Simeon|Levi:Uncontrolled anger(1)
In continuation of Jacob’s prophetic utterances,he decided to combine that of Simeon and Levi:
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.”-Gen 49:5-7(NKJV)
The following texts show the incident that Jacob mentioned above:
“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.They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.”-Gen 34:25-26
Like Reuben earlier discussed,it was the temperament and actions of Simeon and Levi that were their undoing:An uncontrolled anger that led to cruelty.
Granted their sister,Dinah,was molested by Shechem.That was condemnable.But they threw caution to the winds when they led the massacre of all male in the city of Shechem.
Therefore Jacob in his prophecy said that such uncontrollable anger would have negative effects on Simeon and Levi and there future generations!
The next post will be on the effects of that prophecy on Simeon and Levi…