God’s Inexorable March Through The Messes We Make

In the Genesis account, the men that God elected as patriarchs of the nation he will call his own, even while they express faith in him and risk greatly to follow his call, still choose selfishly and foolishly at times. Yet God, always gracious, always working to move his plan to fruition, works through flawed human beings like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to bring about his will. Of course, there are sad and lingering consequences to human sin, but in the end, the will of God prevails and his blessings spill out upon his people. Thank God for his grace, mercy and his inexorable work to accomplish his purposes among his people—and that includes your life and mine.

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 34:9-10, 13,

So Hamor the Canaanite said to Jacob and his sons, “Let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.” … But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor. …But three days later two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there.

What do you do with a story like this? Jacob’s daughter is raped by a Canaanite, the sons of Jacob take revenge on the city of the man who violated her, killing all the men and enslaving all the survivors, making Israel a stench to the other peoples of the land?

How can we wrest an uplifting devotional out of this? What is the take-away here, if there is one at all? Obviously, this is one of the difficult passages in the Bible.

While the narrative gets down in the dirt of sexual assault, violated family honor, revenge and the old school human law of eye-for-eye—although the punishment here far exceeded that—what we find, nevertheless, is that this sad and disturbing account moves forth the theme that God still works through flawed human beings and in spite of the selfish, destructive, sinful things we do to one another.

So far in the Genesis account of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, we have seen how men elected by God as their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even while they have expressed faith in the Lord and have risked greatly to follow his call, still choose selfishly and foolishly at times. Yet God, always gracious, always working to move his plan to fruition, works through flawed human beings to bring about his will. Of course, there are sad and lingering consequences to human sin, but in the end, the will of God prevails and his blessings spill out upon his people.

Thank God for his grace, mercy and his inexorable work to accomplish his purposes among his people—and that includes your life and mine.