God of Justice,
This chapter is hard to read.
It’s filled with violence,
with silence,
with words not spoken and wounds not healed.
Dinah was violated.
Her dignity stolen.
Her name written in grief.
And her father
held his peace.
Lord, how many times
have we fallen silent
when we should have spoken?
How many have suffered
while others stood still?
I confess
it’s easier to stay quiet
than to confront evil.
It’s easier to move on
than to mourn with those who are broken.
But You see what is done in secret.
You hear the cries others ignore.
You are not indifferent to injustice.
Simeon and Levi struck back
not with justice,
but with fury.
Their hands didn’t heal
they destroyed.
They used sacred words as a weapon,
circumcision as a trap.
They turned pain into vengeance.
Lord, I confess
I, too, have wanted revenge
when what I needed was to trust You.
I’ve rushed to act
instead of waiting on Your justice.
I’ve spoken in anger
rather than lamented in prayer.
But neither silence nor violence
heals what’s been broken.
Only You can do that.
Dinah is still in the house
still recovering,
still nameless beyond the pain.
And Jacob he fears what others might do next.
So much trauma.
So much trembling.
So little hope.
God, we bring You our broken chapters.
The stories without resolution.
The verses soaked in sorrow.
The victims left voiceless.
The sins that ripple across generations.
We bring You the places where justice was mishandled
where leaders went quiet,
and vengeance spoke louder than wisdom.
Heal us, Lord.
Teach us how to speak when it’s time.
How to listen when it’s needed.
How to act not from rage,
but from righteousness.
May the Church never be silent in the face of abuse.
May fathers never remain passive in the face of evil.
May sons learn not revenge,
but redemption.
May daughters know
that You restore what has been taken.
You are the God
who does not forget the suffering.
Who writes Dinah’s name
even when the chapter barely does.
Who brings healing
when the world only offers harm.
So we wait for You.
We ache with You.
And we ask You to redeem
even this.
In the name of Jesus,
who bore our shame,
carried our injustice,
and brings peace where there once was blood
Amen.