Day 13 or January the 13th. Inside first, then
outside next. Our thought today is from Genesis
chapter 34 verse 15. We will enter into an agreement
with you on one condition only, that you become
like us by circumcising all your males. First,
the big picture surrounding this verse. Dinah,
the only daughter of Jacob that we know by name,
is raped by a Hivite prince called Shechem, and
her brothers wreak havoc on his family. The thought
that these uncircumcised heathen could ever be
part of their good kosher family fills them with
disgust and rage as they take their drastic revenge.
Meanwhile, Jacob is renamed Israel to reflect
his personality more accurately as a wrestler
with God. On the way to Bethlehem, Jacob's favourite
wife gives birth to a second son, Benjamin, and
sadly dies after the birth. She is buried on
the outskirts of Bethlehem, and there is still
a commemorative memorial in her honour on the
road into Bethlehem today. Esau and Jacob have
now been reconciled, but their descendants, the
Edomites and the Israelites, never forgive each
other. Now our action step for today. The family
of Shechem were told they could only be acceptable
if they were circumcised. This was a physical
sign of a covenant about which they were probably
totally ignorant. Sometimes we make similar mistakes
by urging friends to be baptized or confirmed
or become church members before the transaction
that these rites proclaim has taken place in
the heart of an individual. I remember being
told that it was about time I took a particular
step in my local church now that I was 16. It
was years later that I realized my action actually
had nothing to do with age but was directly
linked to heart change. We need constantly to
remind ourselves that God looks on the inside
and not on the outside. We may be fooling others
by doing the right thing, but please be sure
that you are believing the right thing and doing
what God wants. Aim to please Him, not the crowds
around you.