Second Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed. Do you believe that Genesis 34, the chapter which we shall consider in this message, is God-breathed? We need to look to the Lord that He would show us how this portion of the Word is the breath of God. When I was young, after I had read chapters like Genesis 34 once or twice and the story had been fixed in my memory, I skipped over them. Whenever I came to this chapter in my reading of the Old Testament, I would remember that Jacob's daughter was defiled and that his sons mercilessly killed people and plundered the city, and I passed over it. However, the Lord has shown us that even this chapter is the breath of life. Although there is life in this portion of the Word, it takes experience to appreciate it.
In order to apprehend the life in chapter thirty-four, we must look both backward and forward. Prior to this chapter, Jacob had been delivered out of all his troubles. For twenty years, Jacob was retained under Laban's squeezing hand, and he was very troubled by this. Eventually, it was impossible for Jacob to stay with Laban any longer and he left his uncle's home. God had told Jacob that He wanted him to return to the land of his fathers. Jacob, however, could not forget what had happened there, for it was there that he had deceived his father Isaac and had supplanted his brother Esau. Although he was willing to return to the land of his fathers, he had to confront the great problem of facing his brother Esau. Nevertheless, taking the word of the Lord and utilizing his skill and cleverness, he stole away from Laban, not informing him that he was leaving. By stealing away from Laban, he overcame his first difficulty, that of being under Laban's squeezing hand. But then there was a second trouble: Laban pursued Jacob and finally caught up with him. But God intervened, telling Laban not to say anything either good or bad to Jacob. Thus, Jacob was wholly delivered from the hand of Laban. But the greatest trouble—facing Esau—still lay in front of him. Because of this, he had a long night of wrestling with an unidentified opponent who actually was the Lord Himself. But Jacob passed through this crisis, and the Lord delivered him from the problem with Esau. After this, Jacob had no more difficulties for a while.