November 29, 2023

Passage Read: Genesis 33-36
Meditation Verses: 34:2-4

Thought

This appears to be the culture in Canaan and beyond: Take the girl you want, then negotiate with the father (or brother). It happened to Abraham twice, Isaac was warned about the same thing possibly happening, and now Shechem does it to Dinah. Abraham was afraid of the wrong thing, though in truth, if this is how they "take" a wife, then maybe he was right to expect someone to kill him to take his wife! Abraham, on the other hand, sent a servant to negotiate with his family for a wife, not to take one by force, then negotiate a bride price. His culture and sensibilities were different from those in the land of Canaan, and this practice was probably a shadow of the immorality to come, for which God would want the Israelites to destroy them.

Application

Men, left to themselves, do not come up with the most noble methods of dealing with one another. It is not right to first take a woman and lay with her, then determine if the father will allow the marriage, especially when you hold the woman captive. This same practice is becoming common today, though men (and women) captivate each other in less forceful ways, except in the case of outright rape (and kidnapping). The only thing missing is the negotiations with the father for a proper marriage. We have become even less moral than the Canaanites! The role and responsibility of the father needs to be restored, and daughters need to remain under the protection of their father. Otherwise, we are on the same trajectory as the Canaanites, on their way to destruction.