Faith Hidden in the Box

We see in Genesis 32 that Jacob has to meet his long lost brother Esau again. We know that Jacob was not a wimp when it came to defending himself and his family against outside foes. This time however, Jacob was up against a formidable enemy, his own flesh and blood. So we see Jacob praying to YHVH to defend him against his brother Esau. You will notice Jacob taking his two wives, his two handmaidens, and his eleven sons and dividing them up before he met with Esau. But wait, where is any mention of Dinah, his daughter? Rashi tells us that Jacob hid Dinah in a box, so that Esau would not see her and want to take her for a wife! Rashi says Jacob was punished for this when Dinah went out and was violated by Shechem. If Esau had” taken Dinah, maybe Dinah might have influenced Esau in a positive way. But that question remains pure speculation. It came down as YHVH desired it to come down. Here Esau asks Jacob three questions that are almost identical to the three questions in the Pirkei Avot (sayings of the fathers). Basically they are; where did you come from, where are you going, and to whom do you have to give an account of for your life? You see, we soon find out in life, that the hardest people to deal with in life, are often within our own family. We can be strong and defensive against the outside world. However, when it comes to family, at times we want to take our faith and put it in the box with Dinah. It was not only Dinah that was put in the box with Jacob’s situation, but Jacob’s faith went in too! This was the faith that YHVH could handle Jacob’s situation with Esau, without Jacob’s help. So when faced with hard family situations, remember Jacob, then remember the three questions, then keep your faith out of the box!