For Young People
Avoid Harmful Association!
Instructions: Do this exercise in quiet surroundings. As you read the scriptures, imagine that you are part of the event. Visualize the scene. Hear the voices. Feel the emotions of the characters. Let the account come to life.
Main characters: Dinah, Shechem, Jacob, Simeon, and Levi
Summary: Dinah is violated by Shechem, and her outraged brothers seek vengeance.
1 ANALYZE THE SCENE.—READ GENESIS 34:1-31.
What activities do you think Dinah might have engaged in with her companions in Canaan?
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With what kind of reasoning do you imagine that Shechem “kept speaking persuasively” to Dinah?
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What emotions do you sense in Jacob’s voice when he chastises Simeon and Levi in verse 30?
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2 DIG DEEPER.
Why, do you think, did Dinah regularly visit the daughters of Canaan? (For example, what might she have had in common with them? What could she have found among the people of Canaan that she could not find at home?)
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What attractive qualities might Dinah have observed in Shechem? (Reread verses 3, 12, and 19.)
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How does the Bible indicate that Dinah was not a willing participant in the sexual act? (Reread verse 2.)
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Do you think it was right for Simeon and Levi to take vengeance by killing the inhabitants of the city of Shechem? Why, or why not?
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3 APPLY WHAT YOU LEARNED. WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT . . .
The need to choose your associates wisely.
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The need for self-control, even if you are angry for a good reason.
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FOR FURTHER APPLICATION.
What steps can you take to avoid being exploited sexually by people who have no regard for God’s moral standards?
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4 WHAT ASPECT OF THIS ACCOUNT IS MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU, AND WHY?
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If you don’t have a Bible, ask Jehovah’s Witnesses for one, or read it online at www.watchtower.org