QT 11/24/2025 Gen 35:1–15, Listening to God as he changes our direction

Genesis 35:1–15 (ESV) —

1 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.” 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.

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.

9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 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. 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.” 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.

 

NOTE: Jacob has come first circle. He is back at the place where he made his first vow:

 

Genesis 28:20–22 (ESV) — 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

 

God has provided for him, despite the selfish prayer he made last time, God provided. And God repeats his renaming of Jacob which he first did in the wrestling match (actual wrestling but also symbolic of Jacob's last 20 years with God). Technically, after he had made peace with Esau, this (Bethel) is where he should have gone. Now in fear of his neighbors (near Shechem), and the command of God, he finally goes to Bethel. And Jacob does something which may have been on his mind, eating away at his conscience, and that was to purify himself from all the foreign gods. Some may have come over with the residents of Shechem. Certainly, by now, he knows of Rachel's theft of her father's household gods. The only thing I would disagree, he should have melted them down, rather than buried them.

 

Now, he is back to where he promised, and the foreign gods have been destroyed. At this point, God renews his promise to Jacob, and repeats his renaming as Jacob as Israel.

 

God is very gracious to Jacob. Despite his repeated failures, at each point he is renewed and moves ahead. He is certainly NOT a perfect man, but I believe he has faith, and he is seeking to do God's will.

 

In my experience and in my reading of the bible, most of the time God gives second chances, sometimes even more. But while there is the promise of forgiveness, there is no promise of second chances. Failure to obey can go in many directions. One can be closed off from going into the promised land, as Moses later would find true. One can be told a second time to go to Nineveh after disobeying God. There is no rule. But the one thing I have learned is to repent and seek God again when we fail. As the ruler of Nineveh will say, "Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger" (Jonah 3:9).

 

PONDER:

1. Is there something God has told me (or asked me) to do, that I have not followed through upon?
2. How do we remain in God's will? I hope it is by seeking him and his purpose for my life, and NOT by bringing him along for the ride.

 

PRAYER: Father, I do want to serve you, not my selfish desires. I think it took Jacob a long time to figure that out. Too often we care more about being happy, than in serving you. Sometimes serving you is hard and not what "I" would want to do. But I am convinced there is no greater thing than to serve you and know you.