in the middle of sin and corruption and deception. Sometimes we need moments like that in our lives to simply take time to turn back to God and repentance to worship God.

Genesis 35:6–8 ESV

6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.

Interestingly Jacob names this altar God of the House of God. Deborah is mentioned here almost surprisingly because we've barely heard anything of her since genesis chapter 24.

Genesis 35:9–15 ESV

9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Finally in this last part of the chapter God appears to Jacob and changes his name. Now obviously if you were paying attention Jacob already was given the name Israel couple a couple chapters earlier when he wrestled with the man before meeting esau. But in this chapter God reminds Jacob again of the new name he has.

Birth and Death

Genesis 35:16–22 ESV

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

Rachel dies in childbirth.

Bethehem is mentioned for the first time.

Genesis 35:23–26 ESV

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

The funny thing about this passage is that we know that Benjamin was not born to him in padan aram

Genesis 35:27–29 ESV

27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

This is one of the passages where we have to remember that the stories of genesis are told in story form. That means the narrator wants to write one story just about Abraham one story just about Isaac and one story just about Jacob. Isaac has mentioned sort of as an afterthought in this passage but the reality is Isaac was likely alive when Joseph was sold into Egypt!

A Chapter Full of People

OK we're not going to take time to read through all of chapter 36. This is a genealogy that explains the spread of esau's family throughout the land. It mentions Edom as the land they settle in and we know that Israel interacts with Edom throughout their history.

What we need to see in these chapters is that God doesn't just work through perfect people but he works through people whose lives are sometimes a mess.

Conclusion

According to the American vowel society almost every American household has at least one Bible at least that was what it was several years ago but that doesn't mean everyone knows the Bible for some of Americans the sermon on the mount was delivered by Billy Graham Joan of Arc as the name of Noah's wife and 80% of so-called born again Christians believed that God helps those who helps themselves is a biblical saying.

Here are some other results:

Genesis III. Conclusion: Biblical Illiteracy

• Less than one-half of Americans read the Bible every week.

• About one-third do not know that the Book of Isaiah is part of the Old Testament.

• About 40 percent erroneously believe that the entire Bible was written after Jesus’ birth.

• The number of people who read the Bible at all has declined from 73 percent of the population in 1990 to just 59 percent at the end of the twentieth century. As the American flag represents patriotism, the Bible is a symbol of faith, a faith that is very broad but also very shallow.

We see throughout the life of Jacob and he saw God speaks to Jacob and Jacob repeatedly ignores his responsibility to be a leader. Jacob lived for himself. He lived for all intents and purposes like a Pagan even though he was called to follow God.

Guys Jacob and you saw we're given clear guidance on how God called them to live and far too often they chose the wrong thing. We've got God's word let's not make the same mistakes that Jacob and esau did.

December 4th 2000 the officials in Germany finally carried out and completed an unusual task they cut down trees that had been planted in the form of a swastika 60 years before when you look at them from the air the trees are lighter in color than the forest around them showing the symbol of Nazi Germany more than half a century after the Third Reich had attempted to take over the world.

Sin and evil continue to show up in our world today. We've seen how deceit runs all the way through jacob's family. We see how isaac's weaknesses as a father are reflected in Jacob with his treachery and murdery and adultery. We see how jacob's son Simeon Levi and Reuben since they're unpunished those sins come back to haunt them and how Jacob blesses them later on.

It's hard to believe that it took 60 years for people to notice and cut down these Nazi trees. Perhaps officials refused to deal with the problem. But just as jacob's family realized they needed to get rid of foreign gods and the symbols of evil so do we need to cut down the symbols and trees in our lives.

O where and your life do you need to live with repentance. Where do you need to cut down symbols of sin? Where do you need to turn back to God? Our culture is very big on putting up symbols isn't it? We're big on changing Facebook profiles and posting images on Facebook to symbolize what we believe. We need to be very careful in what we allow in our lives

Let’s Pray

Genesis V. Prayer

Father, thank you for the grace you displayed to Jacob and Esau, and to us as well. Help us to be people of the covenant who love your Word and raise our children to honor God. Amen.