The silent voice

Genesis 35:1-15 (NRSV)

God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle 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, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.’ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.

 As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them. Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.

 God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.’ So he was called Israel. 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 spring from you. 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 at the place where he had spoken with him. Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink-offering on it, and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Jacob’s story sometimes reads like an exciting, albeit violent, movie.  The Godfather’s got nothing on it.  This section, where God gives Jacob his new name, is sandwiched between some of Jacob’s most dramatic moments.  It comes after his wrestling with the angel and right before the birth of Benjamin and death of Rachel, leading to all that happens to his son Joseph (with his coat of many colors).

But almost missed, and often forgotten, is what happens immediately preceding this text.  It’s a story I’ve always wished I knew more about: the story of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, who is raped and then married to her rapist, Shechem.  The reason Jacob is worried about being pursued is because of his sons’ revenge against her rapists.  As part of the marriage agreement, Shechem and all the men in his family and clan were tricked by Jacob's sons and agreed to be circumcised, and then, as they were recovering, Dinah’s brothers attacked and butchered them, taking Dinah back.

Jacob rightfully was worried about what the reactions of the neighboring clans would be!  So here, God protects him as he leaves the area and returns to Bethel.

But what about Dinah?  In all of this, her voice remained silent.  What did she think about all of it?  She’d been brutalized and then married off, and then watched as the man who’d raped her, but also her husband, was murdered by her family.  Yep, worthy of The Godfather.

When I read text like this it is the silent voice that stands out and it makes me realize that while this may be a story on a page for us and may seem worthy of the Hollywood, the truth is that women like Dinah were used as bargaining chips, were often brutalized, and didn’t usually get to be the ones to have their say in their lives.

Is there anyone in our lives today whose voices are hushed by the loud din of everyone else scrambling for their voices to be heard first?  Who are they and how can we make sure they get heard?  Over the centuries, sadly, the Church has sometimes engaged in silencing voices on both a large, as well as a small scale.  

We know that Jesus came to bring outcasts and outsiders to himself and into his fold.  He came so that voices would be heard and not silenced.

Is there anyone that needs listening to that isn't being listened to currently?

Lord help me to listen for the voices who need to have their say.  Let me actively seek out those who often get lost in the shuffle and remember their importance to you in your kingdom. Amen.