Genesis 31:32-42

2009.Mar.13 17:00

The Household Idols

"The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. She said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me "So he searched but did not find the household idols.
(Genesis 31:32-35, NASB)

Okay, let’s go ahead and handle a lesson which the Bible and various mythologies make rather a point about: Don’t say what you’re going to do before you know the details, especially if what you say you will do involves killing somebody. Seriously, folks, not smart. But such a guy thing to do, neh?

Fortunately for Jacob, his younger wife is as capable as he or his father in deception. Cos wouldn’t he have hated himself had Laban found the idols in Rachel’s tent. But seriously, “Yeah, go ahead and look, buddy,” is the kind of arrogant attitude that guys are famous for, and which serves no one well. A better response may have been, “I didn’t take your idols, let’s look together and find out what happened.” When you don’t have enough information, admit it, and where appropriate, seek out more.

Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? "Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. "These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. "That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. "Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. "These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night."
(Genesis 31:36-42, NASB)

On another angle, Jacob misses a chance to learn this lesson. Granted, given how stupid his response was, it’s probably better for him that he missed learning this time. Still, he’s a schmuck (sp?). He uses this situation as a chance to fill out the latter part of his passive-aggressiveness. Having tried to just leave the country without a stir, Jacob now lets spill all his complaints. One of the most profound lessons I’ve learned regarding relationships with others is to forget. Now, one can’t forget all past hurts, and doing so would leave you open to abuse. But for minor hurts, especially for things that were not intentional, following up forgiveness with a decision to actually forget it is great. Sure, it’s annoying when you’re frustrated with another person and can’t think of any past examples of their failures, but, then, that’s the point.

You can choose to stop thinking about things in the past that just annoy you or make you mad. Practical way. Force yourself to try to think about seven other things simultaneously. They don’t have to be important. It’s hard to do; you keep dragging back into your mind that you’re trying to forget X. But it actually doesn’t take that long. Some flower outside, whether you had any dreams last night, why Laban is a twat…wait, no back up one, some LOLcat, what is the capitol of Idaho, the big screen tv you saw on sale, Laban sent away his flocks…no, find another, why do we use imperial units, what’s your favorite desert…poof, it’s gone. It’s easy to forget you were even trying to forget something. Yes, is important to be wise, but much of what we forgive wasn’t that big a deal to begin with. Just go ahead and forget it.

Genesis 34:24-31

2009.Jun.15 14:00

Revenge

Read Genesis 34:24-31 | Full Chapter

And all the people who went out of the town gate listened and heeded what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male was circumcised who was a resident of that town. But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house [where she had been all this time] and departed.
(Genesis 34:24-26, AMP)

Simeon and Levi avenge the raping of their sister Dinah. Plus some. Plus a lot. Their action is extreme, punishing the whole town for the act of Shechem and its acceptance by Hamor. Certainly, it is more than required for simply rescuing Dinah.

This might be a useful time for me to get on my soapbox about not following blindly political leaders. It gets people killed. That is all.

[Then the rest of] Jacob's [eleven] sons came upon the slain and plundered the town, because there their sister had been defiled and disgraced. They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field; All their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, making spoil even of all [they found] in the houses.
(Genesis 34:27-29, AMP)

Now, the other nine brothers (Benjamin not yet born), enter the town and take the spoils. It’s not clear whether the whole is coordinated, or if the other nine are simply taking advantage of Simeon and Levi’s actions. Regardless, this whole situation works out pretty good for them, at least in the immediate. I acknowledge that’s a cynical comment, but I can’t believe the motiviation of avenging Dinah alone could have justified this wholesale slaughter. On another hand, the men of the town were deceived by the promise of the same sort of riches and plunder that Jacob’s sons now experience.

And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household. And they said, Should he [be permitted to] deal with our sister as with a harlot?
(Genesis 34:30-31, AMP)

It’s up to Jacob to point out the downside: they may have made many more enemies. After all, the locals will wonder if it’s not better to get rid of these foreigners as soon as possible, and form an alliance amongst themselves to ensure utter victory. Simeon and Levi are not having it. They respond that their actions were appropriate to defend Dinah’s honor.

And where is the middle ground? To me, killing Hamor and Shechem would have been justifiable. But it would have been less likely to subject them to the “pre-emptive” attacks of others. Yes, there would have been new difficulties with that action. Would the townspeople attack in response? If not, does Jacob become the de-facto leader of this town? And so on. An argument in favor of the sons’ actions would be that these Canaanites currently in the area are probably the same that Yahweh will lead Israel against after the Exodus. However, there’s no record of Yahweh approving this particular attack.

Anger unchecked often results in an excessive response that causes unnecessary and undeserved suffering.