Hey all,
It was great seeing so many of you guys coming out for bible study last night. What a great blessing! A reminder that we have our College Bible Study tomorrow night at 6pm sharp. Make sure to be there by 6pm. Here’s today’s devotion:
Thurs, Jan 26th – Genesis 34
Many years ago, Daniel Webster (the one who created the famous dictionary) wanted to create another version of the Bible that would remove the more scandalous stories in the Bible. Obviously he was not successful and there is a reason for these stories. It displays the sinfulness of God’s people and how the Lord would bring about redemption. One of those stories is found in Genesis 34 with the rape of Dinah. Dinah would innocently go out to meet the women of the area by herself which was unwise. Shechem would see her and overpower her. But unlike Amnon who hated Tamar after he raped her, Shechem wanted to marry her. He would have his father enter into an agreement with God’s people so that they could intermarry. Right away, Jacob should have known better b/c the Lord had specifically forbade that action. His sons would step in and require circumcision to complete the covenant agreement. It seemed fair to the people but it was a means
for vengeance. A few days after all of the men were circumcised,, Simeon and Levi would go into the city with their army and kill all the unsuspecting men. You can imagine the scene as their men would enter home after home, the men would try to raise their swords but they would end up screaming in pain from the circumcision.
What do we learn from this story? It contrasts the acts of God’s people versus the Lord Himself. Dinah’s brothers used God’s holy sacrament as a means to weaken their opponents and destroy them. But when Jesus offers the cup, He offers it with no strings attached. When Jesus makes the invitation to salvation there is a condition of works only the necessity of faith. Jesus could have justifiably laid out judgment on us but He would choose not to in order to secure our redemption.
Take care everyone and hope to see you all soon.
SDG,
P. Ben