1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
Matthew Henry rightly observes, “Grace does not run in the blood.” This chapter unfolds the coming apart of the children of Jacob. A parent can be spiritually minded, a Christian, a Baptist, a “fundamentalist,” but these convictions are neither hereditary nor genetic. Just because mom and dad are saved, doesn’t mean that the children are. Just because parents may be surrendered to God, doesn’t automatically mean that the children have a heart for God. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country isn’t the only one to blame. Jacob should have known where his daughter was. How many parents take interest in knowing where their children are? Not just physically, but spiritually. How many parents actually parent their children? It seems today that children have indeed become our “oppressors” (Isa. 3:12). But who allowed this to happen? I will give you one guess, and a clue, it isn’t mama. Dinah was the only daughter Jacob had. Dinah was from God, given from Leah to Jacob. And so is every child a gift from God to his or her parent. Mom and Dads (especially dads) need to take heed before it’s too late. There are so many wonderful promises in God’s Word about parenting, but not one of them can be applied, when they are ignored or substituted or explained away. Trust and obey is God’s ordained way of claiming His promises.
But Jacob isn’t all to blame. Dinah was of the age that she should have known better. She “went out to see the daughter’s of the land” (v.1). Her curiosity took over her sensibilities. She was “seen” or noticed by Shechem (v.2). Perhaps she was dressed immodestly, but I digress. I tend to think she was dressed modestly, and perhaps that made the prince even more desirous to have her. If so, her outward dress betrayed her inward condition. At any rate, Dinah bears part of the blame.
It is never good for Christians to act like Jacob, to take their blessings for granted, and to neglect their solemn duties towards God and the home. It is never good for Christians to act like Dinah, to live a life of contradiction, destroying the family name, and bringing shame upon the cause of Christ. May we all be reminded that “grace does not run in the blood.” What the great Bible commentator (Matthew Henry) said isn’t Scripture, but it reflects the truth from Scripture.
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