Ep 51 Reuben, Simeon & Levi, Genesis 34:25-31; 35:22; 49:1-8

It's impossible to go through life without being injured by others, just as it's impossible to go through life without being the one who causes injury to others. Each of us is afflicted with a spiritual disease called "sin" which produces rebellion toward God and selfishness. The result of living in a sinful world is that everybody carries scars which are left when others sin against us. Over the past few weeks we have studied some tragic mistakes Jacob made in the way he parented his children: he unnecessarily exposed them to Canaanite culture (Ge 33:18,19), he showed flagrant favoritism (Ge 33:1,2; 37:3,4), he passively refused to protect the honor of a daughter (Ge 34:1-31) and he tolerated demonic worship among his family (Ge 35:2,4). In doing so, he scarred all of his children one way or another, but today we'll particularly focus on the damage it did to his three oldest sons: Reuben, Simeon and Levi, because the way each reacted shows what can happen when bitterness is left unchecked. Sadly, their reaction caused the impact of their father's sin to extend much further than was necessary. Though they were not responsible for what Jacob did to them as a parent, God did hold them responsible for the sinful way they responded. Each in turn lost his birthright, which meant he forfeited the right to lead their family. Their example should be a warning to us how not to handle our deep scars the way they did, but to take them to God.

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