30/12/2021
BACK TO BETHEL
GEN 35:1-5
1 Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."
2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.
3 "Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone."
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
What is Beth-El?
BETH is a Hebrew word for “HOUSE” while “EL” is translated “GOD”. Thus, the word BETHEL is translated “House of God”.
A house is a dwelling place or a place where one lives. In the same vain, the HOUSE OF GOD is considered a place where God lives or dwells. So, in the scriptures above, God told Jacob to return to Beth-El. First, we need to know who Jacob is.
Who is Jacob?
Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and son of Isaac. Abraham was the man whom God called out of a heathen land Ur into a new land to establish a new generation of people who will serve God in holiness and a people through whom the nations of the world will be save from the bo***ge of Satan.
Gen 12:1-3 says,
Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you
And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
The implication of “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” is the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ by whom salvation is brought to the entire universe. Acts 4:12 says, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Why did God Command Jacob to Return?
Jacob was told by God to RETURN. In English language “re” is a repetition of what was done before. This means that Jacob use to be in Beth-El but later left Beth-El to dwell in somewhere else (Shechem), thus, the command to return.
Where was Jacob at the Time of this Command to Return?
Gen 33:18, 19 accounts that, “Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money”.
Shechem at that time were inhabited by idolatrous people whose lives were dictated by the Devil. To proof this, in Shechem, Dinah the only daughter of Jacob was r***d and defiled. Gen 34:1, 2 states that “Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her”. Further, in verses 25-27 of same chapter, the sons of Jacob out of anger invaded the house of the ra**st, killing him and the father in cold blood.
How did Jacob Prepare His Return?
Gen 35:2-5 says,
2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.
3 "Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone."
4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
1. He was not selfish with the message; he passed it to those around him (vs 2a,4)
2. He identified things they have that are unacceptable to God and put them away (vs 2b
3. He did not return alone; he carried his family and all around him to Beth-El (Vs 3a)
4. His mind was made up not to return again to Shechem (vs 3b)
5. He responded promptly to the call (vs 5. Also, Heb 3:7, 8 says,
6 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness
13 while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
What are the Lessons from The Story?
1. The source of every human is God. When God was about to create fish, He spoke to the water (Gen 1:20). When He created the plants, He spoke to the earth (Gen 1:11). But when He wanted to create humans, He spoke to Himself (Gen 1:26, 27). Thus, the source fish is the water; any fish that is out of water dies. Also, the source of plant is the earth and the source of humans is God (Gen 1:26, 27).
Some had left their source and thereby became vulnerable to satanic and demonic attacks and oppressions. Jer 2:4-8, 13 says:
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?
7 Neither did they say, 'Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?'
8 I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination.
9 The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.
2. God is calling as many who hath left His way to return back to Him before it is too late “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). Jer 3: "They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD.
3. To return to the Lord, you must identify every excess load of sinfulness and drop them at the root of the tree of the cross. Jacob collected the strange gods and earrings from his people and buried them under the tree (Gen 35:2-4). The Lord Jesus Christ in Matt 7:13 says "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it”; James 1:21 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul; while Heb 12:1, 2 states, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”).
4. You must not be stingy with sharing this message to your loved ones and those around you (Mark 16:15, 16)
5. You must not delay the call of God or else, you provoke Him as Israel did in the wilderness (Heb 3:7, 8)
6. You must make up your mind never to return to the world by erecting to the Lord an altar of fellowship in your heart (1Cor 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
