Please read Genesis 34.
Meditate on this phrase from verse 5.
So Jacob kept silent.
Here is
another chapter in God’s Word that reads like a novel, yet it is fact not
fiction. These words are eternally preserved to teach you about God and life
and how to do better than those who have gone before.
Many of the
families in the Bible are what would be described today as dysfunctional. The
root of the dysfunction was often fathers who were not present, not speaking
up, and not leading their families in the way of holiness.
When Jacob
heard his daughter, Dinah, was raped by Shechem, he did nothing about it; he
kept silent. His silence gave Hamor, Shechem’s father, time to try to convince
Jacob and his sons that their family should intermarry with his idolatrous
family, settle down, buy land, and live happily ever after.
Observe this
chapter carefully. Jacob did not say a word until the end of the chapter! His
sons did all the talking! They deceived Hamor and Shechem, convincing them they
would let the marriages begin after all the men in Shechem were circumcised.
The men of Shechem agreed to the plan. After every male in the city was in pain
from their circumcisions, Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, killed them all. They
and their other brothers then took the women and children and pillaged their
homes.
Jacob
finally, selfishly spoke out, saying: “You have brought trouble on me by making
me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the
Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against
me and attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household” (Genesis 34:30).
Jacob’s sons
replied that their sister should not have been treated as a harlot! Since their
dad refused to do anything, they handled the situation their way.
Husbands and
fathers, this chapter is for you. Protect your family! Do not hesitate to speak
up on their behalf. Do not hesitate to tell your children, no matter how old
they are, that they cannot go visit the “pagans” of the land (Genesis 34:1).
Your children do not need to attend godless parties, watch godless movies, and
play godless games. You are the head of your home. Speak up!
As a
faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7), use Genesis 34:5 as a reminder to
pray for the men in your life to not be silent and to lead their families in
Godliness.
“LORD,
make ________ not keep silent about You.
Help him
lead and protect his family!
In Your
name, Jesus~”
The WATCHMAN on
the Wall ~ Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell
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