Please read Genesis 34.
www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/gen/34/1/s_34001
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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