Genesis 35:1-8

2009.Jun.17 15:00

Trip to Bethel, Etc.

Read Genesis 35:1-8 | Full Chapter

Chapter 35 of Genesis comes off as a bit confusing, at least to me. It seems to be something of a mish-mash, recording important facts that don’t fit easily in with the rest of the narrative, plus what appears to be not exactly a flashback to Genesis 32, when Yahweh renames Jacob to Israel. So, in this first bit, they’re heading to Bethel, site of the Jacob’s Ladder incident. This particular part of the story seems to be mostly about idols and such that are still hanging around the family Israel.

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." 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, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." 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 Shechem.
(Genesis 35:1-4, NASB)

Yahweh, in this recording, does not mention the idols that are within Jacob’s camp. He merely tells Jacob to go to Bethel, make an altar to him, and live there for a time. It apparently occurs to Jacob that all these foreign gods they have hanging around might not be pleasing to Yahweh. Especially since Jacob seems to consider Bethel a holy place. So, he’s not quite committed to "have no other gods before [Yahweh]" (Exodus 20:3, NASB) . Indeed, he doesn’t even get rid of them in any permanent sense, just hides them away. Perhaps Yahweh did not mention the idols because Jacob’s family shouldn’t have had them in the first place.

Ah, it’s easier to give up a sin temporarily, knowing you could maybe come back later. How often, when convicted of a behavior–even if not a sin, even if “just” something that’s not good for us–do we change our behavior, but make sure not to burn all the bridges? Permanent change is scary. Especially when it means giving up something I enjoy, no matter how bad that thing is for me.

As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.
(Genesis 35:5-7, NASB)

Yahweh is, of course, a God of grace. We’re in the Old Testament here, where we like to typify him as a God of judgment. The two are really inseparable in Yahweh’s case, two sides of the same coin, and both are evidenced in the Old and New Testaments. So, because Yahweh has adopted Jacob and his family, he protects them in this journey, despite the failure of that family to appropriately reciprocate. This is unmerited favor. After the slaughter at Shechem, the whole group should be on the hit list of all the cities and tribes they pass. But Yahweh puts “a great terror upon” them (the voice is passive, at least in the NASB, but I think it’s reasonable to assume Yahweh as the actor).

Jacob does build an altar to God, in remembrance of Yahweh’s appearance to him when fleeing from Esau so many years before. Given how things have worked out, Jacob’s gratefulness and faith should have increased. So Jacob’s sorta’ kinda’ getting it about Yahweh. Like most of us Christians do. It’s a start, but he could be receiving and doing so much more.

Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth.
(Genesis 35:8, NASB)

Like I said, this chapter is full of miscellany. Here is a note that Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah, dies while Jacob’s family is in Bethel. I’m not sure if she’s even mentioned anywhere else.

Genesis 31:10-13

2009.Feb.13 17:00

Dream No. Two

Read Genesis 31:10-13 | Full Chapter

"In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.' "
(Genesis 31:10-13, NIV)

I think this is Jacob’s second “Yahweh” dream described, although I may not remember that correctly. The first was the Jacob’s Ladder dream. This dream is a bit less dramatic. Jacob sees an illustration of all this business with coloration as the distinguishing element between Laban’s and Jacob’s flocks. Based from this illustration, Yahweh tells Jacob that he is aware of how Laban has been cheating Jacob, or at least trying trying to. Then Yahweh gives Jacob some context about Yahweh himself; he is the God of Bethel, that is, the God of the stairway dream, who reiterated to Jacob his promise to Abraham of many descendants and possession of Palestine. Then Yahweh tells Jacob to return home.

Okay, then. Let’s talk first about continuity. From what I know and that’s not a lot, there’s not much evidence for monotheism prior to Moses (and not strictly even then). But Genesis, while acknowledging that other gods are being worshipped shows a single God, Yahweh–if not known as such at this time–working in the lives of each of the patriarchs, reiterating promises, keeping the family generally in Palestine (for all of what will be four generations, admittedly). That his work has continuity through generations is reassuring in my own life, knowing that his work in me will not fail, regardless of time.

A second theme touched on here is the return to the promised land. It’s never something fun that causes members of Israel or its patriarchs to leave Palestine. Indeed, it’s always something that looks like the opposite of promise. And yet Yahweh’s faithfulness as he brings them back is evident, even in the life of Jesus (Matthew 2:13-23). So, then, as Jacob is now telling his wives, Yahweh has told him that it’s time to return.