June 18th, 2007
Friendship Study – Edition #19: Friend of Sin
The last time I did an edition on friendship, it was on August 18th, 2006. So, why not pick up a study in what has been a forgotten series? It’s only been 10 months (to the day, I might add).
Genesis 34:13-29
Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, “We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go.”
Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us.”
All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
This is just a shortened QT, but my thought on this passage is straight forward. The verse in thought is: “These men are friendly toward us.” These people had a trust toward them. Albeit, they trusted blindly, these people did trust them. And this was after the ruler’s son of those parts had violated Dinah, Jacob’s daughter (in verse two, it says: When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.) They had committed a sin against Jacob and his daughter. And despite that, they received Hamor and Shechem with kindness, at least at first. The sons retaliated. They had put up a front to be kind.
Is it good to have anger in your heart to others who trust you and let in boil inside? No, it is not good.
Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
Hebrews 12:14-15
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Ephesians 4:25-27
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
It is not allowed to have sinful anger. And these scriptures tell me that I can’t even go to even go to bed without reconciliation. And, I believe that the Matthew 18 scripture has to happen rapidly, or there will be a bitter root built. It’s not good to let anger boil inside against friends. It’s not a way to treat friends. It’s not the way to treat people I don’t know. Johnny Out.
Friendship Study – Edition #19: Friend of Sin
The last time I did an edition on friendship, it was on August 18th, 2006. So, why not pick up a study in what has been a forgotten series? It’s only been 10 months (to the day, I might add).
Genesis 34:13-29
Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, “We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go.”
Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us.”
All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
This is just a shortened QT, but my thought on this passage is straight forward. The verse in thought is: “These men are friendly toward us.” These people had a trust toward them. Albeit, they trusted blindly, these people did trust them. And this was after the ruler’s son of those parts had violated Dinah, Jacob’s daughter (in verse two, it says: When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.) They had committed a sin against Jacob and his daughter. And despite that, they received Hamor and Shechem with kindness, at least at first. The sons retaliated. They had put up a front to be kind.
Is it good to have anger in your heart to others who trust you and let in boil inside? No, it is not good.
Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
Hebrews 12:14-15
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Ephesians 4:25-27
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
It is not allowed to have sinful anger. And these scriptures tell me that I can’t even go to even go to bed without reconciliation. And, I believe that the Matthew 18 scripture has to happen rapidly, or there will be a bitter root built. It’s not good to let anger boil inside against friends. It’s not a way to treat friends. It’s not the way to treat people I don’t know. Johnny Out.
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