The Defiling of Dinah
Transcript
Well, it's good to see y'all this morning. My name is Chet. I am one of the pastors. Logan, do you mind cutting the light on? I'm one of the pastors here. Last week we got to celebrate Easter together, and so we gathered, as many Christians around the globe did.
We gathered, we sang, we praised, we worshipped, and we delighted in the fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross. He was dead, he was buried, and he rose again to forgive us of our sins and to save us to himself. And as we did that, as we got together, as we celebrated, as we ate, as we had an Easter egg hunt, as we did a lot of fun and had a lot of fun, and across the world in Sri Lanka, there was a tragic attack that killed 253, as of the last count, people who were in hotels and people who had gathered in churches to celebrate the same gospel that we gathered to celebrate. And that is the reality of the world that we live in, that there is beauty and joy and delight, and there's pain and tragedy and suffering, and we can swap from one to the other in the blink of an eye.
And the story that we're going to be in Genesis looking at today is one of those stories of great tragedy and horrific sin. And if you'll grab your Bibles and go to Genesis chapter 34, we've been following through this story. If you don't have a Bible, there's a blue Bible near you, it'll be on page 17. And if you don't own a Bible, feel free to take this one with you, that would be our gift to you. We'd love for you to have a Bible, we'd love for you to read it. We've been following through this story where God made the world good.
He made it beautiful. He made it delightful. And then humanity sinned, and we brought into the world wickedness and pain and death. And then the question throughout Genesis is how is God going to respond to this problem? And that's the question we've had to continually ask as we've watched real people in real stories in real life have horrific things happen is how does God respond? And that's what we're looking at today.
In a story about rape and revenge, fear, hatred, murder, we're asking the same question, which is how do they respond? And more importantly, how does God respond? Now as we go through this, there may be some of you who, this is very close to home. In your past, you have had situations of abuse, that you have been abused or harmed, that you have abused and harmed others, or those near you whom you love have been harmed greatly. And this will drag up a lot of painful memories and a lot of emotion. My encouragement to you this morning would be, even in the moments when you feel like you want to just get up and leave, you just need to get out of the room, my encouragement would be to stay as we study this together, that we might see Christ and His answer, which is a good response to this, and it is sufficient and complete.
So my encouragement would be to stay, to continue to press in, to ask the Lord for help. Now I know that for some of you, I just made it really hard to go to the bathroom. And so there's still room, normal Sunday, if you need to get up, if you need to go out of the auditorium, you're welcome to, and nobody's going to be looking at you thinking, obviously this means something particular about you, but I did want to give that word of encouragement to those who don't want to hear this. So we're going to pray for God's grace. So I would encourage you to just a moment, pray for yourself, that you might hear this well, regardless of where you sit in the room, whether this is close to home or foreign to you.
Just ask the Lord for grace, and then I'll pray, and we'll read this text together. Lord, we need your help. Lord, we have been sinned against, and we have sinned against others. We have been harmed, and we have inflicted harm. So we ask for your Holy Spirit to work as we study your word today, that we might, as we look at this family and their story, and your response, we might see Christ, know him, and that we might respond appropriately.
In light of your word, in Jesus' name, amen. Chapter 34. Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had born to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. Okay, so Dinah, her name actually, it's similar to her brother's name, Dan. It means judge or avenge or justice. And that's going to be really interesting, because that's kind of what we're going to be asking in this text, is where is justice?
What ought to happen? How does this respond? But it says that she went out to see the women of the land. Now if you'll remember, Jacob had fled from his brother Esau because he had stolen from him. He then gets married, has a bunch of children. He has 11 sons at this point.
He's going to have one more. He has one daughter, Dinah. She's probably in her teenage years. He's 16 or up, somewhere around in there, 16 to 20. And they come back. He was supposed to kind of go back to Bethel, where God had said originally, I'm going to bring you back here, and then you'll worship me.
And when he said, go back to your homeland, it's kind of implied. Go back to Bethel, but he doesn't. He goes to Shechem. He lives near a city. Now the Bible does not tell us that cities are evil, but the Canaanite cities are.
The Canaanite people in this land have a very bad culture, and the Bible is not like us. And we say, well, all cultures are equal, and there's, you know, everybody just what they believe. The Bible doesn't do that. The Bible steps in, and because it's written over all culture, can say, that's good, that's bad, this one's okay, that's not. This part of your culture needs to go. This part needs to flourish.
And so it does that with these Canaanite cities. They're not good cities. And they settled near one, and so Dinah goes to see the people of the city. Now, Jacob has a tribe. They're set up in tents. They're kind of a roaming band, but they bought a little bit of land.
They have some tents. They have herds. They're not a huge group of people. If you'll remember, Abraham had a ton of people. He had 300 fighting men. Jacob doesn't.
He's got 12 sons. He's got some servants, but it's not a huge crowd. They're big, but not huge. They're a little tribe. They're next to a city, and that's kind of the setting for this. And it says she goes out to see the women of the land.
So she heads into the city. She wants to get to know some people. We don't really know why, what she's doing. We just know that she does this. And it says, And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land. Okay, so they're near the city Shechem.
This guy's name is Shechem. He's the prince. His dad's the king, tribal leader. He's over the city. It says, When he saw her, he seized her, and lay with her, and humiliated her. When he saw her, he seized her, and lay with her, and humiliated her.
From his position of power, he sees something that he wants, and he forcefully takes it. Now, we don't know how forcefully, but he did use his authority, and he did use his power, and he does rape Dinah. Now, the truth is, you should be able to go anywhere, and be inside any circumstance, and never have someone sexually assault you. The reality is that that is how God designed his world, but the reality that we live in, is that that is not how it works, any longer due to sin. And that we can get into positions, where we are unsafe, and we can get into positions, where we really should be safe, and still be drastically, horribly, wickedly harmed.
And what happens to Dinah, is horrific. And it's the type of thing, that happens in life, where from this moment forward, life is not the same. Not to say that she can't heal, and not to say that she can't mend, and not to say that there can't be good in life for her, but this is the type of thing that happens in life, where from now on, it affects your future. And so, there are instances in life, where things happen, horrific accidents, terrible sin, wicked actions, and then as we move forward, the question is, how do we best move forward, but there's no way to really, just perfectly fix, and go back to, what we would have considered normal.
We're going to have to find a new normal. And for, this story is not far from us. In the United States, one in four females, will be sexually assaulted in their life. That's the, the statistic we have currently, one in six males. One in six females, in the United States, will be forcibly raped. Most of them, will be raped by someone, that they know, are acquainted with.
And that's, what we're looking at here. And if this, is true for you, I want to say, I'm so sorry, and that should not have happened. It is horrific. It is evil. And God does have a response. This is true, for far too many of us.
We live with this reality. And the question is, how do we move forward? And what do we do? And we're, we're going to get to see in this story, how they respond. It's not going to perfectly tell us, what to do. We're going to have to look to Jesus, for that.
But we'll get to see, how they respond. And it says, and his soul, this is verse three, was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman, and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, get me this girl, for my wife. And far too often, this is what happens. This is the confusing mess, that comes out of this, is that he forcibly takes, what he wants.
And he's in a culture, where maybe this was relatively normal. He's the prince of the land. He's able to just kind of claim, what he wants. And then he speaks nicely to her. And this happens. It says his soul is drawn to her.
He's genuinely conflicted. He, he inside of himself, thinks he loves her, but he doesn't even know what love is. And he doesn't know how to act. And he chooses to do something, so wicked and horrible. And then he's just really kind. And we have that situation, where females are going, I know he does this.
I know he Acts this way. I know he hurts me. But then he talks nicely to me, and he says he loves me. That's what's happening here. And he goes to Shek, goes to Father Hamel, and says, get this girl for my wife. Now they would have at this point, at least, if not earlier, I would assume earlier, because she would have looked different.
They would have known at this point, she is not of our people. She does not live in this city. She's a part of this tribe, that is outside our gates. And so there is some amount, of cultural tension, that is happening here. They're not all under the same law. They're not all under the same rule.
They are in separate zones. She says, go, get her for me as a wife. Now Jacob heard, that he had defiled, he being Shechem, had defiled his daughter, Dinah. Now that word defiled, is very interesting. It means, to make unclean, to make dirty, to stain. And the reality is, that our culture, at one moment, will tell you, that sex is just sex, and it's just physical, and it's just an appetite.
And therefore, it ought to be free, and it ought to be shared, and it ought to be, we shouldn't look down on it. But as soon as we move, into the realm, of sexual assault, we are all willing, and immediately understand, that that isn't true. That it's not just physical. That there is, a reality, to spiritual ramifications, that take place, and when someone, forcibly takes this, when they claim something, that is not theirs, when they take something, from you, that is private, and should never, be taken. There is great harm, and it says, that she has been defiled. She's dirty.
And for so many, victims of assault, this is a reality, that they face, that they feel this, in themselves. Yet they're dirty. It says, when he heard this, but his sons, were with his livestock, in the field, so Jacob, held his peace, until they came. Jacob doesn't respond. We're going to see, that this isn't just, self-control. He doesn't respond, this whole time.
We don't, know why. At the end, we're going to see, that there's some fear, and some self-preservation here. And for those of people, who have struggled with, assault, and maybe finally told someone, this is one of the most painful things, that can happen, is that they just, don't really respond. Or at best, they just kind of want to cover it up, or they just want to move on. That's what Jacob, leans towards. He doesn't lead.
He does not pursue, justice. And we'll see, the consequences of that, in a second. So it says, Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob, to speak with him. 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 what he had done, is an outrageous thing in Israel, by lying with Jacob's daughter. Because he had done, an outrageous thing in Israel, by lying with Jacob's daughter. For such a thing, must not be done.
We don't care, what Shechem's culture is like, this ought not to happen. It doesn't matter, if he's used to it, it doesn't matter, if he's okay with it, it's not co-signed, by the scriptures. It ought not to happen. It is outrageous, and they are angry, and indignant, and they are correct. There are certain things, that you ought to be angry over. They can mourn, that would be a correct response.
They can be angry, that is a correct response. Those are responses, that God has to sin. Do not believe the lie, that all anger is sinful. Now, what we do with it, can be. And what they do with it, ultimately seems like it is. But to be angry, and to respond violently, in ourselves, is acceptable, and godly.
But what we do with it matters. So it says that Hamor went out. Now, Hamor's the king of this city. We're going to hear him speak, we're going to hear Shechem speak. It is fair to assume, they would have ridden out, with some form of guard. We also find out later, as we go, that Dinah is not with them.
She's still in their house. So either way, they ride out in a position of power. They ride out to a, probably smaller group, than them. Most likely, with some force. And, in some ways, at least to the people of Israel, it feels as if, Dinah is still held hostage. So here's what they say.
But Hamor spoke to them, The soul of my son Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him, to be his wife. Make marriages with us, give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourself. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell, and trade in it, and get property. Shechem also said to her father, so he's there, and to her brothers, Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say, to me, I will give.
Ask for as great a bride price, and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman, to be my wife. Okay, so they ride out to Jacob. Jacob is older, he's got a hip injury, he's holding his peace, but ultimately find out he's fearful. There are 11 indignant brothers, older, not all of them, but several of them, a good bit older than Dinah, who care greatly about this outrageous thing that happened. Hamor rides out as a king, with his son, the prince, and probably, it does not say, it's fair to assume, some force, but at least no Dinah, and they just say, Hey, my son really likes your daughter.
Let's have some marriages. Let him marry her. We'll pay you as much as you want. We're rich. We can't ask for as much as you'd like. We'll pay you.
They don't say, here's what we've done. We're sorry. This is a bad situation. They just ride in. They act as if this should be fine. The sons of Jacob, this is verse 13, answered Shechem and his father.
So you'll notice, Jacob does not respond. His sons do. And in the absence of godly household leadership, you will get other leadership. Somebody will step up. Jacob ought to be leading this situation. He does not.
He commits a sin of omission. We think that sins are things that we do, but often we can sin by not doing the things we ought to do. So the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. So because of what he did, they're going to retaliate. They lie to him. It said to them, we cannot do this thing to give you our sister, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
Only on this condition will we agree with you, that you will become as we are, by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone. So basically what they say is, the Mark of our tribe, the Mark of our people is circumcision, and so we can't intermarry with y'all because you're uncircumcised. But, if you'll get circumcised, then we have a deal. We'll intermarry.
You can have Dinah, we'll just become one big group of people. This is not exactly, but it is similar to, when someone is dating someone who is a non-Christian, and they are a Christian, and they say, well I can't marry you. We've seen this in our church family. I can't marry you unless you become a Christian. And then the guy's like, oh, yeah, I love Jesus. And the girl's like, great, that sounds great.
That's what's going to happen. They say, you have to have this Mark, you have to have this sign, and this has to be true for us to be able to be married, otherwise it's a deal breaker. And, their words pleased Hamor, and Hamor's son Shechem. That's verse 18. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now, he was the most honored of his father's house.
That matters in just a second. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying, these men are at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and trade in it. It seems as if when they rode out, there was a bit of attention on, are we about to have to go into conflict with these people? Is there going to be war? Because it's a party's riding out to another tribe that's outside of us, and something has happened here that they may not appreciate.
So they ride out, they come back and say, we're at peace. The land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us, and to become one people. When every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and all their beasts be ours?
Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us. Okay. One of the things I learned from my dad, who's managed business stuff, and who's done sales, one of the things he talks about is, when you're going to give somebody difficult information, he talks about you do it in the sandwich method. So a sandwich has a nice soft piece of bread, and has the main part of the sandwich. You don't call it a bread sandwich, it's called a ham and cheese sandwich, the part in the middle, and it has a nice soft piece of bread. That's exactly what they do.
This is when you're having to correct somebody. You bring them in, and you say, I want to let you know you've done such a great job, really appreciate how hard you work. And it's true, you don't make stuff up, and then you say, but we're going to have to work on the fact that you keep showing up late to work, because I want you here the full time you're supposed to be doing your great job. So let's punch in on time. But I really appreciate you, and I know you're going to fix this, and it's going to be great.
That's a sandwich. Soft. Main part. Soft. These guys roll in and say, we're at peace. They can live in the land.
This will be great. We'll give our sons. We'll intermarry. It's going to be wonderful. Everybody's going to have to be circumcised, but won't we own everything? And it matters that this is the most honored son, and this is the king of the city, because it says this, and all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised.
All who went out of the gate of his city. So every male that lives, going out of the gate means they would be able to work outside the city, but they would come in and close the gates at night. They were under the protection of Hamor. They lived in this city. On the third day, when they were sore, it's not an easy operation, specifically for people who don't have good anesthetic, painkiller, ways to keep things clean. They had sharp utensils, but it's not an easy operation.
Three days later, they are sore in a place that makes it hard to do much of anything. If sore. Two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. So they say, we can't do this unless y'all all get circumcised.
They know everybody got circumcised. They wait. Just so y'all know, every time a new servant entered into this household, it was policy that all of the new servants would have to be circumcised. They understood how this worked, how it felt, and when you were most vulnerable. They wait. They know.
Day three. They've been doing this. They understand. Simeon and Levi take swords, just two of them. They walk in the city and they kill every male that breathes. They kill Hamor.
They kill Shechem. There was a moment when Shechem most likely laid up in his bed, sees a shadow fall across his doorway, sees the silhouette of a sword, sees a man walk into his room and for just a second, maybe two men, they probably both went, just a second realizes what's about to happen, can't move, can't respond and is cut down. And his blood pours out because he defiled their sister and they kill everyone. Now I understand, I've been made to understand as I share stories from my family and my childhood that I grew up in a home that maybe was different from other people's homes. When I was in about middle school, my dad taught us about a thing called equalizers.
He said, if you're going to fight somebody and you're going to win, fight them behind the gym, fight them in a bathroom, fight them wherever. You don't want to get in trouble, just fight them. If you're going to lose, don't fight them where they say, don't fight them in the bathroom, don't fight them behind the gym because no one will break this up. They will beat the fool out of you. You're going to need an equalizer. And he gave us some options.
Hard lunch trays are an equalizer. Throwing sand in someone's face is an equalizer. Waiting until they're sitting down and you're standing up, starting the fight before they realize it has begun. It's a good equalizer. It is an effective way to win a fight is to punch someone while they're still talking or while they're taking a test. Ask my brother Logan about that.
This is one of the best equalizers in the history of humankind. They set the odds in their favor and they slay everyone. And there's part of us that loves this. There's part of me that loves this. This is Braveheart, Gladiator, Patriot, and like seven Denzel Washington movies. There's part of us that so greatly desires that when someone harms someone and when someone wrecks someone that somebody else picks up a sword.
But that's an incomplete answer. verse 26. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys and whatever was in the city and in the field and all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses they captured and plundered. So the men of the city had said, if we get circumcised then we'll get to own everything they own and it was actually the exact reverse.
If we get circumcised they'll soon own everything we own. So they go in, they take everything, they plunder. Now, there are places in the Old Testament where God specifically says and directs his people to do similar things. This is not one of those places. This was done by the will of Simeon and Levi not the will of God. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi you have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
My Numbers are few and if they gather themselves against me and attack me I shall be destroyed both I and my household. But they said should he treat our sister like a prostitute which is an indictment against both Jacob and Shechem. Should he treat our sister like a prostitute? Should he just take what he wants and then as long as he pays us enough we're okay? And the question here as Jacob wants to have a very non-response a very muted response a very let's just make everything easy let's just make sure we're safe let's not cause trouble in the household. And as his sons in violent anger Jacob's working out of fear his sons working out of anger and wrath they go exact revenge.
But the question is where is justice? How ought this to have been handled? And how does God respond? Chapter 35 God said to Jacob Arise and go up to Bethel and dwell there and dwell there make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him that's all these new families all these new women and children put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments then let us arise and go up to Bethel so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.
And to all who were with him that's all these new families all these new women and children put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments then let us arise and go up to Bethel so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone. So they gave to Jacob all their foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears
And Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem and as they journeyed a terror from God fell upon the cities and they that were around them and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob and Jacob came to Luz that is in Bethel that is Bethel which is in the land of Canaan he and all the people who were with him there he built an altar and called the place El Bethel because there God had revealed himself to him when he had fled from his brother and Deborah
Rebecca's nurse died and was buried under the oak below Bethel so he called its name Alan Bakuth God appeared to Jacob again when he had come from Padamaram and blessed him and God said to him your name is Jacob no longer shall your name be called Jacob but Israel shall be your name so he called his name Israel and God said to him I am God Almighty be fruitful and multiply a nation and a company of nations shall come from you and kings
Shall come from your own body the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you and I will give the land to your offspring after you then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him and Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him in a pillar of stone he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it so Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel God does not show up in the middle
Of this situation he shows up after it seems as if a lot of it has been resolved although he does protect them as they travel so that what Jacob said was true which is they are going to find out what we did and all the rest of these people who are semi-related to them are going to come crush us God protects them and takes them to Bethel but then God says he renews his covenant with Jacob he renews this promise that had been made to Abraham and to Isaac
And to Jacob multiple times he renews it with Jacob and he says I am going to do this and it feels as if God's answer is insufficient it is incomplete that in this story we want him to show up we want him to bring clarity we want him to tell us who was right who was wrong how it should have been handled but God's answer to this is going to be absolutely complete and 100% sufficient and it is made here when he re-promises I am going to send the king his answer to this
Is found in Jesus and nowhere else everything else will be a limited earthly response carried out by sinful humans and so God gives a full and complete answer and it is made by way of promise here and it is made by way of fulfillment for us and it is through Jesus and I want to tell you the full and complete answer so we are going to spend the rest of our time Jesus has two tools with which he responds to this type of sin and wickedness really all types of sin and wickedness
But we ask it so often in these heinous moments first Jesus picks up the cross second Jesus picks up the sword first Jesus picks up the cross then he picks up the sword that is the answer that the Bible gives us for just a moment let us talk about the cross Jesus comes and lives a perfect sinless life loving teaching us how to love treating people even people who don't like
Christianity like Jesus he is so kind he is so loving all they want to do is pull off the deity part they just don't want him to be God but otherwise we can keep him he is nice he comes graciously lovingly and then he is brutally murdered the first thing he does is he picks up the cross in Isaiah 58 there is a prophecy about this and I want you to see that the first thing Jesus does
When he reveals himself to us when God becomes a human he meets Dinah and all the Dinah's that would come after her Isaiah 58 says he was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he has borne
Our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed Dinah had someone in a position of power take her strip her humiliate her
And harm her and the first thing we see Jesus doing is coming and having people in positions of power take him strip him humiliate him and harm him that if Dinah were in one of our community groups and this week she were to share maybe for the first time or maybe just the most recent time this thing that has happened and through tears she would talk through what had taken place
That if Jesus Christ were in her group he could through tear stained eyes look directly at her and say me too that where Dinah is voiceless here we are told in this same chapter Isaiah 58 that like a sheep led to the slaughter he opened not his mouth that Jesus Christ was stripped brutally beaten humiliated and died that he is a man of sorrows who joins us in our sorrow
That throughout the Old Testament we read that God is close to those who mourn he is close to the broken hearted and the question is how close and the answer is he becomes one that close he does not sit far off enthroned and separate that he joins us in our pain but he does not just join Dinah as comforting as that is he redeems Dinah
Isaiah a few chapters later in Isaiah 61 it says I will greatly rejoice in the Lord Isaiah 61 is the chapter that Jesus reads in Luke 4 when he says he proclaims the day of the Lord's coming the year of the Lord's coming he says this has been fulfilled in your hearing this is how it ends it says I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my soul shall exult in my God
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation he has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels if you're in here and a minute ago when we talked about Dinah being defiled you felt shame creep up your back crawl up your face and you felt dirty all over again
I want you to know that in Christ he does not just join you he clothes you that he was stripped so that you can be clothed in righteousness that you can be like a bride or a groom on their wedding day as dressed up and as beautiful as we can get as much as he can cover you and make you shine that's what he does to us in the cross that he not only dies for our guilt but he dies
For our shame and he takes it away that you have been cleansed that you have been washed that you have been made new that he meets Dinah but he doesn't just meet Dinah he also meets Jacob and Shechem if you look back at Isaiah 58 it says he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our
Iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed that is good news to those who have suffered abuse and that is good news to abusers that Jesus Christ took the punishment that you deserve and when you feel like you're going to be found out and someone ought to punish you the truth is that that is real you ought to be punished but the hope
In Christ is that he was punished for you that by his stripes you are healed and so for all the Shechem's in the room and all the Jacob's in the room and all the parts of us that are Shechem and Jacob where we've harmed and hurt and sinned that we get to run to the cross and we get to trust in Jesus who bears our iniquity and sheds his blood that there was a moment
In human history when Shechem's blood spilled out onto the dirt and onto the clay and there was a moment in human history when Jesus did the same for all those who would trust in him he bears iniquity the first thing Jesus does is he picks up the cross he takes wrath in our place that's what 1 Thessalonians 1 says we are waiting for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead
Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come when we talk about being saved and people say what does he save us from he saves us from our sin he saves us from the wrath that our sin is owed see Jesus first picks up the cross we stand between these two moments in history but the next time we see him he'll be holding
A sword he picks up the cross he suffers once and then he picks up the sword this is actually what he says to the Sanhedrin as I was reading through this this past week as we led up to the crucifixion Jesus before the Sanhedrin they're asking him all these questions and he has an answer they're accusing him of all these things and he has an answer and finally the high priest
Says I adjure you by the living God are you the Christ the son of God he says by God swear by God and answer this question and Jesus says you said it which isn't super cryptic it means bingo you guessed it you called it and then Jesus says this you have said so but I tell you from now on you will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming on the
Clouds of heaven he says this to a group of religious leaders and they did not think it was cryptic we read it and we're like oh they rip their clothes and freak out because he just quoted Daniel 7 he looked at them and said in this moment you are seated above me and in this moment you're going to crucify me and right now I'm picking up the cross
But the next time you see me I'll crack the sky open and I'll be holding a sword that's what he said because this is what Daniel 7 says behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man he's telling him right where he's quoting from he came to the ancient of days that's the father and was presented before him and to him was given
Dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples and nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed he said you guessed it I am the one who rules and reigns for all eternity and they rip
Their clothes and say what more do we need he's claimed to be God and the truth is if he were making that up sure he blasphemed the problem is he wasn't he picks up the cross once and then he returns with a sword and the next time the Sanhedrin saw him
It's when he's cracking open the sky the next time they saw him he was standing next to the ancient of days as a ruling reigning king through all eternity 2 Timothy 4 1 tells us that he will judge the world I watched in parts with my son yesterday I watched Aquaman and he goes and it's all this mess
And all this chaos and all this brokenness and there's this moment at the end of the movie and this isn't going to ruin anything for you because you knew it was going to happen there's this moment in the end of the movie he busts through the ground he's riding on the top of this giant sea creature
He's wearing his shiny gold Aquaman wetsuit thing he's holding his shiny gold trident and there's this moment where all of his enemies suddenly realize this person that looks so humble and pathetic is now the king and he's the right king and he's
The real king because he can talk to the animals and all of a sudden all their little sharks just turn on them and it is awesome as awesome as Aquaman can be and it pales in comparison to the moment that Jesus Christ
As Revelation 19 says stands before the sky the sky rolls back he's on a horse he's got a sword he's got a robe covered in blood you see Jesus in history is covered in blood
Twice once it's his the next time it's his enemies once it's his and the next time it's the unrepentant it says he treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath
Of God that he actually grabs people together like grape clusters and stomps them that his sword kills everyone there's this moment in the book of Revelation where
They're seeing into the future and it says that all those great and those small those rich and those poor those kings and those
Homeless it says they all who were unrepentant it says that they yell to the mountains and the rocks and the buildings and they
Say fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb you see he was a lamb who was slain and then he returns with wrath his day of vengeance the great day of
Their wrath has come and who can stand second the Thessalonians one Paul's writing to the church and he says he's talking to them about
Their suffering and he says God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant relief to you who
Are afflicted as well when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who
Do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus they will suffer the punishment of eternal
Destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might when he comes on that day to be glorified
In his saints and to be marveled at among those who have believed there are some in our culture who would tell you that
Our God is like Jacob and he just wants to love and he just wants to make everything nice and he just wants to
Calm everything down and when we begin to believe that and tragedy strikes that God is too weak to handle it and where there
Is no leadership and where there is no justice there will be blood there will be violence there will be vengeance that if God
Does not take up sword and so what do we do how do we respond there is a short answer that is a short
Lived answer and it is found in Romans 12 and Romans 13 Romans 12 he says beloved do not avenge yourselves leave it to
The wrath of God the truth is in Jesus taking up the sword he meets Simeon and Levi and they are free to put
It down because it does in Romans 13 he says that God has entrusted the sword to the governing officials that there is a
System of justice that we are allowed to pursue people can go to jail ought to but when that fails and it often does
Vengeance repayment belongs to the Lord and as we sit between these two moments I want to read something for you it is a well
Known passage in John 3 16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should
Not perish but have eternal life that's the cross for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world that's
The cross but in order that the world might be saved through him that's the cross whoever believes in him is condemned that's the
Cross but whoever does not believe is condemned already that's the sword because he has not believed in the name of the only son
Of God that's the cross and the king whoever believes in the son has eternal life that's the cross whoever does not obey the
Son shall not see life but the wrath of God remains on him that's the sword Romans says Paul's writing and he's talking to them about their sin
And how they judge me I want the sword I want repayment when I sin I just want you to be calm about it I didn't
Really mean it and Paul says you who judge do you not practice these same things and then he says do you not know
That God's grace and kindness are meant to lead you to repentance that the cross is to show you how much he loves you
That you might for with your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourselves on the day of wrath here is the beautiful
Glorious good news of the gospel every single sin will be paid for there is not a sin that has been committed against you
There is not a crime that has been committed there is not a single person who has gotten away scot free there is not
Someone who was tried and not convicted and got to live out the rest of their days in peace that will not pay for
Their sin blood will be shed either on the cross or on the sword your sin will be paid for either on the cross
Or on the sword and we stand in the middle this is why John the Baptist comes and the Pharisees come to him he
Says who told you to flee from the wrath that is to come and that is the correct response to flee from the wrath
That is to come so for those parts of us that are Dinah and for those of us who are Dinah go to the
Cross where Jesus meets you and becomes you and clothes you and gives you his righteousness and washes you clean and makes you new
Go to the cross and for all the parts of us and all the times that we have been shechem and we harmed and
We hurt go to the cross where you can have your sin paid for the right blood shed for it because blood will be
Shed and for those of us who are Simeon and Levi and all the parts of us that has fury and rage towards the
Lack of justice and the God forgives you and he mends your heart and wait patiently for the day that he picks up the
Sword that belongs to him not to you there's hope in the cross but one day that hope will be gone the sky will
Rip open the king will return and every sin will be paid for the ones you think are hidden the ones you think no
One knows about there will be blood and it will either be his or it will be ours and those are the only two
Choices and if you have not placed your faith in Jesus run to him and ask him to forgive you and ask him to
Heal you and beg him to have his blood shed for your sin and this day that is a day of wrath becomes a
Day God on him on the cross that I'm forgiven and free not because I'm good not because I'm holy not because I'm worthy
But because I'm hiding behind Jesus and his blood covers me my sin will be paid for we can trust that all sin will
Be paid for Matt is going to come back up and we are going to sit for a moment he's going to sing a
Song far off as we sit in this moment waiting for those who have harmed us and hurt us to pay sitting in pain
And suffering that we feel like we can't shake trusting in the cross he's just going to sing and we're just going to sit
Feel free to sing with him pray trust rest focus on the words whatever we need to do my hope is that all around the
Room we would be running to the cross trusting in the sacrifice that was made on our behalf the hope that is given to
Us in our pain and God's supreme justice to either redeem sinners like us and to forgive them or to repay them and for
Many of us right now that's the choice you get to make and I would encourage you to flee the wrath that is to
Come and to run to the cross where your sin can be paid for where blood can be spilled and where you can be
Made new and be forgiven let's pray that we ask that in this moment your Holy Spirit would work that you would help us
To trust you and your supreme and glorious justice and for those of us who are so overwhelmed by anger that we would be able
To put the sword down and trust that you wield it properly and for those of us who feel dirty may we know that
We have been clothed in Christ if we just come to you that you will make us new you'll make us holy and blameless
And above reproach and Lord for those in this room and for those of us who have sin may you remind us to hide
Behind the cross again that your wrath has been poured out our guilt is gone there is no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus praise be to his glorious grace and for those who have not trusted in you we ask Lord that they would only
Know you in the cross and would never face your sword in Jesus name Amen
