Jacob and Sons
So many things to think about after reading about Jacob’s life, and I’m not even finished with his full account yet.
1. Jacob lived with, and was ruled by, lots of fear. He feared for his life when he fled his brother (after tricking him), he fled for his life from his father in law (after tricking him), he fears for his life when returning to his brother, and some other things he says shows his fear. It makes me sad to see his life lived in such a way, because in other ways, he is fearless. When he wants a blessing, nothing will stand in his way (and he clearly isn’t above trickery to get it). He even wrestled with God to demand a blessing. Fearless and fearful. Such a strange dichotomy in one man.
2. Jacob wrestled with God, and God respected, and allowed, it. God wants us to be real with Him, to wrestle with Him, to be fearless before Him, in the sense that we can be real. But, as with Job, God has the last say by putting man in his place, in this instance by tweaking Jacob’s hip. (Apparently God can play dirty too?) It is almost amusing that God chose to make a people for Himself from a lineage of man that wrestles with Him though. God had to know that was going to be a difficult precedent down the road.
3. As Jacob prepares to reunite with Esau, who Jacob thinks is coming out to kill him, he continues to give thanks to God. In the face of what seems to him to be certain turmoil and despair, Jacob still recognizes God’s goodness. This is definitely something I need to keep in mind. It makes me think of a discussion I had recently about the perspective of the current generation compared to our grandparents. We think about how things could be better, and because of that are difficult to please. They (or at least some of them) look at a situation as ‘it could be worse’ or ‘at least it’s better than where I was yesterday, so I’ll take it and be happy about that.’
Remember to give thanks where thanks is due. Don’t let one negative experience, even if it is life-altering, color every good thing that came before it. Or the good that is going on around it too. Keep an even keel about the matter, keep it in perspective.
This reminds me of the story I just heard at church from a couple who are preparing for a church plant. Last year, in the very beginning stages of discussion and planning for the new church plant, the wife was pregnant with twins. Due to complications, and even them making a moral decision they felt was right, they lost both children. On Mother’s Day. If that isn’t a crushing blow, I don’t know what is. When the head pastor asked if they still wanted to continue with the church plant, the wife answered that she was even more convinced than ever that it needed to move forward. That’s conviction, that’s keeping the right perspective, that’s not losing faith in the face of tragedy and suffering.
4. Another story that happens: While living near a city of heathens, one of the men takes a liking to Dinah, one of Jacob’s daughters. He takes her, defiles her (which I’m guessing means rape), and then has the audacity to say “I like her so much, I want to keep her.” He then offers any amount to buy the right to marry her. This seems like it’s somewhere in the vicinity of slavery and prostitution.
Her brothers, Jacob’s sons, felt the same way, and were infuriated in their grief for their sister’s shame and loss. They ended up tricking the men of the entire city (who were plotting against them in a way anyway) and killed them all, then plundered their goods.
It would seem the brothers took quite the offense at Dinah’s treatment and weren’t going to stand by and let it go unanswered. In no uncertain terms.
There are plenty of things from that culture I am glad do not exist in ours today, but we sure could use this sort of response to rape. Men of a family have lost their chivalry to stick up for each other and for the women of their family. Those are the two things I see in this: a lack of chivalrous attitude and a laissez faire approach to rape and sexual assault.
Of course Jacob was afraid of the repercussions, but again for no reason since everyone else in the area was afraid of them. Imagine that, when raping someone’s sister and daughter has brutal consequences, and no one else wants to be made an example of?
