“Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.” (Gen 34:1-2NIV)
Why did Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, go out to visit the women of the land of Shechem? It must have been because doing so seemed harmless. But by the end of that same day, she was no longer the same. She had been defiled and raped; she had been treated like a common sex slave.
Now who raped Dinah? It was a young man called Shechem. And what does the bible say about this young man? It says that he was the most honoured of all the members of his father’s household (Gen 34:19). That means he was an exception among them. It means that he was better than all of them in character and in conduct. So, in the eyes of the people of their city, he was the saint in that family, Saint Shechem.
Nevertheless, Saint Shechem was a rapist. Saint Shechem was not a man that would exercise patience and follow due process in securing the hand of a woman in marriage before having anything to do with her. If he wanted to have a woman, then, he must have her, even if raping her was the only way. Yet he was the most honourable of all the members of his family. What kind of people, then, would other members of his family be? Murderers! Assassins! Kidnappers! Drunkards! Robbers! Thieves! Homosexuals! Lesbians! Swindlers!
Well then, if someone has these kinds of people in his life as his family members, will it not be foolish or naïve of us to think of him as a good and honourable person? It will be. Yes, he may appear smooth, sweet and honest in talking and in showing care. But unless we have known him for a while as someone that takes God seriously and have also watched him consistently demonstrate godly character for a reasonable period of time, it will be naïve of us to think he is harmless.
Dinah was naïve to have thought of Saint Shechem as harmless. Truly, he may have been a smooth and cool young man. But the fact that all the members of his household were wicked and godless people was enough to make her stay away from him until she knew who he truly was. Yes, everyone in town spoke highly of him and thought of him as an exception in his father’s household. But who were these people that were speaking highly of him? Pagans! Lawless people!
If the town’s people of Shechem had not been idolatrous and lawless, they would have arrested and judged him the moment he raped another man’s daughter. But what did they do when they learnt of what he had done? Nothing righteous! They were all probably laughing among themselves and wondering how enjoyable raping Dinah must have been for him.
So, while it was utterly wrong of Saint Shechem to rape Dinah, it was Dinah’s own naivety that made what he did possible. Truly, her brothers later intervened and made sure she got justice for the harm she had suffered. But how did that change anything. The harm had already been done and she had to live and die with the consequences. (Cf. Gen 34:5-31)
What is the point of all this? Don’t be naïve. Don’t be ignorantly trusting. Someone may look charming and outwardly alright by all standards. It does not mean they cannot hurt you terribly. And people may be praising someone as the exception among their peers or counterparts. It does not mean they cannot injure or corrupt you.
See, the quality of a testimony is directly related to the reputation of the one giving it. So, when someone is being praised or recommended to you, look beyond what is being said about the person to the character of the one saying it. That is what will tell you how seriously you should take their testimony. Otherwise, you may have your life ruined on the basis of a corrupt testimony.
Now understand that it does not take forever to ruin a life. A few seconds are enough to ruin it, especially on this valentine day. So, look out for yourself.
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