GENESIS 33:19-20: Back in the Land

After 20 year in exile he finally enters the Promised Land.  Certainly this was a very significant moment during Jacob’s life.

He left the Promised Land by himself, and now he is coming back with a large family.

WHEN HE ENTERED INTO THE LAND

When Jacob entered into the Promised Land he did two very significant things:

a. He Bought Land

(Genesis 33:19)  And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 

This would be the second piece of property that Abraham’s family is allowed to purchase in the land. The first one was the cave of Machpelah, where Sarah was buried, and later also the rest of the patriarchs.

It is important to notice that in ancient times, for safety reasons, foreigners were not allowed to purchase land. Nevertheless, Jacob was allowed to purchase a piece of land, maybe due to an agreement he made with the leaders of the land, which we will study in the following chapter.

b. He Erected an Altar

Another important thing Jacob did when he came back into the Promised Land was to set up an altar to God.

(Genesis 33:20)  There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

El-Elohe-Israel means “God, the God of Israel”.

With this action, Jacob was making a very important statement: he was recognizing that the God of Abraham and Isaac was also his God, the God of Israel (which was the new name the Lord had given him).

We all come to a point in our lives where we must make a choice, as Jacob did. We come to the point where we must decide if we believe or not in the God of our fathers. This is a personal choice that all of us must make.

Jacob recognized this when the promise God had made to him on the day he was running away was completely fulfilled.

(Genesis 28:20-21)  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.

SHECHEM

Once in the Promised Land, Jacob chose Shechem as the place to settle in. This is the same place where God will later command the Israelites to build an altar in when they entered the Promised Land. It is located between two mounts: Ebal and Gerizim.

(Deuteronomy 11:29-32)  And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.  (30)  Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak of Moreh?  (31)  For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it,  (32)  you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today. [Deuteronomy 27; Joshua 8:30-38]

It was also there that Abraham stood and built an altar:

(Genesis 12:6-7)  Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.  (7)  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Shechem was an ideal land to support livestock. Later on we will read that the sons of Jacob will come back here with their flocks (Genesis 38:1-2).

Even though this was an ideal place for Jacob’s occupation as a shepherd, this was not the place where he had to settle. God will soon call him to continue his journey, to follow Abraham’s footsteps. Also, Shechem was not ideal for him because its inhabitants lived a different lifestyle. In the following chapter we will read about a tragedy that took place there…