Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Be With Me is a daily 7 minute chronological walk through the New Testament hosted by Michael Smith. It is for everyone who is curious about what Jesus actually said and did in the gospels. Most episodes will leave you with at least one good thought to chew on for the rest of the day. We start with the Bible and hopefully end with Awe. We are walking through the chronological events of Jesus' life and then thoughtfully considering them. It is meant to spur the devotional life of the Christian and the not-yet-Christian. We occasionally venture into the Old Testament when it helps our understanding of the New Testament events. Everybody has 7 minutes. Everybody needs to wonder. Be With Me is hosted by Michael Smith who has absolutely no special qualifications to do a podcast. He is not a pastor. He has not been to seminary. He does not lead a mega-church. He is not a professional and he has no more credentials than you do. He does, however, follow a great God with an observant eye and a curious heart. Each day, he starts with a study bible and aims for astonishment. ‘be with him’ for 7 minutes as he sets out daily to discover the God who invites us to ‘Be With Me.’
Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
The Rape of Dinah S1e139 Gen34:1
Genesis describes a horrible sexual assault, a rape, of Jacob's daughter Dinah. It treats this story as a horrible event with dire consequences for individuals and nations. We have lessons to learn here about morality and moral absolutes. Personally, I grieve with you if you have been involved in anything like this assault. Thank you for joining me here for 7 minutes as we start this story.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA
The Rape of Dinah S1e139 Gen34:1
Today we’ll hear about a sexual assault. A Rape. Sex outside the boundaries of a willing marriage. Gotta love the bible. Does not pull punches. Crimes, personalities, bad circumstances, complicated.
I grieve with you every sexual crime, misadventure that may have happened to you or through you. May Lord have grace and mercy.
Very few humans do the sexual area of their lives well.
No humans do the sexual area of their lives perfectly. humility
This is a big deal for all of humanity. The story here is that it indeed is a big deal.*** Addressed head on. Many moral principles. Not sugar coated
A Daughter of Jacob gets raped. Israel the person is violated via the rape of his daughter. Horrible for a person Dinah. Horrible for parent. Israel the nation is violated. Israel the place is violated.
34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the princeof the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.
Was this a rape? Saw seized lay and humiliated
Restraint of Jacob, rushing back of the 11 brothers as soon as they heard it; indignant. Angry. Outrageous thing. Thing that must not be done
Curious thing:
rapes her, then wants to marry her.
Loved, spoke tenderly. How do you recover from rape by making nice?
I’m going to leave the Rape Story for just a moment….sex in general: Soul drawn to people you have sex with—what is the surprise there?
Soul is designed to be drawn, rolled into ball with THE person you have sex with in the boundaries and blessing of the place it is designed for: the marriage bed
Problem with sexual promisquity in our culture today, the hook up culture is that your soul is distributed and drawn everywhere
Matthew 19:5
5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
Soul sucking activity. If you have been involved with it outside of marriage, then you know this making ONE, then re-dividing it
If you have held fast and become one flesh with someone
To break that bond is going to be done with some difficulty
Intense bonding, even if willful, which it wasn’t in the story, is separated only with difficulty and probably incompletely
One might be leaving tiny bits of our souls around as we have madeand incompletely broken these sacred, strong bonds of sexual contact.
The practice of sexual immorality, sexual activity that is outside the bonds and boundaries and garden of marriage will be done at a cost
Jacob: defiled daughter. Reacts patiently.
Sons: return asap. Indignant. Angry. OUTRAGeous thing in Israel
Moral absolute: such a thing MUST NOT BE DONE.
One moral absolute all can agree upon: nobody gets raped
Moral law is based on creator, creation, conscience place in all
Here, the outrage is just
The sexual integrity of this woman, and women in the whole and men in the whole is Valuable, sacred, and should be protected. Men too
What if I haven’t done this area perfectly? Repent. God only saves the stinky. Bad sexual hygene can be the road to God. All sins and their folly can.
What about today: we live in a sexually charged culture. Media, internet, movies, morality are to be defended. Marriage is to honored and defended. I think of marriage as a walled garden. Do you have people coming over your wall who are not your spouse? Toss ‘em.
Sexual agency and integrity are important
Sexual fidelity is a wonderful thing
Rape is a horrible thing
Well get back to part two of the quick justice for the rape of Dinah.