Wise as Serpents

Genesis 34:1-2 and Matthew 10:16

And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Today we will focus on Dinah and what befell her because of her foolish adventure. Dinah is the daughter of Leah and Jacob. Jacob and his family reached the city of Shechem in Canaan from Padanaram. He bought a piece of land from Hamor, Shechem’s father and pitched a tent before the city of Shechem. I think that Shechem must have observed Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. Dinah, the daughter of Leah went out to see the daughters in the land of Canaan. Apparently, she set out on this mission all alone. She did not realize that she was exposing herself as a prey to the wolves of that land. She went as an innocent sheep in the midst of some wolves in that land. Setting out all alone on a mission like this when she was not familiar with the land or the people was a very risky adventure. She had six immediate brothers and she probably could have sought their help.

Shechem, the son of Hamor saw her, took her and defiled her. Shechem’s heart was drawn to Dinah and he wanted to take her as his wife. He sent his father Hamor to Jacob to fix his marriage with Dinah. In Genesis 34:8-10, Hamor speaks to Jacob saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.” It is clearly said in Deuteronomy 7:3-4 that Israelites are not to intermarry with Canaanites. “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.” The reason Israelites were asked not to marry the Canaanites was because the Canaanites were idol worshippers and will turn Israelite sons and daughters away from following the Lord God. The first commandment from Exodus 20:3 states “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” God did not let this happen. We also observe in Genesis 34:23 that the Canaanite men were eyeing Jacob’s property. “Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.” In Genesis 34 we notice that Simeon and Levi, sons of Leah killed Hamor and Shechem. The end result of this foolish adventure by Dinah is disastrous, causing grief to Jacob and his family.

Matthew 10:16 says “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Here Jesus is sending out his twelve disciples to preach the Good News. He asked them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These disciples were going out as sheep in the midst of wolves. In Dinah’s case also, if she had applied God given wisdom the whole situation could have been averted. Not only did she get defiled, but also harm was caused and many men including Hamor and Shechem were killed. We all need wisdom to survive here on earth and to be God’s witnesses. If we do not depend on God for supplying us with His wisdom, the consequences could be disastrous. Proverbs 3:18 says, “Wisdom is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.” May the Lord God give us wisdom in every area of our life!

Tomorrow: Tamar’s Righteousness Rewarded