Shake-up at Shechem

Today's Verse:

And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. ~Genesis 33:18

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This morning, we are studying what happened to Jacob when he pitched his tent towards the city of Shechem. This city would leave spiritual, physical, and emotional scars on Jacob and his family. It is a lesson to us on how easy it is to become passive and indifferent to God’s commands in our life. Let us see a shake-up at Shechem.

We see the commencement in passivity.

Jacob had a reunion with his brother Esau after a 20-year absence from each other. This reunion resulted in brother embracing brother and the opportunity for deep-seated wounds to be healed. However, Jacob was not 100% convinced that Esau had buried the old hatchet against him. Instead of trusting God’s command to go back home, he made a turnabout and headed towards the city of Shechem. He saw Shechem as a peaceful place for his large herd of animals and for his family to have a new start. However, Shechem was not where God wanted him. Jacob disobeyed God’s command and settled down at a location that he thought would be peaceful for him. It was at that point of decision that Jacob decided he did not want to do what he was supposed to do. Disobedience is always a first step in passivity.

We see the compromise in passivity.

As he settled down in Shechem, he assumed the inhabitants were peaceful people who could be trusted. He allowed his only daughter, Dinah, to venture into the city. There, she caught the eye of a young man named Shechem, and she was defiled by this lustful young man. When passivity overcomes our soul, we don’t realize how much we become like the world in our thinking, judgment, and approach. We fall into the trap of accepting evil for good, and good for evil. Sin does not bother our conscience, and we give more liberty to our family than we should. Compromise occurs when we shake hands with sin and the devil.

We see the carelessness in passivity.

Jacob received word about his daughter’s defilement, and the Bible says, “Jacob held his peace....” Not long after this, Shechem made an appeal to take Dinah as his wife. The longer we remain passive, the more careless we become. It bothered Jacob that his daughter was defiled, but not enough that he did anything about it or moved his family out of that Canaanite city. When we become careless, that is an indication that our conscience has been defiled. It is a sign that we no longer care about holiness, the will of God, the need for sinners to be saved, the advancement of missions, or the direction of our family. Instead of maintaining strong leadership over our affairs, we allow others with lesser judgment to lead us.

We see the carnality in passivity.

Jacob had two sons, Simeon and Levi, who decided to take matters into their own hands. They deceitfully led the men of Shechem into thinking that they would join together. As soon as the men of Shechem were in a vulnerable state, Simeon and Levi took their swords and killed every male in the city. Jacob’s passivity brought the worst out of his sons. Hatred, vengeance, lying, deceit, and murder were manifest. Word got out into the surrounding communities of the wipeout of every male in Shechem. Passivity never produces a spiritual man. It always manifests the carnality in a believer.

We see the conviction of passivity.

The atrocity committed by Jacob’s two sons shook Jacob up in his conscience. His passivity led to defilement, death, and disrepute. Jacob waited too long, and his sin of passivity found itself out. He would carry the horrible memory of this massacre in his conscience for the remainder of his life.

Be careful of falling into passivity. Don’t allow your fears to lead you into making decisions that are out of God’s will for you. Ask God to stir you up, and awaken you to righteousness.

Have a revived God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: Matthew 18-19

#Genesis #Compromise #Disobedience #Indifference #Passivity