Justin Houtz

Genesis 34-36; Luke 14

DateVersionReading Plan
January 14, 2026ESV (2016)ESV Life Journal Plan – 2026

Genesis 34-36

Observation & Interpretation

Gen. 34:8-9 – After Shechem had sexually assaulted Dinah, the daughter of Leah, Shechem’s father, Hamor, requested that Dinah be given to Shechem as his wife and make marriages with them.

  • In addition to asking Dinah on behalf of his son, Hamor proposes a mutually beneficial relationship: neither side would prohibit marriage with the sons and daughters of either tribe…The narrative here suggests that marrying within one’s extended clan was a cultural norm, not just a practice of Abraham’s descendants. However, the matter added spiritual significance for Abraham’s descendants in light of the covenant promises given to Abraham many years earlier (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-6). (FSB)

Gen. 34:19 – Shechem is described as most honored in all his father’s house.

Gen. 34:26 – When Simeon and Levi killed Hamor with the sword, they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. Dinah was already with Shechem when Simeon and Levi came against the city.

  • After killing Shechem, they took Dinah from his house; she had been brought there after Shechem’s circumcision. (CSB Notes)

Gen. 35:1-3 – In response to God’s instruction to arise and go up to Bethel to dwell, Jacob told his household to put away the foreign gods among them, purify themselves, change their garments and go to Bethel that he may make an altar to God.

  • The preparation involved three things: first, getting rid of the foreign gods among them. Laban’s household idols (31:19) as well as possible Hivite idols acquired in the raid on Shechem (34:29) were among the items that Jacob buried under the oak near Shechem. Second, the people were to purify themselves, a command that normally involved washing the body and clothing (Ex. 19:10; 30:19-21; Lv. 16:26), as well as avoidance of sexual contact since seminal emissions created temporary ritual uncleanness (Lv. 15:16-18)…Third, they were to change their clothes (Lv. 6:10-11). (CSB Notes)

Gen. 35:10 – God again told Jacob that he should no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (see Gen. 32:28)

  • Once again God stated that Jacob’s name was now Israel and renewed the covenant He had made with Abraham and Isaac.

Gen. 35:22 – A detail is provided that Reuben laid with his father’s concubine and Israel heard of it.

  • A brief mention is made of Reuben’s sin with Bilhah his father’s concubine, a sin by which he forfeited the birthright (49:3, 4). (BBC)

Luke 14

Application

Luke 14:7-11 (ESV) Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this parable, we are directed to the kind of gospel humility to exemplify as a follower of Christ. To seek the best seat conveys the understanding that we are entitled to such treatment by our own worth, works or merit. However, a man crushed by the gospel seeks not the place of honor and self-exaltation because he is aware of his undeserved position before a holy and righteous God. All praise, honor and glory be to our God who sent and sacrificed His only Son, extending to us the invitation to move up higher, to be honored in the presence of our Lord and to sit at the banquet table of the King.

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