In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the story of Jacob and the tragic events that took place in his life. Jacob, despite being a spiritual giant, was not prepared for the challenges he faced. The speaker highlights the tragic event at Shechem, where Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped and his sons Simeon and Levi retaliated by murdering the responsible prince. This act brought shame to Jacob's name and revealed that he was still relying on his own cleverness rather than trusting in God. The sermon emphasizes the need for Jacob to learn from his mistakes and turn to God for guidance.

Now, after our study last time in the 34th chapter of the book of Genesis, I'm sure that many of you came to the conclusion that I had made a boo-boo when I said that Jacob's life changed that penial, that when he came there to the brook Jabbok, actually we don't see too much change because of what takes place in the 34th chapter. Well, that is quite true, but there was a change that took place. I hesitate to call it a crisis because I'm afraid that this matter of a crisis experience has been overdrawn by a great many. In fact, I find there are some folk that feel like if you don't have a second experience that you just haven't had anything. Well, the fact of the matter is that's not true. Some have a wonderful crisis experience, Dwight L. Moody did, and I'm sure that many of us in our lives can turn back to that, but there are those that cannot or do not and have never mentioned it as being something very important in their lives. But actually, when this man came to Peniel, why, a tremendous thing happened to him. And I think probably as we get into the 35th chapter, I should mention this. All the way from the beginning of the life of Jacob until Peniel, the thing that happened in his life was the rise of self, the assertion of the flesh. That's Jacob and nothing but that. What really happened at Peniel was the fall of self and a tremendous fall of self there. I tell you, he went down like a deflated tire. He'd been pumped up like a balloon all of his life until he got to Peniel, and then the Lord put the pin in the balloon and he went down to practically nothing. But actually, there was not faith in his life. Now, that, I think, is what the 34th chapter evidences. Now, I think that many folk that have said, there are many expositors, say that it was a tragic thing for Jacob to stop in Shalem. And I must say that I have to go along with that partially. But I have a question to ask, and the question is this. Was he ready for Bethel? Was he ready for the experiences that God was going to give him? No. I think that what you see in the 34th chapter and the tragic things that took place are the result of a man who'd been walking by the flesh. Then there is that fall, the deflation of self, but not faith. He did not have faith to go on to Bethel, to Bethel. You can call that either way you want to. But now he stops at Shalem in the land of Shechem, and these tragic things took place in his life. And it reveals the fact that this man was not actually a leader in his own family. He was not taking the proper place that he should have. He was no spiritual giant by any means. And to have those 12 boys to herd was really a real job. And I want to say that that would take a real spiritual giant to control them. But this man, Jacob, was not prepared. But after that tragic event, this man now is beginning to see the hand of God in his life, and now he makes the decision that he probably should have made beforehand. And it reveals that inside this family that there was taking place something that was indeed tragic indeed. And so the tragedy at Shechem is that as soon as Esau had turned his back and started home, Jacob takes his family down to Shechem. It's a tragic move. Jacob is still depending upon his own cleverness. Dinah was raped, and Simeon and Levi, her full brothers, went into the city of Shechem to the prince who was responsible. Though he wanted to marry her, they murdered him, and the sons of Jacob conducted a slaughter that would make a gang shooting in Chicago look pretty tame. When they came home, Jacob says, You've made my name to smell among the people of my land. And now the fact of the matter is, he wasn't ready for Bethel, and my question is, where else could he go? And after all, this man had flocks and herds, and there was good pasture land where he stopped at Shalem. This man now had a great lesson to learn, and he's beginning to see that chickens do come home to roost, and that whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.