Genesis 33:12

We have seen in Genesis chapters 32 and 33 how well the Lord protected Jacob from those who would have been his enemies. God changed Laban and God changed Esau so that they would not harm Jacob. Jacob had God’s promises and he had God’s protection because God had already decided that the Messiah would come through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” because of Jacob’s great desire to seek the Lord and His blessings. Even though the Lord promised to take care of Jacob, Jacob continued to do the best that he could to take care of himself also. Jacob knew that Esau might still want to get revenge on Jacob at a later date, and so Jacob kept his distance from Esau. In Genesis 32:12 Esau tries to get Jacob to travel with him. Quoting Esau, the Bible says in Genesis 32:12, “And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.” But Jacob’s response and other conversation between Jacob and Esau is given in Genesis 32:13-17, “And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.”

So we see that Jacob had finally returned to the land of Canaan. Jacob had been gone for many years, but God brought him back because that was God’s will for Jacob. God’s plan had to do with much more than just Jacob. God’s plan involved the future of the nation of Israel, the coming of Jesus Christ, and the salvation of all who would be blessed through believing in Jesus Christ. God is always at work, guiding and directing us. He closes doors and He opens doors. God touches hearts and He changes hearts so that His perfect will is done. God knows the end from the beginning. God has a plan for each of our lives, and He is bringing that plan into fruition even to the point of being involved in the details of all things that happen to each of us, and the details of all the things that determine where we go and where we live. God is at work. “Glory, glory, Hallelujah, His truth is marching on.”

It is interesting to note that when Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, Jacob stopped and dwelt at Succoth. Succoth is beyond the river Jordan in what is today part of the country of Jordan. Of course, the boundaries that make up modern day Israel are much smaller than the land of Canaan that God promised to Abraham and his descendents. This fact makes it clear that today’s modern country of Israel does not encompass the extent of the land that God promised. So, the Israel of today has not yet seen the fulfillment of the promises that God made to Abraham concerning a country. Those promises of God to Abraham will only be fulfilled when Jesus the Messiah returns to the earth. One of the reasons that Jesus shall return will be to fulfill the promises. God always keeps His promises. The Bible says in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” When Jesus returns, He will come to the land of Canaan, and He will take possession of all the land that God promised to Abraham’s seed.

Concerning Jacob’s life in the land of Canaan, the Bible says in Genesis 34:1-2, “And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.” We see that it was not safe for a young woman to be alone in the land of Canaan three thousand years ago. Some things do not change. There can be terrible results when a young woman is alone in the presence of a man who is aggressive and who has no moral standards. That is one of the reasons that past generations of parents and some parents today have had chaperones to make sure that young people do not get into situations that could lead to what happened to Dinah. However, sometimes it is the women who are immoral as was seen with Lot’s daughters, and the injustice done to Joseph by the wife of the Pharaoh of Egypt. But in this case in Genesis it was the man who sinned. We know that the entire situation was caused by Sheshem. It was Sheshem’s sin because it says, “he saw her,” “he took her,” he “lay with her,” and he “defiled her.”

Notice that it started when “he saw her.” Improper strong desires and lusts often begin with what one looks at. What you look at can begin a thought process that takes you down the wrong path that ends with a terrible sin. Be careful what you look at. It says in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” One thing that helps you to keep your heart is to keep your eyes from looking at or reading what you should be avoiding. One of the problems in this modern society in which we live is that there are many improper words, acts, and sexual images which are displayed or advertised by Hollywood, the internet, magazines, and television.

The Bible says in Genesis 34:3-29, “And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.”

This passage that we just read ended in a great deal of violence. Many were killed and many were enslaved. It is important to notice how all these troubles started. All of this violence started with one sexual sin. Sexual desire is a strong human emotion, but when taken out of its proper marriage environment, the sexual immorality leads to even more negative emotions; those of anger, hatred, jealousy, revenge, and murder. That is one of the reasons that there is so much violence in our society: there is so much sexual immorality. Incest, and rape, and adultery, and infidelity, and child molestation have many terrible consequences, and one of these consequences is violence. It is important to realize that in many cases the sexual immorality would not have happened and the resulting violence would not have happened if those committing the sexual acts had avoiding letting their eyes see what they should not have seen. It says in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

Another result to all of this violence that originated because of Shechem’s sin and that lead to the sons of Jacobs getting vengeance was that Jacob became fearful for his life once again. Jacob started thinking that people would now want to get revenge on him and his family. The Bible says in Genesis 34:30-31, “And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?”

Of course, the Lord was much more aware of what was going on than was Jacob; and the Lord knew what needed to be done to keep Jacob safe. God was going to keep Jacob safe because God was going to send the Messiah through the lineage of Jacob. The Bible says in Genesis 35:1, “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.” Sometimes it is best to stay where you are, and sometimes it is best to go someplace else. If you walk in fellowship with the Lord, then He will guide you in the way in which you should go. He will touch your heart. He will answer your prayers. He will shut one door or open another in order to guide you according to His plan. Just make sure that you go His way, and not your own way. It says in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Abraham’s servant said in Genesis 24:27, “I being in the way, the Lord led me…” One of the many blessings of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ is having Him as our constant companion. He is always with His believers, and because He is with us, He guides us. How terrible to go through life and not have a spiritual guide. Jesus is the best guide of all because He knows all things.

___________________________________________________