1. The Hurt –

• The Dehumanizing of a Person – vs. 1-2

– He saw. He took. He lay with. He defiled. – Each word describes the nature of sexual abuse.

– It is a perversion and disorder of God’s design.

– Sexual abuse prioritizes urges and self-gratifying desires above the worth of a human soul. It objectifies a person by detaching the spirit, soul, mind, heart, intellect, and will from the body.

• A Common Problem – This is not something that is isolated to a culture or time period. It is a problem within humanity.
• A Hope for the Hurt – Its presence in God’s Word means that He sees, cares, judges, and does not forget.

– The world may overlook wounded people, but God does not.

2. The Harm

• The Deranged Response of Shechem and Hamor – vs. 3-12

– God’s design is not lust first and love later. This is backward.

– Emotions do not produce facts or justify acts.

– The conversation turns to “what can make it right” for others.

– Dinah is forgotten.

• The Destructive Revenge of Jacob’s Sons – vs. 12-29

– The brothers were right to be angry, but wrong to be sinful.

– They did not seek justice as the answer, but pain.

– Their unchecked anger did not seek an answer, but an outlet.

• The Dismissive Worry of Jacob – vs. 30-31

– Jacob never expresses anything in Genesis 34 other than how

it impacted him.

3. The Help

• Justice Is Good, But Not Curative.
• Healing Is Possible, But Not Simple
• God’s Children Should Reflect His Heart In This Problem