Jacob was told to leave Padan Aram and go to promised land. He, in his own wisdom, decided to build a house, dwell in Shechem and as result of his disobedience, he was facing a major crisis in his family. His daughter was raped and his sons became murderers. He had perhaps become bit arrogant in his own spirituality, as he had seen God’s great power exercised in his behalf, and he let his guard down. He was in critical need of fresh revelation of God and his holy purpose.
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
As the last chapter ended, Jacob’s family is falling apart. It was at this critical point in Jacob’s life that God once again spoke to him in grace rather than judgment. I am sure the events of those days led him to go to God in prayer with a broken heart, seeking wisdom for the future and forgiveness for his disobedience. It is when we are down when we have acted unfaithful, when we have nowhere to turn, this is when God speaks to us and gives us clear instructions. God did not forsake Jacob but in his most dire time, God was there to give him clear instructions. How encouraging is it for us to know that our God is loving God, who is always there when we just want to crawl under a rock because we have acted unfaithfully or have been disobedient. We all have been at this place in our Christian walk. But, Our God does not speak to us in judgment, He shows mercy and grace. Our God is God of unbelievable grace. He does not give up on Jacob and I can assure you, He will not give up on you no matter what. Does this mean we continue to disobey him? continue to sin? NO. Paul addresses this in Romans 6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Sin is forgiven but we have to live with consequences of our actions. Eve’s disobedience brought the sin into the world, Abram’s disobedience brought Hagar into his life, David’s disobedience of numbering his army killed 70000 men, Aaron’s disobedience in desert killed 3000, Solomon, Cain, Moses, Jonah, King Saul, all disobeyed and had to face the consequences. The wound is healed but the scar remains. It is best to walk in the obedience. God told Jacob to go back to where he met God for the first time. Bethel-previously called Luz. This is what God says to you and me, go back to where you met me first. Jacob was deep in sin and yet, God says, get up and start walking in faith again. I am so encouraged by this, because like Jacob I tend to mess up a lot but instead of being mad at me, angry with me, God deals graciously with me. Thank you, Jesus, for your grace.
2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
I find it strange that Jacob never visited Bethel up to this point. Bethel is situated halfway between Shechem and Hebron and I am sure Jacob visited his father who was in Hebron after returning. He lived so near to it for ten years and yet he never visited there. It seems he intentionally avoided Bethel. Could it be, it was because he knew he had not completely followed God’s will, nor had he fully kept the promises he made to the Lord? God had surely kept his part of the promise. In Gen 28: 22, he promised to build a house where the stone was, but never built the house there, nor had he fully made Lord the God of his own home. If you recall, Rachel had brought her father’s idols with her and apparently servants and his own family were worshipping idols. I am sure Jacob had spoken to his wives and children about Jehovah and His promises, but he had been negligent in asking them to get rid of the idols. We need to be diligent about our faith and sharing it with our immediate family. Our ministry should start with those who are closest to us. Jacob finally did what he should have done long ago: he demands his family members and servants to get rid of all idols, earrings, and images from his household as well as put away the garments they were wearing and then wash themselves clean. Did God ask Jacob to do this? NO. God did not say to Jacob, if you deal with the idols in your house then I will give you second chance or then I will tell you where to go. He simply showed him GRACE and told him to rise up and go to Bethel. This is what GRACE does. When Jacob truly prayed with the repentant heart, he realized it was time to clean up. God did not put any condition before showing grace and giving Jacob second chance. why as Christians, as a church we put so many conditions before we accept people? Oh we say, you have to be baptized certain way, you must stop drinking, smoking, and we go on and on with our conditions; next time why don’t you just show some grace? if you try to bring your husband/wife/friend/colleague, who might not be walking with Lord or like Jacob walked away from Lord, show him/her GRACE and see what happens. Once he/she see the Lord, like Jacob, they will know what changes to make in their life. And this love of Christ is what sets us apart from any other religion, He loves us unconditionally and so we go to church, we tithe, we pray, we worship because of this love. Like Jacob, when we get our second chance we want to do all this NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO but BECAUSE WE JUST WANT TO PLEASE HIM. Many times, we think, I need to be sinless before God will speak to me again, lead me again but the truth of the matter is, He is ready to lead you today right where you are. I find it interesting that he took all of the stuff and buried under the tree. The tree in Bible refers to cross. It is very simple but powerful message, take our sinful nature, things in our life that are like idols, dirty garments, earring and bury them under the cross of Calvary. When Jesus died on the cross, sin lost its power over us. It was a victory over not only death but sin as well. The cross gives us the power to overcome any sin or temptation we may face. A contrary to popular preaching on TV nowadays, it is not because of positive thinking, but because of what Jesus did not on the cross, I am able to overcome sin. Do you have a problem with anger? Jealousy? pride? lust? bitterness? giving forgiveness? lying? Drug addiction? pornography? whatever your struggle might be, bring it to cross, it’s power was shattered on the cross. Then like Jacob, go to Bethel and worship God.
5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel,[a] because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.
Jacob feared for his life because of his son’s actions and he surmised correctly. But, As he journeyed out of Shechem toward Bethel, God protected him. To me, this is Psalm 23:4 in action, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; we too have this same promise as we walk with God and it seems world around us is so evil. Jacob finally makes it back to Bethel after 20 years and here we see Jacob’s spiritual maturity. He changes the name from Bethel( House of God) to El ( God) Bethel “house of God”. Please understand, we don’t worship the Bible, we worship the God of Bible. We don’t worship the church but rather the God of the church. Whenever we go to church, read Bible, we are doing to worship God. So many times in our Christian walk we forget that. Oh, we go to church but it is to do all the things we are responsible for, and soon it is less and less about spending time with God and more and more about maintaining the church, ministry or whatever the task is at hand. Many times we read the scripture as a ritual or to gain knowledge but each time you open the Bible and read God’s word, it should be with an expectation of hearing God and growing closer to God. Unfortunately, I know so many people, some who are close family members who are so busy with the church that they have forgotten God of the church. A very significant event happen in verse 8, Deborah was probably Jacob’s nanny, the one who probably raised him. I believe this is the reason Jacob left Bethel even though Rachel was carrying a child.
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
God once again appeared to Jacob, reminding him of the promise made 30 years ago at the same location. God identified himself as ” God almighty” just like He had done so in Gen 17:1 when speaking to Abraham and to Isaac ( Gen28:3). Once again God reminds Jacob of the blessings, same blessing He had promised to Abraham and Isaac. After this encounter, Jacob once again sets up an altar like he had the first time back in chapter 28.As he had done earlier, he anointed the stone with oil and for the first-time drink offering is mentioned. Oil in scripture refers to Holy spirit and wine refers to bloodshed on the cross. The oil a provision for success and blood payment for failure.
Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni;[c] but his father called him Benjamin.[d] 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.
Jacob was told to go to Bethel and dwell there at a time when he was devastated by all the problems in his family. His daughter was raped, his sons had brutally attacked the Schemites and Jacob feared for their safety. Yet, even after an encounter with God, for some unexplainable reason he leaves Bethel and moves on. Isn’t this how we are? do you see your self in Jacob? How many times we move away from God when the problems seize and life gets back to normal? Oh our God is so good that he is always faithful even when we fail him and disobey him. Jacob is making the same mistake Abraham made. Both left the house of God ( Bethel) because of changes. Abraham left because of famine and Jacob because his nanny died. One left due to financial reason the other for emotional reasons. When they had almost reached Ephrath ( Bethlehem), tragedy strikes, Rachel dies during childbirth. To me it is interesting that few thousand years later another man would travel toward Bethlehem with a pregnant wife who was due. Traveling on those roads with a wife who was due was not wise and Rachel paid the ultimate price. No wise person would make such Journey unless of course Cesar orders a census and the prophesy needs to be fulfilled. Please make a note that Jacob buried Rachel ( V20), but Israel journeyed on (v21). A very disturbing event takes place in verse 22 but thank God it was Israel who heard it and not Jacob. Israel who walked with God and was led by God did not react right away, oh he will as we will see at the end of Genesis. Jacob, on the other hand, would have reacted right away.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23 the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba[e] (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Isaac passes away and Jacob’s heart is heavy once again. As Ishmael and Isaac had buried their father, Jacob and Esau buried Isaac. It is noteworthy that Esau and Jacob were still in a fellowship and two brothers had truly reconciled. Isaac was buried in the same tomb as his parents. Amen.
only savior jesus 