Wednesday: Wrestling with God?

From Genesis 32-35

1. Jacob must have read some of The Hobbit before going to meet his brother. If you recall, in The Hobbit, when Gandalf and Bilbo go to visit Beorn, they come two at a time so as to not overwhelm him. Jacob used this same group by group approach to try and appease his brother. (In reality, I wonder if J.R. Tolkien - who was a Christian - came up with this idea in the book from this passage.)

2. Wrestling with God? - It is interesting how Abraham and Isaac have a very different type of interaction with God than Jacob has. I especially find it interesting because Jacob was not exactly totally upright in all of his dealings, and then he still dares to "wrestle with God". What does this say about God? What does it say about Jacob? What does it say about Jacob's relationship with God? Or is there no significance? I wonder...

3. I also wonder: The bible never says how he met up with this "man" and started this wrestling match. How did it start? Where did this "man" come from? Some people "wrestle with God" when they are doubting him, or maybe the idea of God in control of things / their lives / etc. I wonder if this is a similar idea. It is a very real, physical confrontation according to the account in Genesis, but it is odd because of the lack of background details.

4. It is interesting to see how all the past problems that Jacob had caused were forgotten and his brother was happy to see him. It does seem that many times, no matter how significant the offense, usually after some time family members will forgive and forget and accept you again. It reminds me of King David when his son Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon for molesting their sister (Absalom's full sister and Amnon's half-sister - 2 Samuel 13). Eventually King David longs to have his son back, and allows his son to come back, even though he's a murderer.

5. Jacob's boys were deceitful in dealing with the Hivite leaders, Hamor and Shechem. I have always heard two wrongs do not make a right. However, I wonder how God viewed their untruth in light of Dinah being violated.

It is interesting that there is no record of what Dinah's thoughts were. I wonder if she loved this guy. I mean, it goes into great depth to explain how serious Shechem was about caring for her. It says "...he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her." Her brothers were rightfully angry, but she may have been a willing party. She had a leader of a people (or at least a city) who really valued her, and was willing to do anything for her. Isn't that the type of person one wants in a relationship?
Caring? - Check
Financially Stable? - Check
Willing to do anything for her? - Check
Loves God Almighty? - Good question (This might be the key.)
I wonder if she knew what her brothers were going to do. And afterwards, who did she end up spending her life with? If the bible tells, I do not recall.

One could argue that this people was an idol-worshiping people, but if that were the case, they should have never taken the women and children, but rather all should have been destroyed. So in the end the guys got the plunder and wives and children, while Dinah was violated (could possibly mean - had premarital sex) so her brothers killed her lover. What kind of future could she possibly have in the society of the time after this incident?