It’s a putrid world, a moral dump. But by grace we can emanate a sweet aroma of Christ today.
The city of Shechem, first place in the Land visited by Jacob’s clan, lay in ruins. One can only imagine the wailing of widows and orphans, with not a man of them left to bury the dead. Jacob says to those responsible, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land” (Gen 34:30). Here is the raw power of the King James: “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants.” I don’t imagine he was thinking about his name “Jacob.” He had already done a thorough job of making that name stinky! But he had just received a new name, reflecting the influence he was to have with God and men. He had linked himself with that name at the altar—God, the God of Israel. How solemn! It’s one thing for a man to spoil his own reputation, but what about when he links himself with God? Even slaves in New Testament days could “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” by “not answering back,” and “not pilfering,” for example (Titus 2:9-10). Simeon and Levi responded: “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” (Gen 34:31). In other words, “Something had to be done!” Yes, but not this! The medicine was far worse than the disease. What Shechem had done was terrible, but the whole city destroyed? Many years later, Jacob will say of Simeon and Levi: “Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.…Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel!” (Gen 49:5-7). Never in that land to be named Israel would there be a territory with those boys’ names upon it, for, said Jacob, “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” May God help us today that through us He may diffuse “the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Cor 2:14).