Shechem's Regret

The screams could be heard for miles. Sounds of running, groaning, and pleading wafted through open windows like the smell of a rotting corpse.

Drawn by the sounds, the prince chanced a look over his city, painfully aware of the protective impotence his guards and servants would offer if the threat came to his doorstep. Ignoring his own pain, he recognized the menace as coming from two of his future brothers-in-law, their faces masks of rage and hate. Keeping their target in their sights they moved steadily throughout the city, their swords causing men to fall like dominoes in their wake. The sounds of crying women and children increasing with each obstacle overcome.

Walking from the window, he winced as he sat on his bed, his mind drifting back to the day he convinced his men to undergo the procedure. At the time he had not known how this act of devotion and repentance would lead to their destruction.

Unable to escape, he stared at the door waiting for the moment when the stony-faced intruders would enact their ultimate revenge on him.

Shechem was not a good man. I included him in “Unlikely Righteousness” because he did try to overcome his mistakes and I wanted to acknowledge that even though I will never agree with his actions.

For those of you who do not know who he is – here is a brief synopsis.

Shechem was a pagan prince who kidnapped Jacob’s daughter Dinah, slept with her without consent, and then held her against her will. The text indicates that he fell in love with her and had his father ask her family for permission to marry her. Two of her older brothers used this request to trick him and all of his men into making themselves vulnerable through post pubescent circumcision. They then used this vulnerability to slaughter all of the me in the city and rescue Dinah. Jacob rebuked his sons for their actions and they were not sorry for taking their anger out on all the men of the city.

This story is brutal, tragic, and a great example of allowing emotions to control your decision making.

First of all, Shechem shows the danger of allowing lust to cloud your judgement. Had he asked for Dinah’s hand in marriage BEFORE taking her against her will Jacob and his sons may have said yes. Instead, by committing a crime against their sister/daughter he deliberately made things harder on himself since her family would always have difficulty looking past those actions. He also made his potential marriage more difficult by communicating to his future spouse that he could not be trusted and would hurt her given the opportunity. If he truly did love her this animosity from all sides would have been an unnecessary hurdle for him to overcome should the marriage have taken place.

Secondly, the brothers show the danger of allowing rage to cause you to become cold and calculating. They did not create a plan that would result in justice. Instead, their anger caused them to lash out at those who were not necessarily involved in the kidnapping and violation of their sister. They robbed numerous women and children of the fathers, sons, and brothers that they loved and depended on.

Lastly, Jacob’s reaction shows the danger of emotional impotence. When he heard about what had happened to his daughter he waited until his sons came home to do anything. Now, this could demonstrate wisdom and restraint but that does not explain why he did nothing to prevent his sons from committing untold murders. He was their father and should have been able to guess what their reaction would be to the news. Instead of trying to prevent their actions he pathetically complains that their actions caused damage to his reputation. Nice.