Genesis 34

Genesis Chapter 34

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.
(Gen 34:30)

The only word I can think of to describe this story is TRAGIC. I makes me so sad to read it, and I think that the most tragic think of all is the fact that it could have been completely avoided. In this story, and the events preceding it, we see several ways the whole scene could have been avoided.

1. They should have never been in Schechem. There was no reason for Jacob to be living here… In fact we saw yesterday that by being here he was breaking his promise.
2. Once he was there, he should have never allowed his children to wander around inside the city of Schechem… as God’s children they had no business being there.
3. Once the awful crime was commited, Jacob could have taken some sort of action. I believe his INACTION in the situation was another factor that made it even uglier.
4. If Simeon and Levi had not let hatred grow so strong and dominate there decision, the final outcome could have been avoided.

So we see that this awful tragedy was years in the making… it was the fruit of a series of FLESHLY DECISIONS. The final assessment was that these chosen people of God had now made themselves EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE to the very people God had called them to be a light to.

My exhortation to all of you this morning is simple: Don’t let your flesh control the decisions you make, and when the Lord leads you somewhere FOLLOW. There is nothing that will destroy our witness quicker than neglecting to listen to the Lords voice. So this morning, hear the Lord’s voice!!!