Disobedience; Consequences of Disobedience
To read the previous topic called Obedience and its benefits, please click here.
Today we shall be looking at Disobedience and its consequences, the Bible chapter we are going to be diving into is Genesis 34. Dinah's story. More so, Jacob’s children and his role as a father.
Brace yourselves as this chapter is very heavy, I felt so many emotions (there were tears shed) while studying and preparing for this. My heart throbbed with pain and still does whenever i think about or read this chapter and I believe the same thing happened when God witnessed the events which we are about to study take place in the lives of Jacob’s family.
This chapter taught me a valuable lesson on obedience unto the Lord even in the little things and the impact of neglecting to do things his way.
Let's start off by praying: Heavenly Father, i thank you for enabling us to reach the end of this theme; Identity, God i know you have worked in the hearts of those who have stayed the course and have navigated through these series of writings. God Almighty, for this last topic may the hearts of your people be receptive to your wisdom, knowledge and understanding that would be needed to understand everything written here. Holy Spirit, remove any spirit of distraction that would hinder their understanding or allow them to miss any revelation/s that you want to release through this text. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Without further ado, I will start by asking you to describe Disobedience in your own words.
Having done that, the meaning of disobedience is described as the failure or refusal to obey rules or someone in authority. This means when we disobey God, we are indirectly saying his authority doesn't matter.
This is the very same God that said Heaven is his throne and earth his footstool according to Isaiah 66:1 and Psalms 33:6 says “[6] By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth”.
Before we get started with unravelling this chapter, it’s important to understand the backdrop of it; most importantly, the Location in which it was set.
The location in which this event took place, is called Shechem. This is particularly important to remember as it sets a precedent for the event that will unravel. To have a better understanding of Shechem we must track back to how the family of Jacob got here. Therefore, the backdrop to this location (Shechem) was, the Lord had appeared to Jacob in Genesis 31:3 telling him to go back to the land of his fathers and to his relatives which is Bethel.
This was after Jacob had lived with his uncle, Laban for 20 years (Genesis 31:38 & 41). After this revelation from the Lord (in Genesis 31:3), we see series of events occur in the life of Jacob and this ranged from: fleeing from Laban, wrestling with God, meeting Esau and no harm coming upon himself and his family because God’s hands was on his life. By mentioning all this, you would think with Jacob's unfathomable encounter with the Lord in Genesis 32:22-30, this would have been enough to obey the command the Lord had given to him in Genesis 31:3. Apparently, it wasn’t.
Before we move further, I want to answer the question of how we know that the land in which God commanded Jacob to go back to was Bethel? The answer to this can be found in Genesis 35:1 [1] Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
This was after the whole mess had occurred in this chapter. This was God repeating the word he had previously given to Jacob in Genesis 31:3. Therefore, this was not a new word.
With this in mind, we can conclude on the fact that Jacob had disobeyed God by choosing to settle in Shechem, rather than Bethel where God had stated. Genesis 33:18-19 says '[18] After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 'For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent’. From Genesis 33 to 34, It's said that Jacob lived in Shechem for about 10 years, if this was so; this was 10 years of Disobedience. Before we side-eye him, we must look deeper into our lives and see where we are being impudent to the command of the Lord and the result for this is tremendous set back. It should grieve our hearts and cause us to turn back to him and seek his forgiveness.
Let's get started, Genesis 34:1 says '[1] Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land'. It's very important to note that Shechem was a pagan city, therefore Jacob's family were among pagan people. The Shechemite were those who lived an immoral lifestyle and were in rebellion against God.
The first shocking thing about verse 1 is we see no protection/chaperone to escort Dinah out (as she was a very young girl). This shows Jacob's negligence as a father due to his failure to guard his daughter and secondly, by allowing her daughter to mingle with ungodly women. When it talks about visits, this was used to describe an event and during my research I discovered that "Unattached young women were considered fair game in cities of the time, in which promiscuity was not only common but, in fact, a part of the very religious system itself.” (Morris). This means Dinah has just wandered and is a lamb among wolves. Her parents which were meant to be her Shepherd did a terrible job at protecting her.
A question in which we should ask ourselves to grasp one of the lessons from this chapter is, who are you in charge of?
Who has God put you in charge of? For Parents, ask yourselves are you shepherding your children in the way of the Lord by putting limits and boundaries where there should be to avoid giving the enemy a foothold. This also includes those who oversee their little siblings, nephews and nieces as you're the first Christ they also see. Therefore, you should lead in the way of the Lord and under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, some of you might not like this but let us dig deeper into the crevices of this matter, we can say Dinah knew no better in terms of her decision making and the reason for this was because no one taught her the things of holiness in the sense of not associating with pagan culture.
How can we apply this to ourselves?
Well, if you proclaim to be a child of God and you have been taught better; meaning you know what breaks God's heart. As well as if the Holy Spirit has forbidden you from going to certain places such as night clubs, bars, or any events that are not God honouring but you disregard the warnings of the Lord and still proceed and make such places a form of entertainment. Then you shall be left to bear the consequences of the actions that arises through your Disobedience to the Lord.
As children of God, we are called to live a consecrated life, a Holy one; in which we are in the world but not of it therefore not walking in the ways of those in the world do. Refusing to live a life of consecration to the Lord is a display of open rebellion towards him. 1 John 3:9-10 says '[9] No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. [10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister'.
Let's move on to, Genesis 34:2-4 which says [2] When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. [3] His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. [4] And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
The words used to describe what had taken place are; 'Shechem Son of Hamor the Hivites saw her, took her and raped her'. These words ‘Saw’ and ‘Took’ led to a destructive action and we would see that they were used to describe the fall of mankind in the book of Genesis. Genesis 3:6 '[6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it'.
1 John 2:15-16 brings a deeper clarity of what took place during the fall by highlighting the sins committed '[15] Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. [16] For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world'. We can see the same cycle occurred in the life of Shechem son of Hamor. The instance he saw, took, and raped her is the Holy Spirit's way of describing the sins of the lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh. His demand that his father get Dinah as his wife was the description of Pride of life. From this, it's vital that we understand the enemy's tricks hasn't changed and he still uses these three things to make humans fall. Therefore, this is a reminder to be on guard and see which one you're susceptible to and ask the Holy Spirit for help. It’s best to identify your weaknesses and pray regarding them for the enemy knows of them. To feign ignorance about your weaknesses leaves room for the enemy to prey on them.
This is why the prayer David prayed in Psalms 139:23-24 [23] 'Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ should be one we often pray as believers so that the Lord can reveal more about ourselves to help us.
This story reminds us of that of David's children, Amnon and Tamar. I would suggest reading the whole chapter of 2 Samuel 13 in your free time to get the whole rundown of this story.
2 Samuel 13:1-2 & 11-15 [1] In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. [2] Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. [11] But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.” [12] “No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. [13] What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” [14] But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. [15] Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”
Just like the scripture described, Amnon fell in love with her (Tamar) yet states in 2 Samuel 13:15 'Then he hated her with intense hatred, and he hated her more than he had loved her'.
Love, such a beautiful word yet misunderstood by humans. An action word yet relegated to solely based on feelings by the definition of mankind.
I would love to explore the meaning of love by looking at the similarity between the events of David's children (Amnon and Tamar) and Dinah’s.
What's the definition of Love?
Firstly, the Bible does a great job of describing what love is according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. The Word of God says '[4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres'. Without a doubt, none of the words used to describe love is seen in the acts towards Dinah and Tamar.
This brings me to say the love mentioned; that was felt by both parties (Shechem and Amnon) was a fleshly kind of love, a love that was connected to evil; more so an Infatuation and a heart willing to satisfy its desires at all costs. Galatians 5:19-21 says '[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God'.
How can we apply this to ourselves? We should investigate the actions of people who say they love us; are they showing the love of Christ as it is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Is their love including ours to people around us lacking roots found in Christ. Would you describe their ‘I love you's or yours’ as transactional because of what you can do for them or what you can gain from them?
Is the love displayed because the person loves the idea of having the other around them to not feel insecure of themselves. Lastly, is the love displayed because the person is simply used as a trophy to boost one or the other's ego. Philippians 2:3-4 reminds us to '[3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others'.
Genesis 34:5 says '[5] When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home'. The situation worsens as the verses progress. We see Jacob's viewpoint and the fascinating thing was there was no mention of him showing any kind of emotions; be it anger or sadness at Dinah’s rape. With this, we get an insight that he was the type of father that wasn’t actively involved in the lives of his kids. To be more specific, in the lives of the children borne to him by Leah and his concubines.
We understand that Dinah was the daughter of Leah, the unloved wife according to Genesis 30:21. From this, we learn that Jacob made the mistake of treating the children in his blended family differently by showing favourites. This will in turn cause another chaotic event to unfold in his lifetime through the story of Joseph. His brothers hated him because he was their father's favourite (Gen 37:4).
Additionally, the absence of moral leadership from Jacob, left Leah’s sons seething with anger and the perceived need to avenge the wrongs committed against their sister as we shall see later in the chapter. From this, God reveals that parents should make all their children feel equally loved and valued.
For a moment, let us try to imagine for ourselves the state of Dinah’s mind, witnessing no reaction from Jacob, her father? Betrayal, rejection, abandoned? I must say, it hurts when you don't receive the backing or covering from the one/people that are meant to offer them.
Which brings me to the state, "unfortunately, sometimes it’s the very ones that are close to us who are willing to throw us out to the wolves". However, healing is available through Christ. Through the study of the ministry of Christ; we are made aware that his family at one point misunderstood him, his close friends betrayed him, the people (Israel) that were meant to accept him rejected and shamed him. Therefore, i want you to understand whenever you're left out to the wolves, Christ is available to present his scars and pick you up. This is the reassurance we have as children of God. Hebrews 4:14-15 '[14] Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin'.
Genesis 34:6-12 states [6] Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. [7] Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. [8] But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. [9] Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. [10] You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.” [11] Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. [12] Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”
From this portion of text, we can see Shechem had no remorse for his action thereby handling the situation as a trading deal. This showed how depraved both Shechem and Hamor were. However, the shocking thing was Jacob is also included because of his acceptance of such abominable deal.
The deal was abominable because the Lord has always forbidden his people from intermarriage to those who do not worship him. This was established way before the nation of Israel were giving the charge not to intermarry with idol worshipping nations in Deuteronomy 7:1-4.
How do we know this?
Abraham made his servant swear that his son Isaac (Jacob’s father) wouldn't marry a pagan woman (Canaanite). Gen 24:3-4. We also understand that Esau was further out of God's will because of his marriages to pagan women. Genesis 26:34-35 '[34] When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. [35] They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah'. Genesis 28:8-9 '[8] Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; [9] so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had'.
I want to zero in on verse 7, Genesis 34:7 says '[7] Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done'. Although these children might not have had a close relationship with God, they were still aware that they were people of covenant for they had witnessed how God protected their father in the house of Laban (their Grandfather), from the hands of his brother Esau and possibly were well acquainted with the stories of their great grand-father Abraham and God's promise to his generations.
This brings me to ask the question to believers out there, do you know that you are an individual under the covenant of the Blood of Jesus? Thus, you cannot afford to agree with actions that contradicts the person of God. All the way from Genesis 34:8-12, Shechem and Hamor were insisting on a trade deal by asking the family of Jacob to state their price tag, in which they said they could surely meet.
As children of God, we must ask ourselves can we afford to be easily bought by the enemy to step out of God's will? Can you be bought with fame, money, position, materialistic things? Can you be bought to compromise on the Word of God?
Matter of fact, do you have the Hamor and Shechem hearts that thinks they can buy their way out of every situation. For believers it can look something like ‘I can do whatever I like so long I still pay tithe or serve in the house of God, my lifestyle does not matter’. This is called trying to buy God off. It doesn't work. A repentant heart and Holiness is what God is after not your money which belongs to him anyway.
Going along Genesis 34:13-24 '[13] Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. [14] They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. [15] We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. [16] Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. [17] But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.” [18] Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. [19] The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. [20] So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. [21] “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. [22] But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. [23] Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.” [24] All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised'.
First and foremost, I want to talk about the importance of circumcision to the Israelites and even to us as Christians. Circumcision was a sacred ritual given by God to Abraham to perform on himself and all the males in his household; for them to be included in the covenant promised by God which can be found in Genesis 17. The intention of circumcision on God’s part has always been for it to be an outward sign of an inward reality. It's meant to be more spiritual than physical as this was God's way of making a person new.
Ezekiel 36:26 confirms this be saying '[26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh'. In addition, Colossians 2:11 says '[11] In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ'.
Back to the hearts of Hamor and Shechem which was revealed in verse 23 "Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.” This statement showed Shechem and Hamor had ulterior motives which were financial rather than the spiritual when it came to aligning themselves with Jacob's family.
How does this speak for us? If you're with God solely for the financial blessings even-though he does bless his children financially; like Hamor and Shechem, you'd be setting yourself up for failure. You can't fool God. You can try but you will be fooling yourself as your relationship with him will not last because material possession has become your idol and it's impossible to stay the course when he doesn't give you what you think you deserve during the timespan you want it.
This highlights the importance of seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else will be given to you according to Matthew 6:33.
Seeing as we have established that by Hamor’s household aligning themselves with that of Jacob’s; they prosper off the Disobedience of the family of Jacob. This is applicable to believers; the enemy gleefully rejoices when we as children of God succumb to things that are not God honouring and are in fact below us. The enemy during this time gains and we unfortunately lose. Therefore, let us be reminded to meditate on 1 Peter 5:8-9 which says "[8] Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. [9] Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings".
This means as Christ followers, we must be mindful of what partnership we get involved in. Partners can also look like anger, bitterness, jealousy, covetousness, slander, sexual immorality. When these crouches at our door, it's important that we don't give in to any of them like the sons of Jacob.
Let's talk about the deceitful acts displayed by the sons of Jacob. It’s very important for us to look at the root of their deceit which was, unresolved anger that gave room for hate then turned into revenge; finally, it led to defiling the meaning of circumcision and the name of God.
Genesis 34:25-29 says "[25] Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. [26] They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. [27] The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. [28] They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. [29] They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses".
From these verses, we can see that Simeon and Levi's act of vengeance, corrupted justice and stole God's Glory. According to Romans 12:17-19 '[17] Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. [18] If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. [19] Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord'. Just like the brothers, we Christians are also susceptible to exercise inaccurate justice when we let anger fester in our hearts. This doesn't excuse the horrific action Dinah was subjected to. This also doesn't excuse any horrific thing that might have occurred in your own life. However, the point is the Lord demands that we forgive, the journey to forgiveness isn't always easy which is why we need the help of the Holy Spirit.
What forgiveness does is, it liberates and prevents us from declining physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically. When God tells us to forgive, it's for our benefit rather than the opposing party. Furthermore, it leaves room for God to fight on one's behalf and exercise perfect justice. Please, do understand that forgiveness does not mean staying in an abusive environment because that is not God's will for any of his children.
Lastly, Genesis 34:30-31 includes both the response of Jacob regarding the murderous acts that took place included with that of Simeon and Levi's regarding their deceitful actions. The Word of God says [30] Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” [31] But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
Yes, at first glance we can glean from these verses the importance of training your child in the way of the Lord and why discipline is very important. However, I want to draw your attention to their response in verse [31] But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”. At a deeper level, such response came from hearts that were deeply hurt over the injustice suffered by their sister; their father hadn't played his rightful role. This made them seek justice that was without the wisdom of God.
Even in Jacob’s scolding, we see his self-centred nature. In the first part of verse 30 he says, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land”. This shows his care for the reputation of that of himself and his family rather than their righteousness. If he had showed concern or even had a discussion with these children, then they wouldn't have felt the need to take matters into their own hands.
Parents with children, some of your problems with them or the mischief they get into can be easily solved if you take the time to get on their level and listen to them. Listen to how they feel, then leave room for the Holy Spirit to give you the utterance that enables you to guide them in a way that honours the Lord. The last sentence of verse 30 says "We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed" thereby highlighting the risk that came with the actions of Jacob's sons upon the rest of their family members.
How's this applicable to us? We must be careful about the decisions we make because they can cause devastating effect/s (this can be lasting) on the people that are close to us. I am therefore led to say life is not about you, you're not the main character of the story. Jesus is. You're a character that's part of the bigger picture and you ought to thank God for giving you a role to play in his Kingdom. For myself, it’s an honour and privilege to be included in the story God is still telling.
To end with, I deliberately left this point to the end to ask the question:
What was the major observation you picked up from this chapter?
If you observed the absence of confiding in the Lord or the mention of God’s name, then you observed well. The first time i read this chapter, the first question that popped up in my head was, "so who enquired of the Lord or when were they going to do so?". In many ways, this portion of Genesis foreshadows the events that would later unfold during the book of Judges when Israel had no godly leader to guide it. The last chapter of Judges 21:25 concludes by saying "[25] In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit". This is applicable to our society today because we are seeing a major breakdown of the family institution God has created, in terms of both parents failing to impress the law of God on their children.
"God created the institution of family for husbands and wives to raise His children as stewards". However, there's an absence of godly leadership in the home and as we have seen through Genesis 34, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The same way with society, most people are guided by their own individual sense of morality which is far removed from God’s.
To Conclude:
In a world where women, girls, boys and men are still being brutalised even in worse ways than Dinah endured or have been a witness to those who have experienced heart-wrenching events. I believe God included this story in the Bible to let any other Dinah’s or Tamar’s out there aware that he indeed knows your name and story. Jacob had other daughters, but Dinah was the only name revealed to us. With this in mind, God's heart also hurts over the things you've experienced in the hands of fellow man. It wasn't part of his plan for you, God doesn't ordain evil, that is the enemy. You might not get all the answers to your questions but understand this, God loves you and ultimately, he is a God of Justice but also a God that heals and mends every brokenness if you invite him into it.
What a way to end the series on Identity! The Holy Spirit specifically chose this chapter to conclude; why? to sober myself and others out there to realise the devastating effects that disobedience to God brings for ourselves and those around us.
As we conclude this theme, i would love for you to revisit your note/s of things that comprised your identity written during the first topic of this series. Moreover, i want you to be real with yourself after coming to the end of this series by asking the Holy Spirit about the changes that needs to be made in order for your foundation to be solid in Christ. I pray you have been blessed by this series and that your foundation in Christ remains solid for the journey ahead.