How To Maintain Spiritual Purity Series

1. Spiritual purity can only be maintained by being fully obedient and alert.

If Jacob had fully obeyed God and had been where he was supposed to be, he would never have been in a place where Israel could be defiled. When Christians don’t fully obey God in matters such as attending church, spending time in the Word, are ridding your home and lives of evil (worldly entertainment, video games, unethical business practices, etc.), they also will be in danger of being more and more corrupted by this world.

1. Spiritual purity can only be maintained by being fully obedient and alert.

Read Genesis 34:1-4

This is a sad passage which demonstrates Jacob’s lack of alertness concerning spiritual purity. Abraham had guarded his son Isaac by keeping him away from the enticements and influence of the Canaanites and by finding a wife for him outside of Canaan, but Jacob did not show the same alertness concerning his daughter. At this point, Dinah would have been between 13 and 15 years of age. Jacob, as a father, would have had full control over his daughter’s activities. He apparently allowed her to "visit the women of the land." This was a foolish decision because he should’ve known the character of the people living in the city and that this would put Dinah in danger being defiled or corrupted in one way or the other. The point of this part of the story is the same as that of Lot in Sodom. In both cases, lingering in or near the city, which represents the world system, led to harm and potential or actual defilement.

In verse 2 we learn that Shechem, who apparently was named after the city or vice versa, "violated" Dinah. This term refers to sexual activity, but it is not clear if it refers to rape or seduction. In this case it was probably the former. In either case, the point is that Shechem had sexual relations with Dinah who was not his wife. He did speak kindly to her and sought to marry her, but this in no way mitigates his defilement of Dinah. This was a terrible sin!

In the midst of these details and questions, let’s not lose sight of the main point. Dinah would not have been defiled if Jacob had been fully obedient and alert. It is the same for Christians today. We must be fully obedient and alert to the various temptations that could lead to spiritual corruption for us or our families. We have a responsibility; we can’t just let the kids make their own decisions. We must keep in mind that our choices affect many others.

How do you maintain spiritual purity?

1. Spiritual purity can only be maintained by being fully obedient and alert.

There is a second subject this story addresses and that is how not to respond to spiritual impurity. Now that the corruption has happened, how should God’s people respond to the spiritual impurity? In this story we learn at least two ways we should not respond to spiritual impurity.

2. Spiritual impurity should not be responded to with apathy or fanaticism.

Read Genesis 34:5-7

There is a stark contrast between the way Jacob responded to spiritual impurity and the way Jacob’s sons responded. Jacob we’re told "kept quiet." He was apathetic about this great sin. It is probably not the he did not care at all, but rather that he did not want to deal with the problems that would come by dealing with Dinah’s defilement. He apparently was willing to overlook this terrible sin and corruption. His lack of action reminds me of how so many Christians respond to spiritual impurity (immorality, false doctrines) in the church today. When many become aware of other Christians, including leaders, engaging in sinful behavior (adultery, greed, lying, etc.) or teaching false doctrines such a New Age teachings , they simply keep their mouths shut. It is the easy thing to do, but it is not the right thing to do. It conveys the message that moral and doctrinal impurities are unimportant.