City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.’ 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 ‘These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.’ 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.”

Genesis 34:13-24 (ESV)

“2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Galatians 5:2-6 (ESV)

Megan’ Musings 

Cleverness and deceit runs in Jacob’s family. On the outside, the brothers’ condition makes sense, God established the rules of circumcision through their great-grandfather Abraham (Genesis 17:9-14).  But Jacob’s sons had no intention whatsoever of intermarrying with the Canaanites, maybe they stated that condition to scare away Hamor and Shechem, or maybe they were plotting their (spoiler alert!) murder already. It’s disturbing that Jacob is silent throughout the whole interaction, did he truly not care about his daughter’s honor or well-being? He was very clever himself, did he not realize what they had in mind?

Shechem agreed to the conditions, verse 19 says he “did not delay to do the thing,” he did not consider circumcision a sacred act, but as a means of getting Dinah. In verse 23, Hamor and Shechem appealed to the people’s greed, so they could get the family’s wealth and blessings. The circumcision of the Hivites had nothing to do with the Covenant or with God, but with greed. In verse 24, the males who went out of the gate were those who could serve in times of war, this would be crucial later. 

About 1,700 years later, the Apostle Paul addressed the issue of circumcision to the Galatian church.

The church in Galatia was a mix of Jew and Gentile. There was some confusion as to how to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Some Jewish Christians thought physical circumcision was necessary, after all, Jesus Christ was Jewish, so it made sense to them. But Paul wrote physical circumcision was not necessary to be a follower of Jesus Christ, which was shocking to the Jews who have followed the law of Abraham for millennia. Paul (who used to be a Pharisee, he knew the Law left and right) said following Jesus has nothing to do with physical circumcision or certain traditions, but of faith working through love. 

Application 

Like the Hivites, we can do the right things for the wrong reasons, or like the Galatian church, we can do the wrong things for the right reasons. How can we do the right things for the right reasons? The Bible is the absolute Truth, it’s the ultimate Guide on the right mindset and right actions. Don’t just read the Bible, study the words. Digging deeper into the words, particularly the Hebrew meanings, opens a whole new world of discovery. 

Prayer

            Dear Jesus, help me to do the right thing for the right reasons. Guide me when I study Your Word. In Your Name I pray, amen.