Genesis 35:1-8
Escape to Bethel

We take care of three problems in this story, at least temporarily:

  1. Last week we heard how Dinah went out among the daughters of the land and was violated by Shechem, son of Hamor. Shechem then came to Jacob, asking to marry Dinah. He handed the matter over to his sons who said you must become circumcised first.

The whole town was circumcised, and on the third day, when the men were in pain, Simeon and Levi attacked and killed all the men. Then all their brothers came in and took all the Shechemites' wealth and enslaved their women and children.

Jacob responded in fear, saying, "You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I."

His sons replied, "Should [Shechem] treat our sister like a harlot?"

But still that left the problem unresolved. Was Jacob right? Would the inhabitants of the land now band together and destroy Jacob and his family because of their murderous deeds? Will God choose to protect such wicked sinners? Why should he?

So the first problem is that the Canaanites are likely to attack.

  1. And why did this happen, anyway? Why did Dinah go out among the daughters of the land, which she should never have done? Why was she seeking fellowship with those who did not know the living God? Why did Simeon and Levi act deceitfully with the Shechemites and murder them? Why were they living in Shechem in the first place when God had told them to go to Bethel?

Jacob! Thou art the man! Jacob settled them in Shechem. Jacob failed to act when Shechem made his marriage proposal, suggesting that there could be a mingling of Shechemites and Israelites, as though light could have fellowship with darkness. Jacob allowed his daughter to go out and have fellowship with the people of the land.

So the second problem is that Jacob has failed to lead his household in the worship of and obedience to the God of Abraham and Isaac.

  1. The third problem is related to the second. Why was it wrong to settle in Shechem? Because God had told Jacob to go to Bethel. Way back when Jacob was fleeing Esau for the first time, remember that? Jacob saw God at the top of a stairway into heaven, and God promised, I will bring you back to this place. And since then, we've been waiting for that to happen.

Why is this important? What does Bethel represent? What does it mean? Bethel, translated into English, means "House of God." At Bethel Jacob understood that the promises to him were not earthly but heavenly. There he understood that his inheritance was to be the Lord himself and dwelling with him forever. At Bethel, Jacob caught a glimpse of the gospel; he heard the invitation to forsake the world and dwell with God. When a man has such an offer before him, it concerns us when he dilly-dallies.

Yet dilly-dally he does. Jacob's mother Rebekah had told him to stay in Laban's country "a little while." He stayed 20 years. He labored seven years for Rachel and Laban tricked him and gave him Leah instead. But he had his eyes on Rachel, for she was beautiful in the eyes of this world. For the sake of her beauty, which was passing away, he labored another seven years. He failed to seek Bethel, the presence of God, for seven years because he sought this earthly beauty.

Then, when he got Rachel, he was willing to go. But Laban tempted him to stay, promising him wealth. So Jacob labored 6 years more and became wealthy. For the sake of sheep and goats, he delayed seeking the face of the Lord his God.

Finally, God appeared to him and told him to go back. And in telling him that, God reminded him "I am the God of Bethel." So go back there, to the place I told you I would bring you back to. Believe my promise, Jacob! So finally Jacob left.

And God protected him on the way. Laban chased after Jacob, but God appeared to Laban and told him not to harm Jacob. Jacob made a covenant with Laban and they went their separate ways, and as Jacob went his way, he met angels of God.

Jacob quaked in fear of Esau. In the night, he wrestled with God and God touched his hip and partially crippled him. But God also gave him a new name "Israel" (God strives) because he had struggle with God and men and had prevailed. And God blessed him there. And even the withered hip became a blessing, for it reminded Jacob of the strength of God which was not against him but for him. When Jacob met Esau, Esau was favorable toward him; and Jacob knew that this too was from the hand of God.

So many things have provoked Jacob to faith. Why does he not seek Bethel and entrust himself wholly to the God of Bethel? Yet he doesn't. He dwells in Succoth, on the far side of the Jordan, outside the Promised Land. After a while, he crosses the Jordan and dwells in the Promised Land. But he doesn't return to Bethel.

Dinah was an infant when he left Padan-Aram, the home of Laban. Now she is old enough to receive marriage proposals. Jacob has avoided the presence of God at Bethel for 35 years. Is this who the psalmist refers to when he says, "This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face"?

So the third, and the longest standing problem, is that Jacob has been invited to God's presence and refuses to come.

Remember, then, the three problems that we will see resolved here: 1) Jacob is afraid the Canaanites will attack him. 2) Jacob has failed to lead his household in worship and obedience to God. 3) Jacob has failed to forsake the world and seek God alone in Bethel.

  1. Jacob's Return to Bethel
    1. God's Command to Jacob (1)
      1. "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there."
        1. And what an awesome command!
        2. Jacob must not only go to God's house, he must dwell there.
        3. How can this sinner dwell before God?
        4. There is grace in this command, is there not?
        5. By commanding Jacob to dwell with him, God is also assuring Jacob, you will meet with me and not be destroyed.
          1. Your sins are forgiven, Jacob!
          2. I invite you into my presence out of sheer grace, in spite of your constant disobedience and faithlessness.
      2. Make an altar to God - worship him there
      3. Who protected you from Esau
        1. God has done many things for Jacob.
        2. Why focus on this one?
        3. Why not, "make an altar to God who appeared to you at Bethel"?
        4. Remember Jacob's fear
          1. His sons have made him obnoxious in the sight of the Canaanites
          2. They are strong; he is weak. Surely they will come and kill him.
          3. His inclination is NOT to head south even deeper into the land of the Canaanites.
          4. His inclination is to RUN. Across the Jordan. To Seir where Esau lives and will protect him.
        5. So the Lord reminds him I am your protector.
          1. Do not fear the inhabitants of this land. I can protect you from them just as I protected you from Esau.
          2. And don't make the mistake of trusting Esau's strength. Trust the strength of the one who protected you from Esau.
      4. Even so, children of God, hear the Lord's command.
        1. Go up to Bethel.
          1. Go to the house of God!
          2. Come. Each Lord's Day.
          3. It is God who invites you.
          4. It is God who commands you.
        2. Dwell there
          1. Not just every Lord's Day.
            1. The services on this day are not just to "recharge" you and send you back into the world.
            2. The services on this day are to stamp you with the identity of Christ which you bear every day.
            3. Leave here today, but do not forget who you are.
          2. Don't walk away from here and back into the world as though you are a citizen of it.
          3. Walk as one who dwells in the presence of God and bears his name and has his blessing.
          4. For indeed, the Spirit of Christ dwells in you.
          5. You carry Bethel wherever you go.
        3. Therefore build an altar to God
          1. Offer yourselves up as living sacrifices to him
        4. And do not fear what will happen to you if you forsake the world to do this
          1. Has not Christ overcome the world, just as God overcame Esau?
          2. You shall not be harmed.
    2. Jacob Leads His Household in Worship and Obedience (2-4,7)
      1. Does Jacob then exploit the grace of God?
        1. God forbid!
        2. Rather, encouraged that God has not dealt with him as his sins deserve, he rises up in obedience.
      2. "Put away the foreign gods"
        1. The ones Rachel had stolen
        2. The ones they had stolen from Shechem
        3. What do the gods represent
          1. trust in yourself
          2. love for the world
          3. trust in and love for anything that is not God
        4. Jacob finally puts his trust in God alone
        5. So he pursues the radical program of burying the foreign gods, that is of forsaking them utterly.
        6. They even gave Jacob their earrings
          1. Why?
          2. The Israelites reading this would know
          3. Remember the Israelites in the desert, how they came to Aaron the High Priest and said, "Make us a god"?
          4. So they gave Aaron all their earrings and he melted them down and made a golden calf.
          5. A similar thing happened under Gideon in the book of judges.
          6. The people gave Gideon their earrings so he could melt them down and make an idol.
        7. So what's happening when they burn their earrings?
          1. They're burning their bridges behind them.
          2. They're not only getting rid of the idols they have; they're making certain they can't make any more.
      3. He has them ceremonially cleanse themselves and change their clothes - A sign that he knows they were sinful and sin cannot dwell in God's presence
      4. And he testifies to them of God's mighty acts
        1. He doesn't boast in his own strength or ability to protect.
        2. He reminds them that God has protected him
        3. Just as God had reminded him.
      5. So they go and Jacob builds the altar and names the place "El-Bethel"
        1. The God of Bethel
        2. The God of the house of God.
        3. The place is so holy, he puts the name of God in twice to remind himself.
      6. Because there God appeared to him when he fled from Esau
        1. There he was, a sinner, fleeing a would-be murderer.
        2. He had nothing to offer God
        3. And God appeared to him anyway and blessed him.
        4. This place is not about Jacob and his righteousness, but about God and his grace.
      7. Oh men of God, let us lead our households in such a way that we follow this example
        1. God has called us into his presence in Christ
        2. Let us therefore cast away our idols
          1. Let us put aside trust in ourselves
          2. Let us turn our backs on the love of this world
          3. Let us even set aside those things which we might make into idols, lest we be tempted and fall into sin.
          4. The Lord calls us to this that we may lead our families in the righteousness of Christ.
        3. Let us cleanse our families by reminding them of their baptism into Christ Jesus. They were sinners; now they are pure before God.
        4. And let us testify to them often not of our own ability to protect them, but of God's mighty acts.
      8. Oh children of God, let us seek Christ utterly
        1. Put away your idols
        2. Give up your trust in yourselves, in your intellect, your strength, your abilities. You have nothing!
        3. Give up your love of this world, of money, of reputation, of comfort. The world offers you nothing!
        4. How often have I pleaded with you from this pulpit concerning this matter!
        5. Now is the time to come into the presence of God! He has made you pure, so come! Now is the acceptable day of salvation.
    3. God Protects Jacob (5,6)
      1. God is as good as his word.
      2. Jacob and family go up to Bethel and are not attacked.
      3. Rather, his enemies are terrified
        1. Just as they will later be terrified of his descendants when they come into Canaan. Remember Jericho?
        2. Just as the demons will later be terrified when Christ, the true seed of Jacob, comes into Palestine.
        3. They will come cringing up to him, begging him not to torment them.
      4. So Jacob successfully reaches Bethel and builds an altar to God.
    4. A Sorrowful Note (8)
      1. While there, they buried Deborah, Rebekah's nurse.
      2. Why is this here? Two reasons
      3. An indication of a problem Bethel doesn't solve
        1. Rebekah, Jacob's mother, is dead.
        2. So her nurse comes to meet Jacob, but she dies as well.
        3. And in burying her, Jacob symbolically buries his mother.
        4. He dilly-dallied for so long, he lost his chance to see his mother alive again.
        5. So we see that this Bethel isn't good enough, for there is still sorrow and loss there.
        6. And our eyes are drawn upward to our heavenly Bethel where there is neither sorrow nor death, but God himself shall wipe every tear from our eyes.
      4. Another break from self-reliance
        1. Rebekah is the one who encouraged Jacob to trust in his own cleverness and steal the blessing by deceit.
        2. Now, just as he buried his idols, he buries his mother's nurse. Symbolically he turns his back on what his mother represented.
        3. He has become a man who trusts in God alone.
  2. God's Appearance at Bethel
    1. God Again Appears to Jacob (9-13)
    2. Jacob Again Leads His Household (14,15)
  3. Christ, the Better Jacob
    1. Christ Has Triumphed over His and Our Enemies
      1. The demons came cringing up to him, begging him not to torment them. "What do we have to do with you Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"
      2. So it is with His enemies to this day
        1. Does it not seem that way?
        2. Do those who hate the church seem powerful and mocking and not afraid at all?
        3. They are fools who do not understand their own danger!
      3. The demons see you and tremble
        1. Christ leads you about in triumph before them as well?
        2. Do you think sin has any power over you?
        3. Do you think any temptation can overtake you?
        4. Your warfare is spiritual and your spiritual enemies tremble before you for you bear the mark of Christ.
        5. Take courage! Though this world should be filled with devils and threaten to unto us, we will not fear for God has willed his truth to triumph through us.
        6. Therefore, do not be entangled with sin; Christ has triumphed over sin and all that could tempt you to sin.
    2. Christ Has Led His Household in Worship and Obedience
      1. He always loved his Father and served him perfectly well.
        1. His prayers were perfect
        2. His sacrifice on the cross was perfect
        3. His obedience was perfect in every respect.
      2. Now w perfect worship to God is yours in Christ
      3. Now perfect obedience is yours as well.
      4. A real cleansing from sin, not just ritual purification and changing clothes.
      5. A real altar, not on earth but in heaven, is yours, with Christ upon it as a lamb slain that your name might be written in the book of life from before the foundation of the world.
      6. Let us fear to offer up our own worship to God - polluted by sin and death as it is. But let us offer our worship in the name and through the power of Christ.
      7. Let us equally fear to offer up our own obedience to God.
      8. But rather let us obey him by putting on Christ,
        1. by hearing the word which imparts grace to us
        2. By praying fervently as those who have nothing in ourselves
        3. By being conformed not to this world but being transformed by having our minds renewed in the doctrine of Christ.
    3. Christ Has Forsaken the World and Sought God Alone
      1. Christ, the better Jacob, spent his hole life seeking Bethel.
      2. And he found it, for your sakes, the presence of God.
      3. He forsook the world to get there; loving nothing in this creation which is passing away.
      4. Satan tempted him with all the kingdoms of the world.
      5. Peter tried to tell him he did not need to go the way of the cross -> Get behind me Satan! You are not concerned with the things of God but the things of men.
      6. Even the suffering of the cross could not deter him, for he set before himself the joy of rising up into everlasting life in the presence of God his father. To dwell there. Forever.
      7. Then let us not be tempted by the world, but let us forsake it
        1. Though we should suffer with Christ because of this
        2. Let us as well set before our eyes the joy of the heavenly Bethel, the eternal presence of God.
        3. And let us be content with nothing less.

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