I would never show my youth a movie full of gruesome violence or sexual content. While we may disagree on the appropriateness of watching such movies in our own lives, I think we can all agree they are unwise in a student ministry setting. Imagine, then, my students’ (and their parents’) surprise when they got to youth group and we began to read Genesis 34… which includes all kinds of gruesome violence and graphic sexual content!
This story involves Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, being raped by a man named Shechem. Afterward, Shechem’s dad goes to Jacob’s sons to ask that she and Shechem be married. The sons respond by deceiving Shechem and his family. They convince the men that they will only allow this marriage if Shechem’s men will receive the covenant sign of circumcision. While the men of Shechem were recovering from being circumcised, the sons of Jacob killed all the males and plundered their wealth, their children, and their wives.
When you read these passages, you start to wonder if there is even any benefit to teaching them. Even though we believe all Scripture is God’s Word for our good, how does one even begin to distill helpful application points for our students, let alone teach this in a way that’s appropriate for teenagers? What I hope to do in this article is to show you that there is a way to teach passages, even ones like this, in an age-appropriate manner that will benefit your students, but it requires doing the work. Since these passages shouldn't be treated lightly, I'll highlight some principles to use when preparing to teach them.
Principle 1: Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees
When I was preparing this lesson, I read the text multiple times and consulted commentaries. They were especially helpful because they helped me remember this text was about far more than Shechem’s sexual sin. They reminded me how this narrative fits into the whole of Genesis. It would be easy for a youth worker to take this text and make it about sexual sin and the horror of sexual assault. Those things can certainly be addressed by this text, but there is more going on than a story about sexual ethics.
Genesis is a tale of two “seeds” or “offsprings”. Genesis 3:15 lays it out: there is the “seed of the serpent” and the “seed of the woman” who are engaged in a battle of good and evil. The rest of Genesis shows these two seeds in constant conflict. Cain and Abel. Issac and Ishmael. Jacob and Esau. All are conflicts between those who are a part of the covenant and those who are not. In this story, Jacob is the seed of the woman, while Shechem and the Hivites are the seed of the serpent. While Jacob is a believer in God and a member of the covenant, the Hivites are non-believers who are opposed to the covenant of God.
When teaching more difficult passages, remembering the overarching Scriptural themes is crucially important. First, because it prevents us from misusing a text to avoid difficult conversations. Second, because it infuses these challenging stories with deeper meaning that we can learn from. Finally, because it keeps the focus on the main theme of Scripture: God’s plan of salvation for His people.
Principle 2: Let the Text Guide You
Covenant is another important theme at play in Genesis 34. Jacob is not just a member of the covenant; He’s the very heir of God’s promises to Abram in Genesis 12. There, God promises offspring, land, and blessing. All of that should be in our minds when Hamor (the seed of the serpent) offers to make a covenant with Jacob (the seed of the woman). Hamor offers Jacob land (“you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you”), financial security (“ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will”), and offspring (“make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.”). This is a moment where Jacob is tempted to take a shortcut to receive what appears to be the exact things God had promised him.
This context keeps the lesson from becoming a talk on sexual purity. Of course, one cannot teach the text faithfully without addressing the horrific sin of Shechem, and reminding students of the value and dignity of other image bearers is essential. It is also good to show them that such horrific sins begin in the heart before it affects the way we treat other people (which is a theme all through Scripture).
However, the deeper themes of covenant and the two seeds points the lesson towards a more specific application. It shows the students how Shechem and Hamor tempted Jacob’s sons by impersonating what God had already promised them. Then, students may consider how they are tempted to take a sinful shortcut to get what God has promised them in Christ.
Some examples I heard from students included:
They want community and acceptance, so they hang out with friends who tempt them into sin.
They want love, so they enter into relationships where they compromise their convictions and cross physical boundaries.
They fear death, so they numb themselves with substances or entertainment.
However, all of these are fool’s gold compared to the infinite treasure of what God has given us in Christ:
In Christ, they have a community of fellow believers to grow with.
In Christ, God has poured out on them a love and acceptance that nothing and no one can separate them from.
In Christ, death has been defeated and has lost its sting in their lives.
Principle 3: Don’t Be Afraid of What God Says
Teaching passages like these allows teens to be confronted with the more mature side of the Bible. One criticism often heard about the church and youth ministry is that students leave for college unprepared to defend the faith or handle certain parts of Scripture. Sometimes, they may have never been exposed to large sections of the Bible they are supposed to believe are inerrant and essential for their lives. Many feel as if their home church had hidden something from them. Teaching this text wisely will not only confront teens with more mature parts of the Bible, but it will help them learn to interpret them rightly.
One of the most important things we can teach students is WHY these stories are included: not because they are prescribed for us as examples to imitate, but because the Bible is grounded in real life and teaches us about God, sin, salvation, and our ultimate hope in Christ.
Don’t be afraid of the "weird" or “dark” texts. As you study, prepare, and teach, you may find these stories are the very ones God uses to open the eyes and hearts of students to their sin, their next steps of obedience, and the glory of Jesus Christ. Pastorally, by framing this chapter within the whole context of Genesis in mind and allowing the text to guide us, you can point students to Jesus, encouraging them to rest in His promises and finished work. They will see the reality of depravity and why we need the hope only the true seed of the woman can offer. And ultimately, we use those conversations to remind us all that there is so much more God wants to tell us through this story than what we may see on the surface.