TEXT: Genesis 34 & 35

1. SEARCHING OUR MEMORIES
   1. Discuss what you chose to do from last week's "Searching Our Lives" suggestions.

   2. Briefly discuss the meeting of Jacob and Esau after so many years apart.

2. SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
   3. 1. Who were Dinah's parents?

      2. What was her unique position in the family?

   4. Who were the daughters of the land that Dinah visited?

   5. 1. Who was Shechem, and what do you know about his character?

      2. What did he do that "should not have been done in Israel"?

   6. What were Shechem's feelings toward Dinah, and what request did he make of his father?

   7. Compare Shechem's reaction after he had forced Dinah with that of Amnon after the rape of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:1-15.

   8. Contrast Jacob's reaction to the news about Dinah with his sons' reaction.

   9. Hamor, Shechem's father, requested marriage for Shechem and Dinah. List the advantages he promised.

   10. 1. According to Jacob's sons, only one thing stood in the way of the marriage between Shechem and Dinah. What was it?

       2. What was their actual motive?

   11. What persuasion was used by Hamor and Shechem to persuade the men of the city to be circumcised?

   12. 1. What happened on the third day, when the men of the city were sore?

       2. Which brothers instigated it?

       3. What later pronouncement concerning their birthright did Jacob make in Genesis 49:5-7?

   13. 1. Did Jacob's other sons share the guilt in this incident? Explain.

       2. How did Simeon and Levi justify themselves to Jacob?

   14. 1. Children should be the joy of their parents. How did Jacob feel about his sons?

       2. What two things did he feel would be the consequences of their actions?

   15. 1. God sent Jacob back to Bethel, where He had appeared to him earlier in a dream (Genesis 28:11-13). What was the first thing he was instructed to do when he arrived?

       2. How was this typical of Jacob's father and grandfather? (See Genesis 12:7, 13:4, and 26:25.)

   16. 1. Before solemn ordinances there must be solemn preparation. What three things was Jacob's family commanded to do?

       2. How was their preparation similar to Isaiah 1:16 and Jeremiah 4:14?

   17. Jacob's family was instructed to put away the foreign gods that were among them. Give some family background that might explain why idolatry might still be a problem in Jacob's family (Genesis 31:19, 34; Joshua 24: 2, 14 with Genesis 11:27 - 12:5; and Ezekiel 20:8).

   18. What are some of the ways you see the providential and protecting hand of God in Jacob's move to Bethel? (See Exodus 23:27.)

   19. 1. It had been more than 20 years since Jacob's earlier visit to Bethel. What was significant about the former visit, in Genesis 28:19-22?

       2. Since God had fulfilled His part of the vow, how did He prompt Jacob to fulfill his part? (See Genesis 35:1-20.)

       3. After the death of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, God reminded Jacob that his name was now Israel. Of what other important promise was he reminded?

   20. 1. While it seems Rachel had been assured she would have another son after Joseph (Genesis 30:24), she was not allowed the joy of raising him. While traveling from Bethel, Rachel experienced hard labor and died during childbirth. Before his birth, Rachel named her son ____________, meaning ______________________. Jacob changed his name to _________________, meaning _________________.

       2. Where was Rachel buried?

   21. 1. Reuben, Jacob's oldest son, committed a sin that caused his father to declare him "unstable as water" (Genesis 49:3, 4). What had Reuben done?

       2. What did he lose by his folly? (See 1 Chronicles 5:1.)

   22. List Jacob's 12 sons and who gave birth to them.

   23. Isaac died at the ripe old age of ______.

3. MAKING THE CONNECTION
   24. What interesting conversation was held at Jacob's well near Shechem that caused a woman to say "He told me all that I ever did"? (See John 4:5-42.)

   25. What sexual immorality did Reuben commit that the apostle Paul said was not even named among the Gentiles? (See 1 Corinthians 5:1.)

4. SEARCHING THE HEART
   26. Shechem saw Dinah, liked what he saw, took her, decided to keep her, then began the proper procedure to acquire her. In what ways do we often go about acquiring what we want before we have earned the right to have it?

   27. Dinah was only fifteen or sixteen years old when she went to visit the daughters of the land. What might have been the intentions of her visit?

   28. Curiosity is a normal characteristic of teens. How could you use 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to warn them of dangerous curiosity?

   29. Jacob's household was told to put away foreign gods, purify themselves, and change their clothes. How do their changes symbolize our obedience to the gospel (Romans 6:1-4)?

   30. After Shechem outlined the pluses of accepting Dinah's brothers' terms, the men of Shechem consented. What criteria do we use to make decisions? Do we consider what the long-term effects will be on ourselves and others?

5. SEARCHING OUR LIVES (Choose one of the following to complete and discuss for next week.)
   31. When Jacob heard that his daughter had been defiled, he was able to hold his peace while those around him became so angry they sinned. This week, use your concordance to find some Scriptures on the virtues of holding our peace and the dangers of becoming angry. Share with the class.

   32. Jacob's sons had been guilty of several sins mentioned in Romans 1:29-31. What sins do you need to put off so that you can have a closer walk with God?

   33. Dinah's brothers decided to practice vengeance and suffered the consequences. Learn from their mistakes, and determine to forgive someone this week.

   34. Just as Jacob purified his household, this week determine to put away any idol you may hold, and discard any clothing, etc. that does not portray you as a godly woman.