Full of Light

God is gracious to give everyone a conscience, and the Bible provides evidence of this knowledge of right and wrong with Adam and Eve and their descendants after them.  It is true the Law of Moses brought knowledge of sin, but we also observe people at times knew what ought not to be done before the Law was provided on Mt. Sinai.  Despite having a conscience, people can have blind spots--dark shadows that cause what is sinful to be justified.

In my evening reading, I was reminded of the powerful influence of the conscience in Genesis 34 after Dinah was raped by Shechem.  Genesis 34:7 reads, "And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done."  The brothers of Dinah were incensed when they heard Shechem forced their sister.  Their consciences were in agreement what Shechem did was objectively disgraceful and a "thing which ought not to be done."  What is fascinating is the conscience of Shechem did not seem to be troubled as Dinah's brothers, and also his character was shown to be among the more honourable of his father's house.  He was willing to be immediately circumcised to have Dinah as wife because he genuinely cared for her.

It seems the conscience of Shechem and the sons of Jacob also had blind spots:  Shechem justified raping Dinah because he loved and wanted her, and Jacob's sons justified speaking deceitfully with malice.  They agreed to Dinah being the wife of Shechem if he and all the men of the city were circumcised as they were--because a couple of them conspired to murder all the men of the city and plunder them for Shechem's crime.  Jacob rebuked his sons, not for their deceit and murder, but that they brought trouble on him by making him obnoxious to the Canaanites.  Because Shechem had treated their sister Dinah like a harlot, Simeon and Levi felt justified to murder the men of the city and plunder it.

Justification to rape and murder by people who had consciences reminds me of Jesus' words in Luke 11:34-35:  "The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness."  Without the light of Jesus Christ and the word of God that is like a lamp to our feet and light to our path, the hearts and minds of mankind remain full of darkness.  Like Shechem or Jacob's sons, we can be deceived into justifying evil.  Praise God the Light of the World Jesus has come, and the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment.  May we Christians learn to walk in the light as Ephesians 5:8-10 exhorts:  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), ¹⁰ finding out what is acceptable to the Lord."