January 14, 2025 • 16 mins
Explore the profound transformation of a patriarch in Genesis 35 with us on Mysteries of God's Word. Discover how Jacob's return to Bethel marks a pivotal change in his journey as he purifies his household of foreign gods. This act of devotion sets the stage for his new identity as Israel, as Jacob formally commits to God by building an altar and naming the place El Bethel. We'll unpack the significance of God's protection over Jacob and his family, drawing intriguing parallels to his grandfather Abram's earlier travels. Witness how these ancient stories continue to resonate with themes of faith, commitment, and divine intervention.
Journey further into Genesis 35 as we piece together the intricate tapestry of Jacob's family dynamics and God's unwavering blessings. Delve into the emotional depth of Deborah's death, God's reaffirmation of Jacob's new name, and the heart-wrenching birth of Benjamin alongside Rachel's passing. Reuben's misstep adds complexity to the narrative, reminding us of the interplay between personal actions and consequenses. We'll also reflect on the reunion of Jacob and Esau at their father Isaac's burial. Join us for a captivating discussion that bridges the ancient and the timeless, providing insights into the enduring significance of these biblical tales.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Blessings to you and thank you for joining me for the
Mysteries of God's Word.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter35, where God is bringing Jacob
back to Bethel, beginning inverse 1,.
We read God said to Jacob Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell
(00:21):
there.
Make an altar there to the Godwho appeared to you when you
fled from your brother Esau.
Immediately here in verse 1, wesee God speaking to Jacob.
Verse 2, so Jacob said to hishousehold and to all who were
with him Put away the foreigngods that are among you and
(00:45):
purify yourself and change yourgarments.
Then let us arise and go up toBethel so that I may make there
an altar to God, who answers mein the day of my distress and
has been with me wherever I havegone.
So they gave Jacob all theforeign gods that they had, the
(01:10):
rings that were in their ears,and Jacob hid them under the
terebinth tree that was nearShechem.
Back in Genesis, 28, 20 through22, jacob had promised that if
God would bring him back toBethel, that the Lord would be
his God, and now Jacob desiresto fulfill that promise and be
(01:35):
faithful to the Lord.
Jacob begins to purify hisentire household by removing any
idols of worship, any figurines, amulets or cultic charms,
including earrings that wereobjects of worship.
He then has everyone wash andchange their clothes to
(01:59):
symbolize their change of lifeand their purification from the
old ways.
Jacob takes all of theseobjects of worship and buries
them under a tree as an act ofpublicly abandoning the old way
of having multiple gods anddeclaring that the God of
(02:21):
Abraham and the God of Isaac isalso now the God of Jacob and he
alone is worthy of our praise.
Picking up in verse 5, as theyjourneyed, a terror from God
fell upon the cities that werearound them so that they did not
pursue the sons of Jacob.
(02:42):
So that they did not pursue thesons of Jacob, god
supernaturally placed a fear onall of the nations as Jacob and
his sons passed through them.
If you remember, in chapter 34,levi and Simeon had vengeance
on the city of Shechem and Jacobwas afraid that the cities of
(03:05):
Canaan would gather and attackhim.
But instead the Lord protectsJacob, making these cities
afraid of him, so that thecities of Canaan will not pursue
him.
Verse 6, and Jacob came to Luz,that is, bethel, which is in
the land of Canaan, he and allthe people who were with him and
(03:27):
there he built an altar andcalled the place El Bethel
because there God had revealedhimself to him when he fled from
his brother.
Here, in verses 6 and 7, we seethat Jacob now comes back to
Bethel.
This is the place where Godoriginally promised to always be
(03:49):
with him and to bring him backto this land.
Jacob now builds the altar thatGod had commanded him to do.
He follows in the footsteps ofhis grandfather Abram, steps of
his grandfather Abram.
Jacob formally recommits hisway and worships the Lord
(04:11):
through a burnt offering.
It was just east of here thatAbram first built an altar to
the Lord when he entered thepromised land back in Genesis
12.8.
And Jacob calls this place ElBethel.
El Bethel meaning the God ofthe house of God.
This name is referring to thelocation where Jacob is building
(04:35):
this altar, the place where Godappeared to him when he had
fled from his brother.
And in verse 8, we read andDeborah.
And in verse 8 we read thisnotation that Deborah died.
(04:56):
Here is the only notation ofDeborah other than back in
Genesis 24-59, back when Rebeccawas on her journey to Canaan to
marry Isaac.
At this point Deborah must havebeen quite elderly and there's
(05:17):
no indication that she was sentwith Jacob initially on his
journey to Paddan Aram.
It's possible that Deborah hadbeen sent by Rebekah later to
Paddan Aram to keep her promiseof alerting Jacob when his
brother's wrath had subsided.
However, the mention ofDeborah's death here seems to be
somewhat of a mystery, but itdoes mark the passing of this
(05:41):
older generation.
Verse 9, god appeared to Jacobagain when he came from Paddan
Aram and blessed him.
And God said to him your nameis Jacob.
You shall no longer be calledJacob, but Israel shall be your
(06:01):
name.
So he called his name Israel.
Here, in verses 9 and 10, wesee the second, possibly even
third, manifestation in whichGod physically appears to Jacob
on his journey back from PadonAram.
The first was when God wrestledwith Jacob prior to meeting
(06:24):
Esau in Genesis 32, 26-30.
Genesis 32, 26 through 30.
And then we just read inGenesis 35, 1, that God talked
with Jacob, although we were nottold that God appeared to Jacob
there.
And now we read God againappears to Jacob and he blesses
(06:47):
him.
God tells Jacob Israel againreaffirms that Jacob's name will
now be Israel.
This further confirms that itwas God indeed who wrestled with
(07:09):
Jacob and changed his name nearthe Jebok River.
God says be fruitful andmultiply Again, reaffirming
parts of the Abrahamic covenantwith Israel and encouraging him
to prosper in this land.
In this land, because it'sthrough him and his physical
(07:35):
offspring that God will bringforth a nation and kings to
prepare the way for God'seternal promises of a Messiah,
and through the Messiah, godwill make a way for many nations
to be gathered into Israelthrough faith, many nations to
(07:57):
be gathered into Israel throughfaith Verse 13,.
Then God went up from him in theplace where he had spoken with
him.
What an amazing statement thatGod did this with Abram back in
Genesis 17.22.
Both Abram and Jacob saw Godforeshadow the ascension of
(08:20):
Jesus Christ during the days ofthe patriarchs Verse 14.
And Jacob set up a pillar inthe place where he had spoken
with him, a pillar of stone.
He poured out a drink offeringon it and poured oil on it.
Jacob sets up a second pillarin this place, a second marker,
(08:46):
after seeing the Lord 20 yearslater.
After seeing the Lord 20 yearslater.
This time, however, jacob istransformed in his worship
towards the Lord and he worshipsthe Lord, god alone.
This pillar was very similar tothe last it has rocks and he
pours oil over it, with oneexception this time, a drink
(09:14):
offering is also poured over it.
Later references to drinkofferings suggest that wine was
poured over Verse 15,.
So Jacob called the name of theplace where God had spoken with
him Bethel.
Jacob again confirms the nameof this city as Bethel, just as
he did 20 years ago in Genesis28, 19.
(09:38):
Picking up in verse 16, thenthey journeyed from Bethel and
when they were still somedistance from Ephrath, rachel
went into labor and she had hardlabor.
And when her labor was at itshardest, the midwife said to her
Do not fear, for you haveanother son.
(10:00):
And as her soul was departingfor she was dying, she called
his name Benoah, but his fathercalled him Benjamin.
Name Benoah, but his fathercalled him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and she wasburied on the way to Ephrath,
that is, bethlehem, and Jacobset up a pillar over her tomb.
(10:20):
It is the pillar of Rachel'stomb, which is there to this day
.
Israel journeyed and pitchedhis tent beyond the tower of
Eder.
In these five verses we see thatJacob left Bethel and we're not
told why he left Bethel, but itwould seem that he was headed
(10:42):
towards Hebron, where his father, isaac was.
And on the journey Rachel wentinto labor and this is the first
mention of Rachel beingpregnant with Benjamin.
So it's a little bit of asurprise in the narrative to
find out that she's going intolabor and her labor is hard.
(11:03):
It's so difficult that she'sgoing to die from having this
son and as her soul wasdeparting, she called his name
Benoist.
In the Old Testament the soulis not normally recognized as
something separate from the body, with an existence all its own,
(11:25):
as in Greek thought, but ratherit's what gives life to the
body, the breath of life.
But this phrasing here inGenesis 35, 18, expresses a
change in location of the soul.
It presupposes the continuedexistence of the soul as her
(11:48):
soul is departing.
The name Benoi that Rachelnamed her son means son of my
sorrow and she names him that toreflect the circumstances as
she's suffering.
But Jacob calls him Benjamin,which means son of my right hand
(12:11):
, giving Benjamin a place ofhonor and removing any shame.
Jacob marks Rachel's tomb witha pillar and then continues his
journey beyond the Tower of Eder.
The Tower of Eder is believed tobe a watchtower for shepherds
(12:31):
near Bethlehem, picking up inverse 22, while Israel lived in
that land, reuben went to laywith Bilhah, his father's
concubine, and Israel heard ofit.
Here we learn of Reuben'sactions to lay with his father's
concubine.
(12:51):
Now, this may have initiallybeen an act of lust on Reuben's
part, but it was also an act ofusurping his father's authority.
As the firstborn.
Reuben may have believed he wasproving his manhood or trying
to gain authority over hisbrothers by sleeping with his
(13:14):
father's concubine, but it hadthe opposite effect on his life.
But it had the opposite effecton his life.
While Jacob is slow to angerand doesn't do anything
initially, here, when Jacobblesses his sons near his death,
jacob removes Reuben's right asthe firstborn and while Reuben
(13:36):
was trying to prove himself, hein fact loses his firstborn
rights and his preeminence inthe family.
Now the sons of Jacob weretwelve the sons of Leah, reuben,
jacob's firstborn, simeon, levi, judah, issachar and Zebulun,
(14:20):
the sons of Rachel.
All it's not chronological, it'slisted by the mother.
Second of all, the notationthat these are the sons of Jacob
born in Padon Aram is a generalnotation.
We had just read that Benjaminwas born in the land of Canaan.
Read that Benjamin was born inthe land of Canaan, picking up
(14:46):
in verse 27.
And Jacob came to his father,isaac, at Memre or Kirith Arba,
that is, hebron where Abrahamand Isaac had sojourned.
Now, the days of Isaac were 180years and Isaac breathed his
last and he died and wasgathered to his people, old and
full of days, and his sons, esauand Jacob, buried him.
(15:11):
So here we learn that Jacobcame to Hebron where Isaac was.
Hebron, again, was a townsouth-southwest of Jerusalem,
about 20 miles, and Isaac hadlived a full life of 180 years,
which makes Jacob and Esau 120years old at this time.
(15:36):
Another interesting notation isthat Joseph, isaac's grandson,
was currently in prison in Egyptfor one more year before coming
into the Pharaoh's service whenIsaac died.
And we learn here that at thefuneral and burial of their
(15:56):
father, isaac, both Esau andJacob came back together to bury
him.
And in Genesis 49, 29 through33, we learn that Isaac was
buried in that cave of Mephilaalong with Abraham, sarah and
Rebekah.
Thank you for joining me andGod bless you this week.
Blessings to you and thank you for joining me for the
Mysteries of God's Word.
Today we're in Genesis, chapter35, where God is bringing Jacob
back to Bethel, beginning inverse 1,.
We read God said to Jacob Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell
(00:21):
there.
Make an altar there to the Godwho appeared to you when you
fled from your brother Esau.
Immediately here in verse 1, wesee God speaking to Jacob.
Verse 2, so Jacob said to hishousehold and to all who were
with him Put away the foreigngods that are among you and
(00:45):
purify yourself and change yourgarments.
Then let us arise and go up toBethel so that I may make there
an altar to God, who answers mein the day of my distress and
has been with me wherever I havegone.
So they gave Jacob all theforeign gods that they had, the
(01:10):
rings that were in their ears,and Jacob hid them under the
terebinth tree that was nearShechem.
Back in Genesis, 28, 20 through22, jacob had promised that if
God would bring him back toBethel, that the Lord would be
his God, and now Jacob desiresto fulfill that promise and be
(01:35):
faithful to the Lord.
Jacob begins to purify hisentire household by removing any
idols of worship, any figurines, amulets or cultic charms,
including earrings that wereobjects of worship.
He then has everyone wash andchange their clothes to
(01:59):
symbolize their change of lifeand their purification from the
old ways.
Jacob takes all of theseobjects of worship and buries
them under a tree as an act ofpublicly abandoning the old way
of having multiple gods anddeclaring that the God of
(02:21):
Abraham and the God of Isaac isalso now the God of Jacob and he
alone is worthy of our praise.
Picking up in verse 5, as theyjourneyed, a terror from God
fell upon the cities that werearound them so that they did not
pursue the sons of Jacob.
(02:42):
So that they did not pursue thesons of Jacob, god
supernaturally placed a fear onall of the nations as Jacob and
his sons passed through them.
If you remember, in chapter 34,levi and Simeon had vengeance
on the city of Shechem and Jacobwas afraid that the cities of
(03:05):
Canaan would gather and attackhim.
But instead the Lord protectsJacob, making these cities
afraid of him, so that thecities of Canaan will not pursue
him.
Verse 6, and Jacob came to Luz,that is, bethel, which is in
the land of Canaan, he and allthe people who were with him and
(03:27):
there he built an altar andcalled the place El Bethel
because there God had revealedhimself to him when he fled from
his brother.
Here, in verses 6 and 7, we seethat Jacob now comes back to
Bethel.
This is the place where Godoriginally promised to always be
(03:49):
with him and to bring him backto this land.
Jacob now builds the altar thatGod had commanded him to do.
He follows in the footsteps ofhis grandfather Abram, steps of
his grandfather Abram.
Jacob formally recommits hisway and worships the Lord
(04:11):
through a burnt offering.
It was just east of here thatAbram first built an altar to
the Lord when he entered thepromised land back in Genesis
12.8.
And Jacob calls this place ElBethel.
El Bethel meaning the God ofthe house of God.
This name is referring to thelocation where Jacob is building
(04:35):
this altar, the place where Godappeared to him when he had
fled from his brother.
And in verse 8, we read andDeborah.
And in verse 8 we read thisnotation that Deborah died.
(04:56):
Here is the only notation ofDeborah other than back in
Genesis 24-59, back when Rebeccawas on her journey to Canaan to
marry Isaac.
At this point Deborah must havebeen quite elderly and there's
(05:17):
no indication that she was sentwith Jacob initially on his
journey to Paddan Aram.
It's possible that Deborah hadbeen sent by Rebekah later to
Paddan Aram to keep her promiseof alerting Jacob when his
brother's wrath had subsided.
However, the mention ofDeborah's death here seems to be
somewhat of a mystery, but itdoes mark the passing of this
(05:41):
older generation.
Verse 9, god appeared to Jacobagain when he came from Paddan
Aram and blessed him.
And God said to him your nameis Jacob.
You shall no longer be calledJacob, but Israel shall be your
(06:01):
name.
So he called his name Israel.
Here, in verses 9 and 10, wesee the second, possibly even
third, manifestation in whichGod physically appears to Jacob
on his journey back from PadonAram.
The first was when God wrestledwith Jacob prior to meeting
(06:24):
Esau in Genesis 32, 26-30.
Genesis 32, 26 through 30.
And then we just read inGenesis 35, 1, that God talked
with Jacob, although we were nottold that God appeared to Jacob
there.
And now we read God againappears to Jacob and he blesses
(06:47):
him.
God tells Jacob Israel againreaffirms that Jacob's name will
now be Israel.
This further confirms that itwas God indeed who wrestled with
(07:09):
Jacob and changed his name nearthe Jebok River.
God says be fruitful andmultiply Again, reaffirming
parts of the Abrahamic covenantwith Israel and encouraging him
to prosper in this land.
In this land, because it'sthrough him and his physical
(07:35):
offspring that God will bringforth a nation and kings to
prepare the way for God'seternal promises of a Messiah,
and through the Messiah, godwill make a way for many nations
to be gathered into Israelthrough faith, many nations to
(07:57):
be gathered into Israel throughfaith Verse 13,.
Then God went up from him in theplace where he had spoken with
him.
What an amazing statement thatGod did this with Abram back in
Genesis 17.22.
Both Abram and Jacob saw Godforeshadow the ascension of
(08:20):
Jesus Christ during the days ofthe patriarchs Verse 14.
And Jacob set up a pillar inthe place where he had spoken
with him, a pillar of stone.
He poured out a drink offeringon it and poured oil on it.
Jacob sets up a second pillarin this place, a second marker,
(08:46):
after seeing the Lord 20 yearslater.
After seeing the Lord 20 yearslater.
This time, however, jacob istransformed in his worship
towards the Lord and he worshipsthe Lord, god alone.
This pillar was very similar tothe last it has rocks and he
pours oil over it, with oneexception this time, a drink
(09:14):
offering is also poured over it.
Later references to drinkofferings suggest that wine was
poured over Verse 15,.
So Jacob called the name of theplace where God had spoken with
him Bethel.
Jacob again confirms the nameof this city as Bethel, just as
he did 20 years ago in Genesis28, 19.
(09:38):
Picking up in verse 16, thenthey journeyed from Bethel and
when they were still somedistance from Ephrath, rachel
went into labor and she had hardlabor.
And when her labor was at itshardest, the midwife said to her
Do not fear, for you haveanother son.
(10:00):
And as her soul was departingfor she was dying, she called
his name Benoah, but his fathercalled him Benjamin.
Name Benoah, but his fathercalled him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and she wasburied on the way to Ephrath,
that is, bethlehem, and Jacobset up a pillar over her tomb.
(10:20):
It is the pillar of Rachel'stomb, which is there to this day
.
Israel journeyed and pitchedhis tent beyond the tower of
Eder.
In these five verses we see thatJacob left Bethel and we're not
told why he left Bethel, but itwould seem that he was headed
(10:42):
towards Hebron, where his father, isaac was.
And on the journey Rachel wentinto labor and this is the first
mention of Rachel beingpregnant with Benjamin.
So it's a little bit of asurprise in the narrative to
find out that she's going intolabor and her labor is hard.
(11:03):
It's so difficult that she'sgoing to die from having this
son and as her soul wasdeparting, she called his name
Benoist.
In the Old Testament the soulis not normally recognized as
something separate from the body, with an existence all its own,
(11:25):
as in Greek thought, but ratherit's what gives life to the
body, the breath of life.
But this phrasing here inGenesis 35, 18, expresses a
change in location of the soul.
It presupposes the continuedexistence of the soul as her
(11:48):
soul is departing.
The name Benoi that Rachelnamed her son means son of my
sorrow and she names him that toreflect the circumstances as
she's suffering.
But Jacob calls him Benjamin,which means son of my right hand
(12:11):
, giving Benjamin a place ofhonor and removing any shame.
Jacob marks Rachel's tomb witha pillar and then continues his
journey beyond the Tower of Eder.
The Tower of Eder is believed tobe a watchtower for shepherds
(12:31):
near Bethlehem, picking up inverse 22, while Israel lived in
that land, reuben went to laywith Bilhah, his father's
concubine, and Israel heard ofit.
Here we learn of Reuben'sactions to lay with his father's
concubine.
(12:51):
Now, this may have initiallybeen an act of lust on Reuben's
part, but it was also an act ofusurping his father's authority.
As the firstborn.
Reuben may have believed he wasproving his manhood or trying
to gain authority over hisbrothers by sleeping with his
(13:14):
father's concubine, but it hadthe opposite effect on his life.
But it had the opposite effecton his life.
While Jacob is slow to angerand doesn't do anything
initially, here, when Jacobblesses his sons near his death,
jacob removes Reuben's right asthe firstborn and while Reuben
(13:36):
was trying to prove himself, hein fact loses his firstborn
rights and his preeminence inthe family.
Now the sons of Jacob weretwelve the sons of Leah, reuben,
jacob's firstborn, simeon, levi, judah, issachar and Zebulun,
(14:20):
the sons of Rachel.
All it's not chronological, it'slisted by the mother.
Second of all, the notationthat these are the sons of Jacob
born in Padon Aram is a generalnotation.
We had just read that Benjaminwas born in the land of Canaan.
Read that Benjamin was born inthe land of Canaan, picking up
(14:46):
in verse 27.
And Jacob came to his father,isaac, at Memre or Kirith Arba,
that is, hebron where Abrahamand Isaac had sojourned.
Now, the days of Isaac were 180years and Isaac breathed his
last and he died and wasgathered to his people, old and
full of days, and his sons, esauand Jacob, buried him.
(15:11):
So here we learn that Jacobcame to Hebron where Isaac was.
Hebron, again, was a townsouth-southwest of Jerusalem,
about 20 miles, and Isaac hadlived a full life of 180 years,
which makes Jacob and Esau 120years old at this time.
(15:36):
Another interesting notation isthat Joseph, isaac's grandson,
was currently in prison in Egyptfor one more year before coming
into the Pharaoh's service whenIsaac died.
And we learn here that at thefuneral and burial of their
(15:56):
father, isaac, both Esau andJacob came back together to bury
him.
And in Genesis 49, 29 through33, we learn that Isaac was
buried in that cave of Mephilaalong with Abraham, sarah and
Rebekah.
Thank you for joining me andGod bless you this week.
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