# 316 Hangin’ Out With the Wrong Crowd

The Book of Genesis

Day 316

Ge 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Things are about to get a little ugly here, as the Bible looks at some real life situations. We are about to read of some things that are not nice to talk about, but they are real life. They happened to real people! These kind of things still happen today, to real people, and I hope the biblical story of Dinah may in some way help us to prevent such occurrences in our own lives, and if not prevent, at least learn how to deal with these situations when they arise!

It all began when Dinah went out “to see the daughters of the land.” In today’s terminology we might say, “She began hanging out with the wrong crowd.  The “daughters of the land,” were Canaanites. They were heathens. They participated in all sorts of wickedness including , idolatry, temple prostitution, adultery, homosexuality, incest, murder, bestiality, gang rape, and child sacrifice. Not all of them engaged in these activities, but it was a way of life for many in their culture. These “daughters of the land” and their associated customs and accepted behaviors would quite naturally have an impact with Dinah as she tried to fit in. She would be exposed and put at risk to these lifestyles that were so contradictory to God’s Word.  She was playing with fire!

By most biblical accounts, Dinah was about 15 or 16 years old at this time. A very impressionable age, and she was exposed to things that a young teen should not be exposed to.

Parents, how are you doing with your children? What are they being exposed to by the friends they are hanging out with? What are they taking in on their smartphones and the internet? Have you taken the time to find out? Have you communicated to them on a regular basis the standards of living set forth in the Bible? Have you exhibited those same standards in your own lives?

Don’t wait until they're Dinah’s age to do so, by then, it’s usually too late. Keep your lines of meaningful conversation open with your children, and above all, keep your communication lines open with God! In the matter of raising godly children, pray! Pray! Pray some more…..there’s much at stake!