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Genesis 34-36: Jacob's Journey and Family Trials
January 15, 2026 · 14 min
Explore Jacob's journey, his encounters with God, and the trials his family faced in Genesis 34-35.
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The Tragedy of Dinah and the Cost of Silence 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. It's great to have you along on our journey through the word of God. Today, our journey takes us to Genesis chapters 34 through 35, verse 2 of chapter 35. And Jacob said to his0:22 household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Okay. Just kind of a quick overview of where we've been.0:33 Jacob has left Haran. He's left it behind, finally free from his deceptive father-in-law. Along the way, he has another encounter with god that we read about this time. It was a night long wrestling0:45 match with the last which left him hobbled and with a new name. Soon after, he comes face to face with his brother Esau after 2 decades. But instead of violence, there was peace. So once0:57 Jacob was back in Canaan, he purchased a parcel of land near Shechem, which we looked at last time, and that's where we pick up in chapter 34 verse 1. Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had born to1:09 Jacob, came out to see the daughters of the land. Now Dinah was probably 14 to 15 years old, the scholars say. Verse 2, and when Shechem, the son of Hamar, the1:21 Hittite Hivite, prince of the county, saw her, he took her and lay with her and violated her. His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and1:33 spoke kindly to the young woman. So Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, get me this young woman as a wife. And Jacob heard that he had1:45 defiled Dinah, his daughter. Now his sons with were with the livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. Then Hamar, the father of Shechem, went1:56 out to Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came in in from the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved and very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in2:08 Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done on many fronts. So my first observation here is reading through this. And I I will have to tell you very2:20 candidly. I had to read through this a lot even though I've read it many times because I just there's there's there's some truths here for us that we need to grab a hold of. Alright? My first observation2:32 is that there was this vacuum created by Jacob's silence, his lack of taking action, and it was filled by the outrage of his sons. Now Jacob2:44 was was often as we read, he's very often passive and fearful. It is possible, though, it is possible that he was just considering all of the facts and what the best2:55 response would be. Verse 8. But Hamar spoke with him saying, the soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give him give her to him as a wife. And make marriages with us and3:07 give your daughters to us and take our daughters to yourselves. But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamar, his father, and spoke deceitfully. Alright. Here we see it again, that deceit that's in3:19 the DNA because he had defiled Dinah, their sister. And they said to them, we cannot do this thing to give our sister to 1 who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to3:31 us. Now notice, this was Jacob's sons who were making this deal. Where was Jacob? What was he doing? Was he passive as this was happening? Now let me just say this,3:43 the principle of not intermarrying was already in place. Now we're gonna see when they come out of the land when they come out of Egypt, out of bondage, and begin to establish their nation, it's specifically stated.3:56 But look what what I mean, Jacob. Jacob Jacob's father was his, Abraham's servant was sent back, to the land of4:08 Haran to find a wife for Isaac. And where did Jacob go to find a wife? He went back same place. So and the reason was they didn't wanna intermarry4:20 with the Canaanites who were idolaters. Alright. Verse 25. Now it came to pass on the third day when they were in pain. Alright. So they went through it. They bought the deal. They were circumcised. And the third day4:31 when they were in pain, the 2 of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. All of them, not4:42 just the perpetrator, but all of them. And they killed Hamar and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and went out. Sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the4:54 city because their sister had been defiled. So the rest of them come in and plunder the place. They took the the animals. They took the women and the children. Now the actions of Simeon and Levi were unjustifiable.5:06 Right? Plain and simple. Verse 30. Then Jacob said to now he speaks up. Simeon and Levi, you have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among5:18 the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And since I am few in number, they will gather together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my house and I. But they5:30 said, should he treat our sister like a harlot? Now alright. Let me just put it. I I think the the key to understanding this chapter actually5:41 lies in the next 1. Okay. So let's go right into it. Verse 1. Then God said to Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make an altar there to God who appeared to youJacob's Call to Renewal and God's Covenant at Bethel 5:53 when you fled from the face of Esau, your brother. So he's fleeing again, and God says go to Bethel. That's where we had that first encounter. And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away6:05 the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God who answered me in the day of my distress6:17 and has been with me in the way which I have gone. And and it's like this ongoing answering me in these distress because Jacob is living constantly in distress.6:30 So here, I think, in these, these verses, we find both the problem and the solution. Alright? This is as I've read over and over and over this, and just prayed upon it, I I think6:42 here's the problem and the solution. Up until this point, right, there is nothing recorded of Jacob exercising spiritual leadership in his home.6:54 Now he had an encounter with God on at least 4 occasions prior to this call to go back to Bethel in this chapter. But here's something that we see here. I believe we see the takeaway7:05 is spiritual leadership must be intentional. Yes. It must be modeled, but it also must be taught. This is the first time, the very first time here in chapter 35 that we see7:17 Jacob issuing a call and a challenge to his own family. Alright. Here it is. 3 things. Put away or or literally meaning to turn away from the idols, that which takes the rightful7:29 place of the 1 true god. I mean, why were they still carrying around idols? I remember his family. This is over 2 decades. And they're care and we we've already read about7:41 Rachel having those household idols. Second is be clean. Alright. That is a call to sanctification. Now he's talking ceremony the ceremonial7:53 cleanliness, but that is a reflection of the the sanctification that should be taking place in us as believers. And then the third is to change your clothes. And then this is a this is a symbolic reflection of8:05 repentance. Now here, Jacob prepares his family now. First time, but he prepares the family to have an encounter with god. Now maybe it was the8:16 devastating events of of of Shechem that brought him once again to a place of desperation. And god says, here's what you gotta do. Alright. Verse 4. So they gave Jacob all the8:28 foreign gods which were in their hands, all the foreign gods which were in their hands, plural, and the earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree, which8:40 was by Shechem. So he hid them. He buried them. Got rid of them. And they destroyed should've burned them, but he buried them. And they just they and they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities8:52 that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. By the way, just a note here, that is the best defense system. Alright? Honor God and let him put9:04 the fear of God in the hearts of your enemies. This is, frankly, this is what protected America for many, many years. It really was. I mean, it was it was God's hand of9:15 protection upon this nation by putting fear in our enemies. But our spiritual and moral compromise has replaced the fear of, the the fear that was in9:27 the the hearts of our enemies with contempt. This is where I believe the church can protect this nation. This is where we can take leadership by first turning our hearts solely toward God and9:39 as Jacob did here, repenting and walking in a true relationship with God. Don't wait for government to do it. It's not their role. It is the role of believers, followers of Christ, to deal with the spiritual9:51 condition of our nation. Verse 6, so Jacob came to Luz, that is Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, and he and all the people who are with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because10:03 there, God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. That was his first encounter. He's back there again. Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddam10:15 Aram and blessed him. And God said to him, your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.10:27 So he called his name Israel. Now in chapter 32, we saw before when Jacob wrestled with God, his name was changed. This appears to be a restatement to make sure that he got it10:39 right. Then God renewed the promise that had first been given to Abraham. God's promise or his covenant with Abraham and Isaac became Jacob's and his10:51 descendants. Verse 11, and god said to him, I am god almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and king shall come from your11:03 body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, I give to you. And to your descendants after you, I give this land. Then God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. So11:15 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. And Jacob called the name of the place where God11:26 spoke with him, Bethel. Now very quickly in the remainder of this chapter, Rachel dies in childbirth of, Jacob's twelfth son. Jacob sees his11:38 father, Isaac, who is still alive living in Hebron. The death of Isaac is recorded here, but it did not happen until about 15 years after Joseph11:50 disappeared, which we're gonna look at next time. So do you see the longevity of their lives and the overlaps? Now 1 note on the on the death of Isaac recorded is that like Isaac12:02 and Ishmael, who came together to bury their father Abraham, we see Jacob and Esau come together to bury their father. Alright. Chapter 36, is the, the the12:14 tenth book of generations. And we talked about that in Genesis, a combination of these these, books of generations. This is the tenth generation, gives the descendants of Esau. I encourage you12:26 to to read that. Next time, as I mentioned, we look at the life of Joseph from the pit of despair to the prince of Egypt. Father, we thank you for your word, and, again, we thank you for the holy Spirit who is12:38 our teacher, who leads us into all understanding of the truth. And, Lord, we we we're not looking for just a a head knowledge and intellectual, pursuit of your word, but,12:50 Lord, we're looking for a transformational encounter with your word, father, increase our faith that we might respond in obedience13:01 to the words that you give us through scripture. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Have a great day. And until next time, keep standing on the word.13:16 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,13:27 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Tragedy of Dinah and the Cost of Silence5:46 Jacob's Call to Renewal and God's Covenant at Bethel
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