Back in Genesis 31:3, the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
But, interestingly, Jacob doesn’t immediately return to the land of his fathers. Instead, it seems almost as if he’s been avoiding the land of his fathers.
He’s journeyed to the land of Canaan, sure. But, he hasn’t journeyed to the land of Mamre, where his father is located. Instead, he’s gone to Succoth and then Shechem.
So, it’s as if Jacob has stopped short of returning to the land God told him to go to. And as he stopped short, he’s encountered a lot of turmoil and failures. His life has quickly unraveled out of control. His daughter has encountered great, great pain, and in an attempt to take justice into their own hands, his sons murder and plunder an entire city… all while it seems Jacob is sitting idly by.
And, if you remember, Wayne pointed out last week that God wasn’t mentioned once in the entire chapter. It’s a moment in Jacob’s life where God seems so distant, which is so strange because it’s coming on the coat-tails of a moment when God seemed so close! But, it doesn’t appear that God is distant because God had run away. It appears God is distant because Jacob is hiding from God. After a radical encounter with God, Jacob has sought to take matters into his own hands once more.
And after all of this transpired, at the start of Genesis 35, God speaks directly to Jacob. Verse 1 says, “[1] God said to Jacob…”
I want to press pause here for a moment and let’s just feel the weight of where we are in the story.
After such a dreadful chapter that is full of sin, God finally speaks. When Jacob isn’t speaking to God, God speaks to Jacob. When Jacob is running from God, God runs after Jacob.
And what do we think God is going to say to him?
“You idiot! How dare you!?”
“If you act like that, the offer of blessing is off the table!?”
That’s what I would imagine the next words spoken of God would be. Something along those lines is what I would likely say.
But, instead of scolding Jacob, God speaks an invitation to come and worship— “God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’”
Church, please see the character of God here. When the Bible says that God is slow to anger and abounding of steadfast love, this is what it means to be slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love!
God doesn’t excuse Jacob’s sin. But, he also doesn’t abandon Jacob because of his sin, either! God comes to him in his failure and calls him back to Himself.
That‘s grace!
Friends, do you find yourself in a season of hiding? Do you find yourself in a season of sin and failure?
Let God’s character that is revealed to us in how he interacts with Jacob here be of comfort for you today!
“[2] So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. [3] Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” [4] So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.”
Yes, you read that right!
A foreign god would be an object that someone would worship or trust other than god. We see Rachel steal her father’s gods and hide them under her seat when he came looking for them.
So, Jacob… the man who has been called by God… the man who has heard and witnessed God do great things…has allowed his family to carry foreign gods this whole time. He was aware of the fact that his family worshipped other gods, and he tolerated it.
That’s mind boggling to me.
Yet, still, here in this moment Jacob surrenders his and his families idols to the LORD. He tells his family to put away their foreign gods, and they do so by hiding them “under the terebinth tree that is near Shechem.”
Listen. We can rightly scold Jacob for how long he’s allowed his family to hold onto these false gods. But, we can also celebrate the fact that they did eventually lay them down.
Friends, do you find yourself worshipping something other than God? Do you find something other than God capturing your affections? Do you find something other than God securing your trust?
Let Jacob’s life remind you that it’s never too late to lay your gods down. You’re never too far gone for the grace of God.
Perhaps you look at your current state of life with shame. Perhaps you’ve done (or are doing) things you know you shouldn’t have done. Perhaps you’ve been a terrible leader (or are being a terrible leader) of your home. Perhaps you’ve actively walked in disobedience to the LORD over the years while claiming to be a follower of the LORD. The best time for obedience is now. The best time to begin following him is now. You can’t change your past. But, by God’s grace, you can begin walking faithfully today.
Jacob is done walking in disobedience. God has spoken, and he’s ready to obey. So, he says to his family, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.”
There is a pattern here that we see echoed later in the New Testament.
Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life… and… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Colossians 3:5-14 says, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…You must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk…Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self… Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility…”
Romans 13:12-14 says, “So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light… Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh…”
Galatians 5:16-25 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
1 Peter 2:1-3 says, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk…”
Notice the consistent theme. Grace breeds transformation. Jacob doesn’t lay aside these things in order to become a son of God. No, he does this because he belongs to God. Likewise, we don’t put off our old self in order to become children of God. No! We put off our old self because, in Christ, God has already made us new. The Christian life isn’t us attempting to become something new. It’s learning to live as the new creation God has already made us in Christ. We don’t obey so that God will love us. We obey because, in Christ, God has already loved us.
“[5] And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. [6] And 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 there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. [8] And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.”
TERROR
When I was a freshman in college, I remember playfully wrestling with a teammate in the breezeway of my apartment. When I reached down to grab his legs, he quickly got me in a headlock. He squeezed my neck so hard that I thought my head was going to pop off like a cork in a wine bottle. When I finally tapped out and he let go, terror took over me. I remember thinking, “I will never mess with him again because he might actually kill me!”
In a much greater way, the surrounding cities are prevented from pursuing Jacob because “a terror from God” fell upon them. God is protecting his people. He is preserving his promise.
I think it’s safe to conclude that the neighboring cities felt terror because of what Jacob’s sons had done to the city of Shechem. So, what we’re seeing is God using the flaws of man to carry out his good promise. What man intended for evil; God intended for good.
So, God went before Jacob and his family. He protected Jacob. And God’s protection didn’t depend upon Jacob’s faithfulness; it depended upon God’s faithfulness.
EL-BETHEL
When Jacob arrived in Bethel, he built an altar and called the place “El-bethel.” “El” means God, Bethel mean “house of God.”
So, El-Bethel means the God of the house of God. God of Bethel.
Back in Genesis 28, we see God appear to Jacob in a dream here in this same spot. And when he awakes from his dream, he says, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven… He called the name of that place Bethel.”
But, now it appears Jacob is more concerned with the person of God than he is the house of God. He’s no longer celebrating the place where God met him; he’s celebrating the God who met him there. The emphasis is on the person, not the place.
Practically speaking for us, the Christian emphasis is never ultimately on a location; it is always on the person of God. The building we gather in is great; but the one we gather to worship is infinitely greater!
What a great reminder for me as my focus something shifts towards wanting a building of our own. A building can be a blessing. It can serve the mission. But the glory of Harbor must never ever become the glory of a building. Our glory is God himself.
DEBORAH
Now, this is the first time we see Deborah mentioned in Genesis. She was Rebekah’s nurse, as we see in verse 8.
There’s speculation over why and when she came to be with Jacob. Some believe she was with Jacob because Rebekah died.
The reality is, we simply do not know why she came to be with Jacob. But, what we do know is that she has died. And her death was a difficult reality for Jacob. As she was buried under an oak tree under Bethel, Jacob called it Allon-bacuth, which means “oak of weeping” or “oak of mourning.”
So as Jacob is journeying toward the land God is leading him into, he is also beginning to experience great loss and great mourning. Dare I might even say that revival was accompanied by loss.
May we never confuse revival with comfort and ease. It’s possible to walk closely with God with a revived heart and still experience great pain and loss.
AGAIN
As Jacob is mourning the loss of Deborah, God appeared to Jacob again— “[9] God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.”
Notice the word “again.” God isn’t giving Jacob an entirely new blessing here; He is reaffirming the blessing he has already promised him.
And again, what a profound moment of grace this is! As Jacob continued to sin, continued to blow it, God continued to reiterate his promised blessing to Jacob.
This reminds us of the subtle, yet very loud, reality that runs throughout the entire Bible: man’s relationship with God has always been about God’s grace, not man’s works. Our relationship with God has never rested on our shoulders; it has always rested on God’s shoulders.
Now, that obviously doesn’t mean that our obedience doesn’t matter! It simply means that our obedience is never the foundation of God’s love for us.
Let’s continue reading, “[10] And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.”
Again, this isn’t a new moment or a new exchange for Jacob. No, God is reiterating something he’s already said and done. God’s not giving Jacob a new message, he’s reiterating an old message.
This is a trend we see throughout Genesis. God had consistently reiterated the promise he had given to Abraham. God had consistently reiterated the promise he had given to Isaac. And now God is reiterating the promise he had given to Jacob.
We are forgetful people. And we need to be consistently reminded of the promises God has given to us. We don’t always need a new message. Sometimes we need to be reminded of an old message.
“[11] And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. [12] The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
This is interesting to me because God tells Jacob to “be fruitful and multiply,” even though he’s already been fruitful and multiplied. In fact, we’re about to see that Jacob’s wife, Rachel, is about to have another son. So, it’s likely that God is reiterating to Jacob, and primarily Jacob’s children, the original command of God to be a people that are fruitful and multiplying.
Child bearing is not a hindrance to the kingdom of God! It’s not a hindrance to ministry! Child bearing is a fundamental blessing from God given to God’s people! God is reiterating his promise that Jacob’s family will become a great nation. Kings will come from his descendants. The land promised to Abraham and Isaac will be given to him and his offspring. God is reminding Jacob that he is still doing what he promised to do. The failures of Jacob have not canceled the faithfulness of God.
WORSHIP
Following this blessing, God leaves and Jacob worships, “[13] Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. [14] And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. [15] So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.”
Jacob responds to God’s presence and God’s promised blessing with worship. He sets up a pillar of stone, pours out a drink offering, and pours oil on it.
The pillar becomes a visible memorial, if you will, a physical reminder of God’s faithfulness. Everytime he would walk by this place, he would see this pillar and he would be reminded of who God is!
The drink offering is poured out before God as an expression of worship. Oil is associated throughout Scripture with blessing and setting something apart. So, he’s responding to God’s presence and God’s promised blessing with humble worship.
Jacob didn’t just want to privately acknowledge God’s faithfulness in his heart; he wanted to publicly remember it in wholehearted worship.
Church, God’s faithfulness deserves more than a passing acknowledgment. It deserves to be celebrated with worship. May we be a little slower to move on when God acts.
“[16] Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. [17] And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” [18] And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. [19] So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), [20] and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. [21] Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.”
What a sad moment here for Jacob. On the other side of a profound encounter with God, a mountain top worship moment with God, Jacob experiences more pain-searing loss.
The unfortunate reality of the Christian life is that God doesn’t promise us a life without pain, nor does he promise us a life without loss. But, he promises to be with us always, until the end of the age. You can have revival, even with loss.
Rachel gives birth to a son, and she names him Ben-oni, which means “son of my sorrow” or “son of my affliction.”
Earlier in Rachel’s life we see her living in constant competition with her sister Leah. Rachel has Jacob’s heart. But Leah is fruitful and Rachel is barren. But, after the birth of her first child, Rachel said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She’s filled with happiness and purpose. But now, at the end of her life, she looks at this child through the lens of her sorrow— “Ben-oni, Son of my sorrow.”
But, Jacob doesn’t view her son’s birth through that same lens. Instead, he gives him the name Benjamin, which means son of my right hand. This is a name of strength and dignity. It reminds us of the reality that even in death, God’s story can continue forward. Benjamin wont be rejected and shunned because of the loss of the wife he loved; he will be loved and embraced, the son of his right hand.
Church, death does not get the final word. God’s faithfulness is not undone by our pain. Israel’s story will continue, even when Rachel’s story ends. A greater Son is coming, one who sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. And it’s he who came and entered into a world filled with pain and hurt. And it’s he who came to die in our place and raising from the grave, defeating sin and death once and for all. It’s the greater Son of Jacob that will crush the head of the serpent. It’s Immanuel, God with us, who we will worship with revived hearts, even in the midst of pain and loss.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
The main idea of the sermon was, “Our failures do not cancel God’s faithfulness.” Where do you see that truth most clearly in Jacob’s story?
In Genesis 35, God comes to Jacob after a season of sin, disobedience, and spiritual distance. What does God’s response to Jacob teach us about His character and His grace?
Jacob tells his household to put away their foreign gods, purify themselves, and change their garments. How does this connect with the New Testament’s teaching about “putting off” the old self and “putting on” the new self?
Jacob calls the place El-Bethel—the God of Bethel. Why is it significant that Jacob’s attention seems to shift from the place where God met him to the God who met him there?
God repeatedly reaffirms promises He had already made to Jacob, just as He had done with Abraham and Isaac. Why do you think we so often need to be reminded of truths we already know?
Jacob responds to God’s faithfulness by building a memorial and worshiping. What are some ways we can intentionally remember God’s faithfulness in our own lives?