The Book of Genesis
Day 317
Ge 34:1 Now Dinah
the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the
daughters of the land.
Dinah, the
daughter of Leah, decides to hang out with the daughters of the land. As any
person, young or old desires to be loved and accepted by their peers, so it is
with Dinah. Often, in our society today, our young people grow up without the
influence of a father in a home, and family psychologists tell us of the
importance of fathers expressing their love for their daughters, lest their
daughters seek it elsewhere in ill-advised relationships.
This quest for
love and acceptance often shows up in the sexual sins of fornication and
homosexuality, which more often than not is acceptable behavior amongst the
“daughters of the land.” The only hope
for deliverance from these types of sins is found in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus
can overcome the lack of love and acceptance in our lives through His
unconditional love and acceptance of us poor sinners! Only Jesus can pull us
out of our sinful lifestyles, into a lifestyle of following Him.
1Co 6:9-11 says,
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such
were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
“Such were some of
you!” But you don’t have to be identified by those sins anymore, as you trust
in Jesus!
I don’t mean to
put parents on a guilt trip in this matter, but I do think it is important to
remind us often of how important love and acceptance is to our children and
they need to be consistently affirmed early on!
Don’t miss the
mention of the fact that Dinah was Leah’s daughter. Leah desperately desired
love and acceptance from her husband and she thought the only way she could get
it was by producing male offspring. Is it any wonder then that Dinah started
hanging out with the wrong crowd looking for love and acceptance in the wrong
places? She likely wasn’t getting it in her dysfunctional family!
Now parents, do
not despair. It is never too late to start loving your children properly. If
you’ve blown it in the past, confess it to God, invite Him into your situation,
and be willing to be changed by Him in a way that will attract your children to
the Light of the Lord! And as your children are attracted to the Light of the
Lord, the things of this world will become, as the song says, “strangely dim.”
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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