Year 4, Day 33: Genesis 34

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Up, In, Out

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.
• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.
• Out: This is the focus of our mission.  These are the people to whom God has called us to go.  These are the people into whom we are focused on attempting to speak God’s truth.

As we focus so heavily on character in the end of the Genesis story, I think that it is also important that we take a look at the relationship triangle and how it interacts with character.  Let’s look at Jacob’s sons and how their Up, In, and Out dimension affect their actions in this story.

As for Up – that is, their relationship with God – notice that God is not even mentioned in this chapter.  Circumcision is mentioned, but only as a means for making the Canaanites weak and unable to defend themselves!  God is not a part of this chapter.  When we are focused on the ways of the world, we should not expect God to be a part of our life.  When God is not a part of our life, we should not expect things to go well for us.

With respect to In, these brothers did have each other.  Simeon and Levi especially had the counsel of the rest.  But again, there is no mention of God.  These brothers use the ways of God – circumcision as a covenant – to exploit their neighbors and to get revenge.  Whereas their In should have helped them discern the ungodly nature of their actions, we don’t see this happening at all.  The only discernment that comes into play here at all is after the fact when Jacob scolds them for what they have done.

Finally, we take a look at the results of their actions: Out.  They had a group of Canaanites willingly circumcise themselves.  There was all sort of fruitful ground for spiritual harvest in this story.  Instead, we see the real pursuit of Jacob’s sons.  They kill the weakened Canaanites and take their wives and possessions.  Instead of reaching people for God, they make their name a stink among the people dwelling in the Promised Land.

How sad our life looks when the relationship triangle – Up, In, and Out – is not relating to God and His ways.

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