20,21 Mar -- X- rated!

The Bible readings for Tues 20 and Wed 21 March are -- Gen 34:1-35:29; Ps 11:1-3; Prov 3:3-4; Mt 12:38-13:9.

What an appalling story in Gen 24 -- rape, deceit, violence, revenge, slaughter, plunder. If it was a movie, it would surely have to be X-rated. Did you notice that God is not mentioned once in this chapter? The previous chapter ends with God and the next chapter starts with God, but not one mention in this chapter. Jacob and his sons do what they want, without any reference to God. Perhaps the fact that they had foreign gods amongst them (35:2) is a partial explanation. The events are an apt illustration of the turmoil that can happen when we leave God out .

The key characters don't seek God's guidance, but neither does God intervene. Nor does the recorder of this story tell us what God thought about the actions of the key players. There is no overt moralising. In fact, the story ends with a searching question that Simeon and Levi ask in an attempt to justify their actions -- "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

I find some key aspects of the story difficult to interpret. Was Jacob weak and afraid of Hamor, or conciliatory and peace-loving? Was he too ready to forgive? Was he more concerned about security and the bride-price than about Dinah? Were the brothers wrong to deceive and kill Hamor and Shechem and their men or were they right to do anything to prevent intermarriage and integration with the locals? Commentators seem to draw out different and sometimes conflicting morals from the story. What is clear though is that God continues to bring his plan to fulfilment despite the weaknesses and mistakes of key characters.