DCLM Higher Everyday 20 July 2026 — Retaliation
Topic: Retaliation
Bible Reading: Genesis 34:25-31 (KJV)
25And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
27The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
KEY VERSE: And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather together against me, to slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house” (Genesis 34:30).
Message
Retaliation is the act of harming someone because he or she has harmed us. Another word for it is revenge. Our text tells the story of the defilement of Dinah by Shechem and the cruel act of vengeance carried out by her brothers on Shechem, his father and the adult males in the land. According to Tim Lahaye, “Sadness and heartache always result when anyone disobeys God’s command regarding sexual purity.” Many people paid with their lives for the wrong done by one man.
Two lessons can be learned from the story. One, Shechem’s sin of fornication with Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, brought him an untimely death. Sin brings death, physical, spiritual and eternal, if not repented of. Two, two wrongs cannot make a right; Jacob’s sons took vengeance on Shechem and his family, including the whole city. They killed innocent males who had no involvement in the incident that led to their sister’s defilement. This collective punishment is wrong. We should avoid retaliation and let God fight for us (Romans 12:19). Pray to be sanctified to forgive freely.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Take my heart, oh Lord! Let it be like Yours.
CHALLENGE
Have a forgiving heart like our Lord Jesus.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
