선교적 기회로 본 디나 사건의 재조명

Abstract

Every meeting with Gentiles or nonChristians is an opportunity for mission. From such point of view, we need to see the Dinah case. So far the case has been seen conservatively in terms of the faith identity of the Jacob’s community: judgements on a girl who went to the land of Shechem on her own accord; on the Canaanite prince who raped her; and on the abuse of the revenge by the sons of Israel. There is also a point of view to interpret the case ethically,especially to see the case from Dinah’s viewpoint, a girl who was abused in the masculine society. This paper proposes to approach the Dinah case from the missional point of view. After raping Dinah, Shechem loves her deeply, consoles her, and tries hard to marry her. Shechem and his father offer Jacob and his sons any brideprice the latter name and further make a propose that both tribes dwell together and give daughters to each other to be wives. Just because they love a woman, one patriarch and his prince actively and in a friendly way, are willing to pay any price. This could have been an opportunity for mission. That is, the attraction of one person or culture has some influence on others, so it can lead to the opportunity of mission. In response to Shechem’s offer, the sons of Jacob (especially Simeon and Levi) say that they will not ask for any dowry but that they will accept the offer if the men of the city agree to be circumcised. Then Shechem gather all people of the city and persuade them to be circumcised. This is very an exciting incident, because circumcision is a covenant Jehovah has made with Abraham and his descendants. It is the sign demonstrating the circumcised person to be among God’s people (Gen 17). The scope of the circumcision extends over not only the blood family of Abraham but also all the males staying in his house including Gentiles and travellers. Thus it is the sign that all the people within the influence of Abraham accept his religion and become people of God through the act of circumcision. So the missional meaning lies in the circumcision. Therefore, the fact that the whole tribe of Shechemites are willingly circumcised is at least outer demonstration of collective acceptance of God as their lord and a sign of missional opportunity now being open. However, unfortunately Jacob’s sons – Simon and Levi attack them when the latter are in most pain on the third day after their circumcision, kill all the male Shechemites and bring Dinah back, plunder all the properties of the city, and take women and children as their slaves. The reason why they massacre the Shechemites is, seen from the ideas of the ancient world and their attitude, rooted in the disgraced honor of their house rather than in just revenge. This outcome was a tragedy for Dinah as well. Dinah had to see a whole tribe terminated and their family slaved because of her and she herself had to live for the rest of her life as a deflowered old maid. About 20 years later, she is introduced individually (perhaps because she is not married) on the list of immigrants to Egypt of the Jacob’s house (Gen 46:15). Therefore, this massacre itself is a heinous evil, depriving Dinah of her happiness and the Shechemite males of their lives as well as enslaving the Shechemite wives and children, hence destroying the happiness and dreams of all people concerned. As Jacob said, they gave off bad smell. Unlike Abraham and Isaac, who, as stewards of God, spread aroma and won recognition and respect from people around them, the community of Jacob smelled bad and endangered their living. What are the reasons why they lost missional opportunities?The first reason is Jacob’s lack of spiritual leadership. The reason why Jacob did not show leadership as a powerful patriarch was that he did not receive divine message because he did not pray. The second reason is his sons’ lack of sense of identity as God’s people. The faith of Jacob, who, after meeting God at the Jabbok river, was transformed to Israel and reversed the trend of his life,was not handed down to his sons. His sons had a kind of mingled faith, carrying the images of the land with them and lacking the divine mercy to solve the problem. The third one is the lack of forgiveness and the idea of serving people because of the overwhelming mind of revenge. They did not think deeply of the amazing missional opportunity in which the whole Shechemites might be the people of God as a result of circumcision but changed it into the heinous massacre. Today, there are many examples in the world that bear missional fruits just by the victims’ forgiving and loving of their assailants. Jacob and his sons lost the opportunity of saving a whole tribe that came through the pain of rape, just by the lack of spiritual,missional leadership and because of the impulse revenge.