GENESIS 35:1-4: From Shechem to Bethel

When Jacob entered into the Promised Land he settled in Shechem. According to some Bible commentators they were there for 10 years. It is odd that Jacob decided to stay in Shechem, on the north side of Israel, and did not go straight to the southern part, where his parents lived.

However, Jacob’s family was forced to leave that area because of the tragedies that took place there, first of all, Dinah’s rape and later Simeon and Levi’s ensuing revenge. They finally continued their journey south. Jacob was not only to visit his parents, but also had another mission to accomplish on his way: to return to Bethel, where he had made a promise to God…

DESTINATION: BETHEL

Once established in Shechem, it is very likely that Jacob forgot about God. He got comfortable living by the Canaanites. But he was shaken by the events that happened to his family, which made him look back to the Lord.

(Genesis 35:1)  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." 

God gives Jacob the following instructions:

a. “Arise”…

It is very likely that Jacob was feeling defeated at the time, after what happened with his family. But God encouraged him to arise. That was not the end… but the beginning of his life in the Promised Land. Jacob should have never settled and gotten comfortable among the Canaanites. It was now the time to leave that place and go up…

b.  “Go Up To Bethel”…

God uses the expression “go up” in reference to going towards Bethel, just like it is used in the Bible in allusion to Jerusalem. You always “go up” to the city that God chose to put His name there.

Shechem was a low place, while Bethel was a high place, not only in the natural, but also is the spiritual. Jacob had to go to Bethel, because God wanted to meet with him there.

c.  “Dwell There”…

God invites Jacob to dwell there, in a high place, close to Him, instead of in the middle of the Canaanite people.

Bethel was a special place. Abraham also called upon the name of God in that place (Genesis 13:3-4). It was there that Abraham was supposed to stay, instead of going down to Egypt. The Lord invited Jacob not to make the same mistake that his grandfather had. He was not to seek refuge in the world, because he would find it in the Land that God was going to give to him.

d.  “Make an altar”…

The main reason Jacob had to go to Bethel was to fulfill the vow he made with God when he was running away from Esau many years before…

(Genesis 28:10-22)  Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.  (11)  And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.  (12)  And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!  (13)  And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.  (14)  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  (15)  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."  (16)  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."  (17)  And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."  (18)  So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.  (19)  He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.  (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."

This is what Jacob’s Vow included:

El Voto de Jacob consistía en:

à Recognizing Jehovah as his God;

à Building a House for God in the place where He appeared to him;

à Tithing to Him (probably as his first fruits, which are to be a 10% - Deut. 26).

God had kept his part:

à He was with Jacob;

à He kept him in the way;

à He gave him bread to eat and clothing to wear,

à He brought him back in peace [only he had not yet arrived to his father’s house, because Jacob decided to settle in Shechem].

If God had kept his part of the deal, now it was Jacob’s turn to keep his… and for this he had to back to Bethel, which is Hebrew for “House of God”.

PURIFICATION BEFORE THE ENCOUNTER

Jacob prepared himself to go back to Bethel, where he had seen the heavens opened in a vision, to have an encounter with God. He also asked his family to prepare themselves.

(Genesis 35:2-3)  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." 

It is surprising to find out that Jacob’s family had pagan idols in their possession. Those were practices they had acquired both in Haran and Shechem. Jacob had allowed it.

But before we judge Jacob too harshly, we should recognize that many of us have also allowed worldly idols to creep into our homes. Maybe this idol is the love of money, or idolatry towards sports, or any of many other idols that may seem “normal” to the world, but are not normal in the Kingdom of God.

For Jacob the time had come to purify his home. He had to do it before his encounter with the God of Israel.

(Genesis 35:4)  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.

Jacob left his past life buried in Shechem. Now he was about to begin a new phase in his life…

On our next study we will see how this vow was fulfilled in Bethel…