Deceitful Words

"But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully because he had defiled Dinah their sister." Genesis 34:13

Genesis 34 contains the tragic story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. A thing that "ought not to be done," is done to her(v. 7). Against her will, she is violated by Shechem. Even though her father is greatly distressed over this issue, he holds his peace and waits for his sons to come home from the field. As a result, the sons, without conferring with Jacob, take matters into their own hands. Through deception, they agree to give Dinah as a wife to Shechem under a single harsh condition: circumcism. However, in reality, their plan is to weaken the men of Hamor and Shechem, in order to easily kill the men, and thus, plunder the land.

It is true that God permited Jacob's sons to inflict this judgment on the Canannites and the Perizzites for their wickedness; however, there were consequences for their deceit. For example, Jacob, their father, was adversely affected by their rash behavior. He said, "You have troubled me by making me obnoxious..." (v. 30). Even though Jacob's sons were only trying to help their sister, they ignored their father's well-being and reputation.

Deceit always has its price. Regardless of all the possible good intentions a person may have, lying always ends up hurting someone else. The lack of integrity, the void of truth, the dabbling in darkness cannot be deemed as a godly attribute, so how can lying be an act of God? It's better to try to stay honest, pure, and open in our lives.

Dear God,

Please help me to be honest in everything I say and everything I do. Let me be holy before You. Even when deceit seems like the best option, help me to trust in You to be true and sincere.