In Genesis we had been looking at the life of Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, who was the Father of our faith. Jacob was a piece of work - a bit complicated. On one hand, he was a liar, a cheat, and basically self-serving but his life evolved into a deep, transformative relationship with God marked with wrestling, prayer, and eventual surrender to God’s will. Throughout his journey Jacob was in constant distress, yet God pursued him, blessed him and had always been there to deliver him.
In chapter 34, God told Jacob to go back to Bethel, the place where He first met God 20 years earlier but instead Jacob decided to settle his family in the valley of Sheckum where he set up camp in a bad neighborhood. In one of the darkest chapters of Jacob’s life his daughter, who decided to hang out with the women of the town, is raped and in revenge his two sons murder all the men in Sheckem and pillaged the town. In this chapter there is no mention of God, no divine revelation, no remorse, and there are no heroes in this dark episode.
Jacob was horrified and humiliated by the deceitful, destructive actions of his sons Simeon and Levi. He was by now a very wealthy man but a failed father and living in fear of retribution by the neighboring nations. He is at an all time low but then we witness God’s loyal, steadfast love and faithfulness.
Let's read Genesis 35:1-15 (SL2)
1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3 and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me on the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem. 5 As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were 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 Then he built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named Allon-bacuth. 9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. 10 God said to him,
“Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” So He called him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a multitude of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from you. 12 “And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14 So Jacob set up a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him, a memorial of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel.
What can we see in this passage? (SL 3)
1. God’s Response
2. Jacob’s Return
3. The Recommissioning
Let’s look at: (SL 4)
1. God’s Response
Verse 1 says: Then God said to Jacob…
Now what would you be expecting to hear from a perfectly holy and righteous God after a colossal family failure? Would you be looking forward to a conversation with God after you knew He told you to do something, you decided to ignore Him, and now you’re reaping the consequences?
It’s kind of a replay of Adam and Eve in the Garden - where can I hide? But God shows up (like He did in the Garden with Adam and Eve) and says to Jacob: “Go to Bethel.” Bethel represents an elevated place - it means house of God. It was the place where Jacob first met God when he was running from his brother Esau, running for his life. Bethel is where God first confirmed the same covenant promises to Jacob that He had made to Abraham and Isaac. Jacob was at one of the lowest points of his life but God was calling him back to Bethel for the second time.
Bethel is more than a place - it’s coming into the presence of a person who can assure us that even when we experience incredible pressures, failures within and without - that nothing shall separate us from God’s steadfast, loyal love (Rom 8:35). Bethel is a reminder to seek the living God alone, in whose presence there is assurance of His promises and the ultimate fulfillment of salvation. This is where God was calling Jacob. (SL 5)
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; (v. 2).
This tells us something about Jacob, his family and his servants in this verse. First, they had been worshipping foreign gods and idols and Jacob knew it and no doubt these other beliefs tainted, or warped their understanding of God. Had Jacob ever truly taught them about the one and only true and living God? Evil influences from the surrounding culture had permeated his family’s hearts and home, and he did nothing to stop it. He probably thought, “If only I had gone to Bethel, if only I had been a better role model for his family.” They saw how he handled conflict with his uncle Laban, how he let his wife Rachel steal the household idols and lie about it, and how he was willing to put them in harm's way in order to save himself from his brother’s revenge.
If we know that the kids in the church, and in your own home are watching you and me, and that they will imitate what we do and how we live, are we really thinking about the impact we are having on the next generation? Next we see (SL 6)
2. Jacob’s Return
It was time to turn the mess around and bring his whole family back to Bethel, to the house of God. It’s such a picture of repentance, of returning to God. Jacob knew that the continued presence of these foreign gods and the associated beliefs were irreconcilable with the new life that is found in Yahweh.”
An idol is: (SL 7)
Anything or anyone—such as money, success, social media, or even comfort—that takes the ultimate place of devotion, importance, and fulfillment in a person's life, displacing God as the fundamental source of happiness, meaning, and identity.
Jacob was telling his family to purify themselves from the things that were displacing God as the fundamental source of happiness, meaning, and identity. How is this even possible? The psalmist asks how can a young person possibly stay on the path of purity? (Psm 119: 9) By guarding his way according to the word of God - hearing it, taking it to heart, letting it become the source of wisdom and motivation. God’s Word and His Spirit have the power to guide you through the complexities of life. In the Old Testament, there was a passage in the book of Kings (2 Kings 22) where the exiles had not heard God’s Word and when they heard it after 70 years, they wept. It was a time of cleansing and a fresh start with God. The Words of God bring life.
Jacob told his family to “change their garments” (or clothes).
This change speaks of a change of heart, of life, leaving the old behind and going onto a new life. David referred to it in his sermon last week in Col 3:9,10 where Paul exhorted the Christ followers to put off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. This is a daily discipline - recognizing those attitudes, actions, habits, thoughts, and lifestyles which are incompatible with the new life in Christ. Time to leave the old behind- and put on the new.
Jacob told his family that God answered him on the day of his distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. Throughout Jacob’s life journey, God’s steadfast, loyal love was expressed to him and this is what kept him going. God’s steadfast love was a loyal, faithful love. A covenant love that He has not just with people in the Bible but desires to have with each one of us here today. It is a love without limits and without conditions, an eternal covenant relationship that Jesus paid for with His own life.
Jacob’s whole family gave up their foreign gods - the things they placed their trust in for identity and significance and Jacob had a funeral for them. The act of burying the idols under the oak tree symbolizes a commitment to a fresh start, a cleansing of the past, leaving the old place and old life to make way for a new life with God. What a burden taken away, emotional baggage, in exchange for Someone far greater, more powerful, more satisfying.
Jacob called the place EL-Bethel - The God of Bethel (v. 7). Why? Because Jacob was more focused on meeting the One who was in the house - He came to meet God, Himself. It was here in Shechem that Jacob said goodbye to the idols, to Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, who died and was buried there, and even to his own name, Jacob. After all this happened, God showed up again. This was: (SL 8)
3. The Recommissioning
It is here that God reiterates Jacob's new name - Israel and reiterates the blessing and the covenant promise that nations would come from his family. Why did Jacob need to hear it again?
It was like when Jesus shows up on the sea shore after Peter’s colossal failure - his denial of the Lord, not once, not twice, but three times. God didn’t even bring up what Peter did, He recommissioned him.
Don’t we need to hear about our new identity in Christ over and over again? Don’t we all need to be reassured about God’s steadfast, loyal love towards us? Doesn’t He constantly need to remind us about the calling He has on our lives? Especially after failure and discouragement, in times when our anxious thoughts overwhelm us?
God didn’t say anything to Jacob about his lying and cheating, or his deceptive heart. God told him to get rid of the things that were getting in the way of his relationship with Him and told him to get up and go forward in his new identity, in his calling.
The very thing Jacob wanted at the beginning of his life -the things which he obtained by deception, God was going to give him anyway and far more than he could even imagine.
Jacob STRUGGLED to believe, just like we struggle to believe God for what we are seeking for in life. At every turn, Jacob's trust in God was for practical things; for things he could see, touch, feel and which existed before his eyes. Isn't that how we all are? It's so hard for us to see past our present struggles at God's big picture and God's Great Big Plan. It was at Bethel, in the house of God that Jacob saw God’s big picture and big plan. He let go of the little things and built an altar to remember that day. We all have a Bethel - where God is waiting to meet us.
God is calling us to exchange our own little plans for His big picture and big plans for our lives. He is a God of steadfast, loyal love and His covenant promises and love are without limits or conditions. He wants to take us from dust to life.
