Promises come with hardship

When I wanted to court Lee Yen (my wife) I had to seek permission from her father, because I am Indian and she is Chinese. I made an appointment to see him but while I was at Lee Yen's house, not only did the mother join us, but also her uncle, aunt and grandmother. It became quite an interview. But, praise God we finished well and I was accepted. End of that year (1991) we got married. This was not to be the case with Shechem and Dinah, Jacob's daughter.

Genesis 34:2, And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

Dinah was raped and, the manner the story was written, Shechem wanted to take one step further and marry her, instead of just stop with the crime. Jacob, being a small family living in a foreign land, had to be careful about how he reacted to the matter. His sons convinced them to get circumcised but Dinah's two brothers avenged the matter by killing all the men of the land and rescuing their sister. Afterwards, the rest of Jacob's sons plundered them and took the wives and their children captive. This was brave and started to build a reputation for Israel among the people of Canaan.

Some interesting development for Jacob and his family as they go through this episode. Either it struck fear in the people of Canaan and/or it caused them to start getting vigilant and ready for battle.

When God gives us promises, be ready for attacks and be ready to be feeling a little alone and persevere. However, God will never leave us or forsake us, if it is His promise.

Father, I will preservere and endure hardship as you fulfill your promises and purposes in my life.

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