Revenge
Read Genesis 34:1-31.
What do you do with a story like this? Tucked into the narrative about Joseph is this strange, violent story about his sister, Dinah. Dinah is taken advantage of and raped by a foreigner, but then her rapist decides he loves her and wants to marry her. So Dinah's brothers devise a scheme. Invite them to join their clan by being circumcised and when they are all in pain from the circumcision, invade their town and slaughter them all. The plan works, the people are all killed and Dinah is saved. End of story.
Except it's still a strange story to be stuck into the middle of this story of Joseph. Why is it here? And what it is trying to tell us? I think there are several reasons this story is here. First of all, it's something that really happened. It was part of the family chronicle, and in some ways it shows a division in the brothers' attitude. Contrast the way they treat their sister (defending her honor, rescuing her from a desperate situation) with the way they treat Joseph (threatening to kill him, selling him into slavery instead, not thinking about him again). Dinah's story also speaks to the value of each and every human being. In a culture where women were often treated as little more than property, Dinah is valued by her brothers, protected by her family, and seen as more than a bargaining chip.
It's also important to remember that the Bible reports what happened but does not endorse what happened. (That's true in many situations.) This is not an approval for revenge seeking. Jacob even speaks up against what the brothers did at the end of the passage (did he not know what they had planned beforehand?). Jesus will later speak against taking revenge: "I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also" (Matthew 5:39). The Genesis passage even invites the reader to consider what a better response might have been. When confronted by their father, the brothers ask, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” (34:31). Well, of course not. No one should be treated like that. But their question also invites a further question: how could this have been handled better?
Oddly, we're still asking the question today. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, I hope we have learned that we must honor and protect the victim, but can we learn to do that without murdering the other? Can we find ways that move us toward redemption, toward wholeness and healing? Punishment is too easy. Redemption is hard, which is why we often don't work toward it. But we should. We must. As Christians, we are people of redemption, people who believe in resurrection, in hope, in new life. In any situation, we ought to be seeking the redemptive end.
I realize and fully admit that I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who has not been in such a situation. But I still believe God is in the healing and restoration business, not the punishment business. I still believe it breaks God's heart any time we treat our fellow human beings as "less than."
To answer the brothers, "No!" Emphatically, no. What was done to Dinah was wrong, no doubt about it. But Jacob is not questioning that. He's asking the redemptive question instead. Was there a better way to handle this? Was there a way that healing could have taken place? Could we have dealt with these fellow human beings in a better way? Is there a way healing can take place in all such situations in our world? Or are we locked in to the endless cycle of anger, hate, punishment and destruction?
What do you do with a story like this? Tucked into the narrative about Joseph is this strange, violent story about his sister, Dinah. Dinah is taken advantage of and raped by a foreigner, but then her rapist decides he loves her and wants to marry her. So Dinah's brothers devise a scheme. Invite them to join their clan by being circumcised and when they are all in pain from the circumcision, invade their town and slaughter them all. The plan works, the people are all killed and Dinah is saved. End of story.
Except it's still a strange story to be stuck into the middle of this story of Joseph. Why is it here? And what it is trying to tell us? I think there are several reasons this story is here. First of all, it's something that really happened. It was part of the family chronicle, and in some ways it shows a division in the brothers' attitude. Contrast the way they treat their sister (defending her honor, rescuing her from a desperate situation) with the way they treat Joseph (threatening to kill him, selling him into slavery instead, not thinking about him again). Dinah's story also speaks to the value of each and every human being. In a culture where women were often treated as little more than property, Dinah is valued by her brothers, protected by her family, and seen as more than a bargaining chip.
It's also important to remember that the Bible reports what happened but does not endorse what happened. (That's true in many situations.) This is not an approval for revenge seeking. Jacob even speaks up against what the brothers did at the end of the passage (did he not know what they had planned beforehand?). Jesus will later speak against taking revenge: "I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also" (Matthew 5:39). The Genesis passage even invites the reader to consider what a better response might have been. When confronted by their father, the brothers ask, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” (34:31). Well, of course not. No one should be treated like that. But their question also invites a further question: how could this have been handled better?
Oddly, we're still asking the question today. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, I hope we have learned that we must honor and protect the victim, but can we learn to do that without murdering the other? Can we find ways that move us toward redemption, toward wholeness and healing? Punishment is too easy. Redemption is hard, which is why we often don't work toward it. But we should. We must. As Christians, we are people of redemption, people who believe in resurrection, in hope, in new life. In any situation, we ought to be seeking the redemptive end.
I realize and fully admit that I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who has not been in such a situation. But I still believe God is in the healing and restoration business, not the punishment business. I still believe it breaks God's heart any time we treat our fellow human beings as "less than."
To answer the brothers, "No!" Emphatically, no. What was done to Dinah was wrong, no doubt about it. But Jacob is not questioning that. He's asking the redemptive question instead. Was there a better way to handle this? Was there a way that healing could have taken place? Could we have dealt with these fellow human beings in a better way? Is there a way healing can take place in all such situations in our world? Or are we locked in to the endless cycle of anger, hate, punishment and destruction?
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