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1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.
Revival Series Pt. 12
“The Foundation of Revival”
Ezra 1:1 -5
Sometimes your feelings suppress our desires to be able to be revived
Something has to raise up inside of you
It’s a terrible thing to walk away from something and then look back and watch that thing flourish
One of the greatest things we have is the ability to adapt.
When we are comfortable we compromise
Only by the Spirit of God will we grow and have sustainable revival
Opposition will always come against the process of revival. Don’t let the opposition be coming from the inside of you.
this revival will require us to fall on our faces before God.
Opening Question: When have you ever been so angry you were afraid of what you might do?
Genesis 34:1 - 10
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.”
Question #1: How would you define “justice” in this situation?
LESSON: Dinah was the only daughter Israel had, and she went out most likely seek and get friendly with some of the other women in her new surroundings. What happened to her was unthinkable, and could not have been imagined by her or her family. But also the response Jacob, had was surprising. The anger, and desire for vengeance you would think a father would feel was encapsulated by his sons. This incident in this passage actually raises questions about how these men were fathered. First Shechem father, Hamor, tried to smooth over this heinous act by pleading his son’s case for marriage, property, and basically offering the daughters of the land most likely only to appease the wrath of Dinah’s brothers.
LESSON: Then you have to question how the son’s of Leah grew up most likely knowing they were children of the lesser love wife of Jacob throughout their lives, and also hearing how their father tricked his own father, and brother, Esau. Was all that anger just about what happened to their sister, or was there more to it, and what was their father part in shaping their mindset, and attitudes?
Did anyone even consider how Dinah must have felt? Would you want to marry the very person who just violated you?
Genesis 34:11 - 29
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.” 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.” 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.
Question #2: What was your initial reaction to Simeon and Levi’s response to what happen to their sister?
LESSON: There was evil on both sides. Jacob’s sons, taking after their father’s old ways, “...answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully...” (34:13). Plotting to takeout Shechem by surprise. Requiring them to be circumcised allegedly to make them pure for marriage. Then the men Hamor and company considered it a small price to pay for a bride (34:19), and all Jacob’s possessions (34:23), so they eagerly agreed (34:24).
[SIDE NOTE: March of this year when Deaconess St. Leger testified about her experience with abuse, and we gave resources to help those suffering from the trauma cope with emotional scares]
Question #3: In what situations are you tempted to take matters into your own hands?
Genesis 34:30 - 31
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?”
Question #4: Why do you think this story is in the Bible? What is the lesson in this story for today?
FINAL COMMENTS: The men in this story respond in ways that show little faith in God: Shechem violated God’s law by doing violence to an innocent woman; Jacob did not trust God would maintain his family in the land like He promised; and Simeon and Levi used a sacred symbol of the covenant with God as a trick to murder far more people than were guilty.
Chapter 35: Where was the first place God became real to you?
Genesis 35:1 - 4
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.
Question #5: What to these verses reveal about the influence under which Jacob’s family found themselves?
Question #6: Have you ever attempted to bury a part of your past? Did it work?
LESSON: Jacob experienced a personal revival, which spilled over into a family revival. After completely abdicating his leadership role during the Dinah debacle, he finally manned up. And we can glean three steps for anyone can follow when returning to God:
First, he said, ...“Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you...” Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, had snatched some of her father’s idols, so for the past twenty years, those idols had been in Jacob’s household. He announced it was time for a clean break and put them away for good.
Second, he said, “...Purify yourselves...” This is an extension of the first point. Get idols out, and remove the sin from your midst. It also suggests a change in mindset. It’s one thing to physically remove an idol, it’s another thing entirely to change your mind about it.
Third, “...change your clothes...” Changing garments symbolizes a reorientation of one’s life. For example, when a judge puts on their robe, they are no longer an ordinary person, but one who has authority. In revival God expects us to change our position, and reorient ourselves so that God’s authority can flow through us.
Genesis 35:5 - 15
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. 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. 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.
LESSON: Just a few verses earlier we see Jacob cowering in fear, but when he set out for Bethel, suddenly a terror from God came over the cities around them (35:5). What changed? Jacob had stepped up to be the leader God called him to be. He led his family in revival. He listened to the voice of God, and now those he once feared turned and dared not to harm him, nor his family.
God also repeated His promise to change Jacob’s name to Israel (35:10), a symbol of a new identity and a new direction. The promise had lain dormant until Jacob stepped into his proper role as head, and priest of his household.
Genesis 35:16 - 20
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.
Question #7: How would you summarize Rachel’s contribution to God’s story?
LESSON: Rachel give birth to her second son while dying and named him Ben-oni, which means “Son of My Sorrows” (35:18). Jacob renamed him Benjamin, which means “Son of the Right Hand”, as an indication of the place the son would have in Jacob’s heart.
Genesis 35:21 - 29
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. 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. 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.
LESSON: Almost as an aside, the story points out that Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (35:26). Though she was not his mother, this was still an egregious sin similar to incest. Reuben's lack of self-control would be the very reason he would not inherit the covenant. This reminds us that no sin is committed in secret. In the end, everything comes to light.
Unlike the last time Isaac expected his death, when his sons were conniving against each other to steal his blessing. According to custom, this was the time the older brother, Esau, would have inherited his birthright. It was ironic then that the two brothers put the past aside and buried their father peacefully.
Question #8: How would you summarize Isaac’s contribution to God’s story?
CLOSING: (Food for thought)
How would you summarize your contribution to God’s story in the world? In what ways would you like to contribute to God’s work in the years to come?