Jacob Returns to Bethel

But let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Genesis. Chapter 35 for a time of study in God's word this morning, Genesis 35, we're doing a verse by verse study through the Book of Genesis, and as we continue in our series this morning, we come to Genesis chapter 35. My goal today is to cover verses 1 through 15. And the title of the message this morning is Jacob Returns to Bethel.

Jacob returns to Bethel. Last Sunday, we Looked at a hard passage, Genesis 34, and it was not by any measure a pretty picture. By the end of Genesis 34, Jacob's family is a mess. His daughter has been raped.

His sons have blood on their hands from the slaughter of every adult male in the city of Shechem. There is division now between Jacob and his sons over how the rape of Jacob's daughter got handled. Jacob's reputation in the land of Canaan is ruined and his testimony for Jehovah is shot. And now Jacob is sure that an attack from the Canaanites is looming, and he expects to be outnumbered and completely destroyed him and his whole household.

On top of that, the events of Genesis chapter 34 exposed the fact that all has not been well with Jacob and his family. Whereas Jacob was spiritually soaring in Genesis 32 and Genesis 33, he has been sliding. In Genesis 34 and in no doubt the weeks and the months leading into that chapter, and Jacob, as a result of that, ends up being virtually a no-show. During a time when his family needed him and his leadership the most.

But it does seem as we come into chapter 35 this morning that the events of Genesis 34 serve as a wake-up call for Jacob and readies him. To obey the call of the Lord to arise and to go to Bethel. This has happened to all of us on various levels at different points, I think, if we were to think about this, after a good season spiritually, maybe we've experienced great things with the Lord and there's been some spiritual victory, we then after a while, begin to get lazy and start coasting and thinking that all is well and all will be forever well because of some past spiritual experience, but eventually, we find ourselves far away from the Lord, we find ourselves sinning in ways that We never thought we would.

Some explosive thing happens in our marriage.

Some evil explodes in our family and we're left in shock over what has happened and over the state of the relationships. And our family as a result. We can't believe the fight that we just got into, the words that have just come out of our mouths or some way that we've just acted out in anger and rage. We can't believe the thoughts that are now being entertained in our minds.

We can't believe what one of our children Or more than 1 of our children have just done, and we wonder how did things get to this point. We then do some introspection and we realized that part of the problem is me and I've been allowing compromises and idolatries into my life. We realize in such a moment that all is not well with our souls and it's time to return to God. And get right with him.

How many of you have ever been in a moment like that? Just raise your hand. OK. That's exactly where Jacob is right now at the end of Genesis 34.

It's time for Jacob to return to Bethel, which is something that most every commentator you will read, it's something that Jacob should have done sooner. And had he done it sooner, it would have prevented the ugliness that we witnessed in Genesis 34. The question is, why didn't Jacob go to Bethel sooner? than here in Genesis 35.

And we actually need to take a little bit of time to try to answer this question before we get into our passage for today. So just a little bit of perspective that would help us to appreciate what happens in Genesis 35 verses 1 through 15. You will recall that about 30 years prior to this moment, Jacob had stolen Esau's blessing. And run for his life from Esau heading up to Paaram.

About 500, 550 miles north of where Jacob was living at the time, about 3 days into his journey up to Harran or Padaram, Jacob stops in a place called Luz to spend the night. At first glance, there was nothing special about this place other than a rock on the ground that looked like it might serve as a decent pillow for Jacob to rest his head on. Jacob falls asleep. That night in Luz.

And during that night, he has a dream and in that dream he sees angels of God ascending and descending a ladder that stretched from heaven to earth. God then appears to Jacob and utters a series of epic sweeping promises to him. And among those promises, God said to Jacob, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and we'll bring you back to this land. Jacob awakens from This dream from what God had said and the vision that he had seen of God and the latter with the angels.

And he wakes up with mixed emotions. In verse 16, Jacob says, surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. But then look at verse 17, literally the verse reads this way. He feared and said, how fearsome is this place?

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Jacob is not just casually rejoicing. As he awakens here, he is shot through with the holy fear of God. This encounter with God is both wonderful and terrifying to Jacob.

In response to this appearance from God, Jacob calls the name of the place Bethel, which literally means house of God. And then in verse 20, we're told that Jacob made a vow saying, if God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me, I will surely give a 10th to you, he says to God.

Now notice that among the promises that Jacob is making is a promise in verse 22 that this stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house.

In other words, Jacob is vowing to build some small chapel or sanctuary in that spot, and this pillar that he is setting up on this occasion is simply the first installment. Of that future building project. He's basically promising, I'm coming back to this place if God is true to his promises. And this will be God's house.

I'm gonna build something here, and this pillar is simply the first stone of that future building project. Jacob then continues on his journey and he, he ends up, we have seen living in Pedaram for 20 years, but at the end of that time period, God speaks to him in Genesis 31:13, and God says to Jacob, I am the God of Bethel. Where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now arise, leave this land and return to the land of your birth.

Notice that God reminds Jacob of his vow at Bethel, and part of Jacob's vow was that the stone that he had set up And Bethel would end up becoming a larger structure that will be God's house. Given all that we just reviewed, every commentator that you will read. Suggests that Jacob's return to the land of Canaan should at some point entail a timely visit. To Bethel for the purpose of fulfilling his vow to God and building a house.

A chapel, a sanctuary. To God in Bethel. Yet we have seen In the last two weeks, How that after Jacob reconciles with Esau and arrives safely back in the land of Canaan. That he settles in Sucoth.

For a while. And what does he do in Sucove but build a house for himself? And booths. For his animals.

After staying a while in Sucote, Jacob moves from there and settles in Checkham. He stays there long enough to necessitate a purchase of land for him to live on and to feed his livestock, but he still doesn't seem to find the time to go to Bethel, which is about 15 to 20 miles south of where he now is living on the outskirts of the city of Checkham. Commentators suggest that it was perhaps the fertile pastures of Sucoth that delayed him. Perhaps it was the ideal location of Sheckam at a crossroads of trade that kept him from traveling further south to Bethel.

Maybe Jacob figured he would eventually get to Bethel. But that there was no need to rush. To get there. Maybe Jacob was content to know that Bethel was within reach if he ever felt disposed to go there and carry out his vow.

Maybe as one writer says, Jacob had kept putting it off until a more convenient season. We all do that. Maybe Jacob was waiting until he and his family were in a good enough place spiritually. To be worthy enough to go to Bethel and appear before God.

We learned in our passage today that there were evidently idolatries that were, had crept into Jacob's family life that probably made Jacob think, wow, we're just not ready as a family to go to Bethel. Maybe Jacob, tied to all of these things was just simply afraid to go to Bethel. Let's not forget that Jacob's experience at Bethel 30 years prior. Left him afraid and saying how fearsome is this place where God had revealed Himself to him.

It's an awesome thing to have an encounter with the living God and Jacob likely had fears about facing God once again at Bethel. At least until maybe he and his family were in a better place of consecration to God. Whatever reasons Jacob had for staying away from Bethel, his delay ends up leaving him and his family exposed to the awful events of Genesis 34. Events, though, that do serve as a wake-up call to Jacob.

And set him up to finally make his long overdue pilgrimage to Bethel, and it's this pilgrimage to Bethel that we will study today. The way we'll break down our study of these 15 verses in Genesis 35 is we'll observe 6 developments in the story of Jacob's return. to Bethel. The first development is that God speaks and God calls Jacob to return to Bethel.

and it's interesting what happens in verse one and the chapter divisions may cause us to lose sight of this, but to help us, if you go back to Genesis 34:30, that verse features the words, then Jacob said, As he speaks to his sons and complains to them about the trouble that they have brought upon him in killing all the men of Shechem, describing the response of Jacob's sons, verse 31 goes like this, and they said, should he, Shechem, treat our sister as a harlot? And that seems because the chapter closes, like that is the final word of this whole sorry episode, but it's not.

God hasn't been invited to speak into this situation, but he speaks anyway. Observe what happens in verse one.

Then 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. I love the fact that God still speaks to Jacob. And has anything to say to Jacob after the events of Genesis 34. And of all things to say to Jacob that he invites Jacob.

To come to Bethel. God could have said, what, Jacob? I'm done with you and your family. After all I've done for you, you and your family go doing this.

But God doesn't do that. He never gives up on Jacob and his family, and he never gives up on you. And your family Also a lesser deity. Might have been overwhelmed by the brokenness of Jacob's family at this point.

Imagine a family like Jacob's at this juncture wanting to join your care group. Or coming to you for counseling. Jacob's daughter has been raped, his sons have just murdered all the men of the city. And now they're in a fight.

They're disagreeing with one another over how the situation should have been handled. And they're coming to you for counseling and they want to join your care group. Would you want anything to do with such a family. Would you be recommending they consider visiting some other care group?

Maybe you would be afraid to touch such a family, but wonderfully, God does not back away from Jacob. And his broken family, he moves toward Jacob and he actually invites him to come to Bethel. And make an altar there to God. And God does this at a time when Jacob, I am sure, never felt less worthy.

Of such an invitation. At the end of Genesis 34, Jacob was probably thinking, Now I know that at this point I could never show my face in Bethel, not after all of this has happened. But it's exactly in this low moment that God speaks to him. And invites him to come to Bethel knowing that Jacob will now come to him, not in pride over his perfect little family and say, look, God, at my perfect family.

But he will come to God in brokenness and humility. Guys, it's precisely in such low moments when we feel most unworthy that we are actually most suited to come to Bethel. And truly meet with God. There's actually blood atonement in verse one, if you have the eyes to see it.

God calls Jacob to go to Bethel and do what? Make an altar there to God. And the Hebrew word translated altar literally means place of sacrifice. In fact, the Hebrew word for altar is simply the, the Hebrew word for sacrifice with just simply one letter attached to the beginning.

of the word. Clearly, the altar God wants Jacob to build is a place where an animal can be slain and offered to God as atonement for sins, including the sins of Genesis 34, the sin of Jacob's delay. So in giving Jacob this call, God is wanting Jacob to know that through the sacrifice of an animal on an altar, Jacob and his family can have the atonement that they need for all the ways that they have fallen short in Genesis 34 and in the weeks and months and years prior. Lest Jacob be afraid to go to Bethel and meet with God.

God describes Himself as the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. 30 years prior when Jacob was running for his life from the wrath of Esau, God appeared to Jacob in mercy. God didn't slay Jacob for his deception of his dad and for his sin against Esau. Instead, God appeared to Jacob and spoke to Jacob in mercy and made gracious promises to him.

And God is now essentially saying to Jacob, Jacob, the God who met you then and showed you mercy, then when you were on the run, is the very God who awaits you now at Bethel. Don't be afraid to come to me now. How could Jacob resist such a merciful call? God is a God of such amazing mercy, but He's also a holy God.

Who is worthy to be feared. A God who hates sin. Jacob responds in a very balanced way, a beautiful way to God's call beginning in verse 2, and this leads us to the second development in the story of Jacob's return to Bethel. Number 2, Jacob leads his household and going To Bethel.

He leads his household in going to Bethel. Observe what he does in verse 2. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods which are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments and let us arise and go up to Bethel. This is the Jacob that we saw back in Genesis 33 when he got out in front of his family and walked toward Esau.

This is the Jacob that was absent in Genesis 34, but now he rises from the ashes of failure and seeks to lead his family, and I think just hearing this gracious invitation from God has made a huge difference in his heart. God called Jacob to go to Bethel and Jacob responds by not just going but by saying to his family, let us arise and go to Bethel. Jacob doesn't send his family to Bethel. He invites them to come with him as he goes to Bethel.

Some of you dads and perhaps moms are wishing and praying that your children would leave their own places of compromise and go to Bethel in a manner of speaking. How about you leave your places of compromise and go to Bethel. And invite your children to come along with you. That's what Jacob does here.

But Jacob knows that there must be repentance connected to going to Bethel and building an altar of sacrifice at Bethel. For atonement to be experienced, there must be repentance. So essentially, Jacob calls upon his family to do 4 things and the first thing that he calls them to do is to put away the foreign gods which were Among them He says, put away the foreign gods that are among you. I know they're among you.

That's assumed. Put them away. It shouldn't surprise us to learn that there were foreign gods. Among the members of Jacob's household, we learned back in Genesis 31:19 that Rachel had stolen her father's household idols when they left Padarre.

Several years earlier to head back to Canaan. And if Rachel, the wife of Jacob was so attached to idols that she would actually steal them from her father's house, which was a capital offense in this day, perhaps other members of the family had idols too. Perhaps some of the servants and the herdsmen that came from Pedaram with Jacob. had idols that they brought with them.

Almost certainly many of the women and children and servants that Jacob's sons had taken from Shechem had idols with them as well. Wherever these idols came from and whoever had them, Jacob is standing now before his household and all of his servants and herdsmen and saying, put away the foreign gods. Which are among you. The second thing Jacob tells everyone to do is to purify themselves, which is probably done by getting rid of the idols that were among them.

But this act of purification may have also involved some ceremonial cleansing. As well. Tied to this purifying of themselves is Jacob's 3rd instruction for the members of his household to change their clothes. To change their garments.

This would especially apply to his sons whose garments are stained with the blood. Of the Shechemite men that they have killed. And then fourthly, Jacob says, let us arise and go up to Bethel. And the reason he says go up is because Bethel was about 1000 ft higher in altitude.

Than where Checkham was. This is strong spiritual leadership from Jacob. Here in this verse, and it's also the grace of God that is showing through Jacob toward the members of his family. Jacob could have at this point, looked at his sons and said, sons, I'm going to Bethel, but you can't come after what you've done.

He could have been embarrassed to bring Dinah. Who has been defiled by Shechem's sin, but Jacob doesn't. Do that. He doesn't cast off his sons and his daughter.

Instead, he speaks to Dinah and to his sons and to everyone in his household, and he says, let us. Arise and go to Bethel. Jacob tells his family what he intends to do when he gets there. Observe what he says as he continues in verse 3.

He says, and I will make an altar. I will make a place of sacrifice there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. Jacob gives two descriptions of the God that he intends to make an altar of sacrifice to. Number 1, he's the God who answered him in the day of his distress 30 years prior, when he was on the run from Esau.

And number 2, he is the God whom Jacob says has been with me wherever I have gone since. This would even include God being with him. And Check them. And through the events of Genesis 34, as awful as they were, God was still with them, protecting Jacob and his family in various ways, and we see now speaking into the situation and inviting Jacob to come to Bethel.

Jacob says to his household, I'm going to Bethel to build an altar to this God. So get rid of your idols and purify yourselves, change your clothes and come to Bethel with me. I'm not sure how Jacob would have been expecting his family to respond to this leadership. But I'm sure whatever he expected that he was delighted with their response.

God does this amazing work of grace and not only Jacob, but also in his family and all of them and observe how they respond beginning in verse 4. The text says, so they gave to 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 Chechem. Turns out that Jacob's family was simply waiting for Jacob to take the lead and direct them. And they respond with complete obedience.

We're told that they gave all the foreign gods which they had, withholding none of them. Even Rachel would have handed over her household idols that she had stolen from her father at this point. This is now an idol-free household, and on top of that, we're told that they gave them the rings which were in their ears. These earrings.

would have been earrings that featured various symbols of idolatry that were either worn by people or they were removable earrings that adorned the ears of the idols that could have been taken off. For other uses. Jacob has asked for their idols and they're handing over all of the idols and even more than what Jacob is asking for, handing over anything remotely connected to these idolatries that Jacob has called upon his family and household to renounce. And what does Jacob do with the idols?

And the earrings that had been given to him, the text tells us in verse 4 that he hid them under the oak, which was near Sheckham. This could be translated, he dumped them. Under the oak. He dumps these idols in the ground and he buries them in the ground as part of the preparation for their departure from Shechem.

They're gonna walk away from these idolatries and not come back. So Jacob and his family take off and They head 15 to 20 miles south to Bethel. This leads us to the third development in the story of Jacob's return to Bethel. Number 3, arriving safely in Bethel, Jacob builds an altar to God and buries.

A loved one As for their trip to Bethel, observe how God protects them. Verse 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. Remember how afraid Jacob was that they were outnumbered by the Canaanites.

The Canaanites are gonna hear about what happened in Shechem and they're going to attack them and destroy Jacob and his household. But that doesn't happen as they move from Checkham to Bethel. And there's a reason because of God's intervention. The literal Hebrew reads this way, as they journeyed, there was a terror of Elohim.

A terror of God upon the cities which were around them. In other words, this is a terror, a fear from God, a supernatural terror that God caused to fall upon the people of Canaan such that they dared not mess with Jacob and his household as they traveled from Shechem to Bethel. However angry they might have been. At Jacob and his sons for doing what they did in Checkham, they dared not attack them.

However much they outnumbered Jacob's traveling band. The fear that God is causing to come over them, kept them from attacking Jacob and his household. This here is the faithfulness of God. To protect Jacob and enable him to actually carry through and do What God had called him to do.

This is also an incredible mercy from God as well, given the way that the failures of Jacob's family and the way that his sons had behaved in the previous chapter. As one commentator, Derek Kidner says, the protection here is clearly divine and clearly undeserved. But God provides it anyway. With God protecting Jacob and his traveling caravan in this way, Jacob and his family make The journey safely to Bethel.

They arrive in The city safely and observe what happens in verse 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. The narrator wants us to know here that every single person made this trip safely.

Not one person perished. On this journey at the hand of the Canaanites whom Jacob was so worried about in the previous chapter. God had told Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar of sacrifice to God there. Jacob, once he arrives, does just that seemingly without any delay.

Observe what he does in verse 7. He, Jacob, built an altar, a place of sacrifice there and called the place El Bethel. Because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother. The expression E Bethel.

Means literally God of Bethel or God of the house of God. And giving the place this name, Jacob is showing that his whole fascination, his whole focus is not so much on Bethel itself as a location, but on the God of Bethel. In fact, the one reason that's given for why he builds this altar of sacrifice in this location to God is because verse 7, there God had revealed himself. To Jacob when he fled from his brother.

What Jacob is commemorating is not so much the ladder that he saw decades earlier, or the angels or even God's promises that God had spoken to him, but simply the fact that God had revealed himself. To Jacob And that revelation of God was a critical turning point in Jacob's life as we have seen, and Jacob wants to mark this spot with an altar, a place of blood sacrifice. To God. He does more than.

worship God through the building of this altar of sacrifice. He also does some weeping. Because while they are in Bethel, Jacob experiences a death in the family. And the announcement of this death feels to us like an interruption.

It comes out of nowhere and it's unexpected, but death is like that. Is it not? It comes at a time of spiritual triumph. And brings tears and sadness to this otherwise joyful occasion.

Look at what happens in verse 8. The text says now Deborah. Rebecca's nurse died and she was buried below Bethel under the oak. It was named Alon Bakuth.

The only other reference to Deborah. And the Book of Genesis was way back in Genesis 24, about 100 years prior. When Rebecca's family sent her off. To marry Isaac in Genesis 24:59.

We are told that Rebecca's family sent away their sister, Rebecca and her nurse. Back in this day, wealthier families often would have a servant woman who nursed their infant. And then that nurse would usually become the child's nanny as the child grew up. And very often, such a servant would go with the child when the child went off to be married and just be their servant for life.

And be, perhaps, almost certainly, the closest servant that that child had. That's the nurse that evidently went with Rebecca when she was sent off to marry Isaac, and now we learn in our passage today that this nurse's name Was Deborah And that she dies in Bethel. The presence of Jacob's mother's servant nurse being with Jacob at this point seems to come out of nowhere and require some explanation. And here's maybe just a few things that I think we can know with some level of certitude.

First of all, the fact that Deborah is right now with Jacob is a fair indication that Jacob's mother, Rebecca, has already passed away. After Rebecca had passed away and Deborah was no longer needed by Isaac, Isaac probably sent Deborah to Jacob. Perhaps after he knew that Jacob was back in the land of Canaan. The second thing we can know with some certitude.

I That as the one who had been the nurse of Rebecca, who then became Rebecca's closest servant companion, Deborah was almost certainly something of a second mother to Jacob as Jacob himself was growing up. So Jacob would have had every reason to want her around after his own mother had passed away. As Henry Morris, the commentator says, once Deborah came to live with Jacob, she likely served as a senior advisor to Jacob's other servants as well as a grandmother to Jacob's children.

A third thing we can know with some level of likelihood is the fact that we are told of Deborah's name.

says a lot about her. The fact that her death and burial place is mentioned in a story like this is doubly remarkable. Nowhere else in all of the Bible is the death and burial of a servant recorded like this, much less a female servant. So this woman, Deborah, must have been an amazing woman to earn this treatment in scripture.

Having come to mean so much to Jacob and all the members of his family, Martin Luther is probably not far off when he speaks about Deborah. In this passage and says that she was a wise and godly matron. who had served and advised Jacob and had done all that she did for Jacob and the family with such excellence. What we do know for sure.

is that Deborah meant a lot to Jacob and came to mean a lot to Jacob's household during the several years she was with them because when she died, there was weeping. After Deborah died, we're told in verse 8 that she was buried below Bethel under the oak. And it was named Alon Baku, literally Oak of weeping. Oak of crying.

And losing Deborah, Jacob is losing more than Deborah. He's losing one of the only surviving connections to his own youth. And to his deceased mother, and now she's gone. It's in this time of worshiping God and experiencing the joy of that and now in this time of grief that God makes an appearance to Jacob and God's timing is always perfect.

God does not remain at a distance when we grieve our losses. He comes to us, he reveals himself to us and that's what he does for Jacob here. As the God of all comfort that he is. This brings us to the 5th development in the story of Jacob's return to Bethel.

Number 5, God blesses Jacob and reminds him of his new name. God blesses Jacob and reminds him of his new name. Observe what God does in verse 9. Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Pedaram and he blessed him.

Notice, by the way, the text says when he came from Param. this is interesting. By all indications, Jacob has been back in the land of Canaan for several years, if not a decade. He settled in Sucoth for a while and then in Checkham for a while, yet the language here gives us the feel that Jacob's journey to Bethel is being viewed as yet another leg of his journey from Pedanaram.

Evidently, God does not think of Jacob's journey from Param as complete until Jacob has at least come to Bethel. All these years, Jacob's had an unfinished journey that is now coming close to its completion as he returns to Bethel. And we're told that God appeared to Jacob again. God appeared to him the last time that he was in Bethel, and now God appears again and when God appears this time, Jacob might have been expecting some shoe to drop from God in judgment, but instead we're told that he blessed him.

God appears. In this fearsome place called Bethel, and he blesses Jacob after the events of Genesis 34. God had already actually blessed Jacob several years prior. Back in Genesis 32:11, yet he blesses Jacob again.

And how does he bless them? Partly by what he does next. Look at verse 10, and God said to him, Your name is Jacob. You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name, and thus he, God, called him.

Israel As you will recall back in Genesis 32, God already changed Jacob's name from Jacob to Israel several years earlier. But you may have noticed, in fact, some of you actually came up and asked me about this when we moved from Genesis 32 into Genesis 33, that even after that name change, Jacob is still being called Jacob even by the narrator of Genesis. And you probably also noticed that in Genesis 34, Jacob is still acting like the old Jacob in some ways, rather than like Israel.

So God is speaking to him again and addressing this issue of his name.

Jacob needs this reminder from God that his new name is Israel. Think about what God could have done in this moment. God could have said to Jacob, he could have said, Jacob, I, I named you Israel. Several years ago, but given how you've been behaving, Especially in the previous chapter and in the lead up to those events and Sheckham, given how you delayed and Sukkoth and Sheckham, I'm gonna go back to calling you Jacob.

But God doesn't do that. Instead, he says, you shall no longer be called Jacob. But Israel shall be your name. And then we're told thus he, God, called him Israel, Prince of God, wrestler with God.

That's amazing to me that God would call Jacob by his new name even after the failures of the previous chapter. But does not God do exactly that for us? As believers in Christ, God is repeatedly speaking to us through his word in our New Testaments, for example, and he's always reminding us of our new identity in Christ on our good days and on our bad days. Ephesians 12 and 3 is basically God doing that.

Romans 1 through 11 is God basically doing that. Colossians 1 and 2 is God basically doing that to struggling believers, to us on our good days and bad days, reminding us of our new name, our new identity in Christ. Even in our low moments of sin and fear, God keeps coming to us through His word. And reminding us of our new identity that he has given to us in Christ.

Even though we fail God in countless ways, God does not Start calling us by our failures. He doesn't start identifying us by our failures. Hey, you, yeah, you, the one who messed up yesterday. He doesn't do that.

He still calls us by our new name in Christ, and he sees us always for who we are in Christ. He sees us for who we are becoming in Christ and he keeps reminding us of our new identity in him. Jacob failed God in Genesis 34. But by the grace of God, Jacob rose from the ashes of that defeat, and here he and his family are in Bethel worshiping God and And God is still calling him Israel.

Having reminded Jacob of his new name and all the meaning and the destiny that goes with that, God does yet another thing and this brings us to the next development in the story of Jacob's return to Bethel. Number 5, God reveals himself. His will and his promises afresh to Jacob. He reveals himself, his will and his promises afresh to Jacob.

Observe what he does in verse 11. God also said to him, I am God Almighty. The Hebrew expression that is translated God Almighty is El Shaddai. The name basically speaks of God as the all powerful and all sufficient God who can bring anything to pass that he pleases.

God is not bound by the constraints that mere mortals are constrained by. He's infinite in his power and in His grace and in His mercy. And he's saying to Jacob here, I am the Almighty God who has the power to enable you to do anything that I call you to do. And I have the power to do anything that I promise you that I will do.

I am a God of unbridled power and sufficiency. And grace. Without limit. At this point, God gives Jacob a command that will seem surprising to us.

He speaks to Jacob and gives this command saying, be fruitful and multiply. This is an odd command to give to a man who has 12 children. How many of you would go up to anyone who has 12 children and say, be fruitful and multiply. But that's what God is saying to Jacob here, and there's some reasons for this.

In the first place, Jacob has already been fruitful and multiplied. And he has 11 sons and a daughter, but hearing this call from God would connect Jacob back to the blessing that Isaac had spoken over him 30 years prior when Isaac, his father said to Jacob, May El Shaddai, may God Almighty make you fruitful and multiply you. And now hearing this call again would remind Jacob that God is the fountain from which his fruitfulness has come. Another reason God would give him this call is Obviously, in order for Jacob to continue to be fruitful and multiply, Jacob's going to need to give his own children the same vision so that they can continue having children and God's plan can come about that Jacob's descendants become as numerous as the dust of the earth.

It's good for us as parents to have children, and then when our children are grown and they are married, for us as parents to be encouraging them to have children. And to carry on that vision. If God empowers them to actually have children. That that's to be encouraged.

Children are welcome. Jacob is to continue giving this vision to His sons. A third reason God would give this call is That he speaks these commands because Jacob is not actually finished having children just yet. Jacob still has one more son that God wants to give him and Jacob will have that final son before this chapter is over.

After delivering this two-fold command, God promises Jacob that, look at this, he says, a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and king shall come forth from you. And we all know the rest of history that there will be 12 nation-like tribes that will come forth from Jacob, and there will be kings that come forth from Jacob ruling over the united nation of Israel and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and ultimately there will be the ultimate king. That descends from Jacob, King Jesus.

Who is our king God also gives Jacob a very specific promise about the land of Canaan observe what he says in verse 12, the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.

Evidently God has not changed his mind about the earlier promises that he had made to Abraham and Isaac and his earlier promises to Jacob, the land of Canaan will belong to Jacob in the sense that God will give this land to his descendants. I don't think unless we were actually in Jacob's shoes here, I don't think any of us can really appreciate. How much This fresh restatement of God's promises to Jacob would have meant to him after the events of Genesis 34. Jacob may have wondered.

At the end of Genesis 34, if his family had blown it so bad that they had disqualified themselves from all of the promises that God had already made to them. But all of those concerns are completely put to rest by what God is doing and what he is saying here. Though Jacob has not been perfectly faithful to God, God is being perfectly faithful to Jacob. And his unconditional promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still stand.

And having revealed himself to Jacob in this way, God departs. Look at verse 13, then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken. With him. Well, Jacob responds to God's revelation of himself in a beautiful way.

Let's look at this very quickly. This brings us to the final development in the story of Jacob's return to Bethel. Number 6, Jacob memorializes the occasion of God's fresh revelation to him. Observe what happens in verse 13.

Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it, and he also poured oil on it. Both the wine and the oil that Jacob is pouring out upon the pillar represents Jacob's lavish devotion. And consecration to God and designates this spot as forever sacred. And Jacob does one more thing to memorialize this place where God had revealed Himself to him yet again.

Observe what he does in verse 15. So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him. Bethel Why does he do that again? He already did that.

Many years prior.1 Genesis 28:19, Jacob had named the place Bethel in anticipation of the day. When he says in verse 22 of Genesis 38, this stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house. It will be a Bethel. Yet in our passage today, Jacob is naming the place Bethel or House of God, not in anticipation of some coming reality, but as a present reality implied in this language here, commentators say, is the fact that Jacob is building a sanctuary right now.

A chapel, as it were. A structure that now goes by the name Bethel or House of God. And in doing that, Jacob has thereby fulfilled his vow. From 30 years prior.

But we're gonna stop here for today, and I, I basically just have one point to make as we, as we close. Is it not true that Jacob and his family are in a much better place now than they were at the end of Genesis 34? At the end of Genesis 34, Jacob is reeling from the rape of his daughter, the killing spree of his sons, and from the fear of being wiped out by the Canaanites. Yet here in Genesis 35, Jacob is leading his family in repentance.

He brings his family with him as he obeys God's call to go to Bethel. We see him building an altar of sacrifice and being affirmed in God's grace and worshiping God and fulfilling. His vow and really going the full distance with God. In terms of what God had called him to do.

The contrast between Genesis 34 and this part of Genesis 35 shows us, guys, That your failures today. Don't have to mean that you cannot be in a better place with God tomorrow. Your failures today are not the end of the story. They don't have to be.

You may be and check them. Today, But you can be 1000 ft higher in altitude. Tomorrow that you can be there. In 5 minutes from now.

If you're willing to respond to God's call and return to Him. Today Maybe you find yourself right now in a place of spiritual defeat. Maybe you're dismayed over the state of your soul. Or the state of your marriage, or the state of your home.

Maybe you're saddened over the depths to which you have descended. Having committed sins that 10 years ago, you would have never thought you were capable of committing. Maybe you're wondering if it's too late for you to return to God. And you're asking questions like, will God forgive me?

Will he take me back? Does God want anything to do with me anymore, given the mess that I have made? Will he want to involve himself in helping me to pick up The broken pieces and put those broken pieces of my life back together. Those are phenomenal questions.

And Genesis 35:1 through 15 tells us that the answer to all those questions is a resounding yes. Christ died on the cross. To provide forgiveness for the very sins that you have committed. He died so that he could purify you and your heart.

He lived a perfect life so that you can be, experience a change of clothes and be clothed in his righteousness. But God calls you to repent. And to hate your sin, to repent of your sins, to repent boldly and decisively. And to look to Jesus Christ and to trust in Jesus to be the only one who could ever make you acceptable to appear before God at Bethel.

Look to Jesus. Don't clean up your act before you return to God. Run to Jesus in your sin. Run to God in your sin and bathe in His atoning blood.

Dress yourself in His righteousness. Let Him purify you. And then let Jesus present you to His Father. He's the only one who can do that.

And if you come to God in that way, you have nothing to fear. From God. Let's pray together Lord, today's failures do not have to be tomorrow's story. We thank you, Lord, for Passages like this, just in the flow of the narrative of Genesis that Show us the The beauties and the frailties of these patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The ups and the downs because, Lord, that's our experience, but through all of those ups and downs, That they experienced and that we experienced, there is the steady. Enduring faithfulness of you, Lord. You are the same yesterday, today and forever, and we cherish the, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, which is a biblical doctrine, but that doctrine is only true because of another doctrine and that is the doctrine of the perseverance of God with his saints. You never give up on us.

Your love never ceases. Your mercies are new every morning. And great is your faithfulness to us. And if any of us, Lord, look at our lives right now, and there was a time prior to today when we were closer to you than we are right now.

Show us where we need to repent and give us the grace to do the repenting that we need to do and that we would make haste to fly to you, Lord. Without delay And we thank you for the example of Jacob. And the picture of your grace that we see in our passage today. You're a good God, and we just say that we love you this morning.

And we're blessed to be here to worship you. Receive our offerings, Lord, that we give in this offering, do much with all that is given for the glory of Jesus. In whose name we pray, and all God's people said,