El Shaddai

Genesis 35

Genesis 35 LSB

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 cleanse 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. Then they journeyed on, and there was a terror from God 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. And 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. Then Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; it was named Allon-bacuth. Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called his name Israel. God also said to him, “I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and an assembly of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from your loins. “And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your seed after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel. Then they journeyed from Bethel; and there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and Rachel gave birth, and she suffered severely in her labor. Now it happened that when she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.” Now it happened as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. Now it happened while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. And there were twelve sons of Jacob— the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant-woman: Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant-woman: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. And Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Be Thou My Vision

Jacob is being called to return to the promise land

Jacob is commanded to build an altar, the first time a command from God was given to build an altar

Jacob takes it a step further by ordering his household to remove the false gods, purify and clean themselves, and change their garments

Thy Word

The Bible is the Revelation of El Shaddai’s Plan

The Bible is the Reminder of El Shaddai’s Faithfulness

The Bible is the Rapier of El Shaddai’s Weaponry

Lord Prepare Me

Jacob is being prepared to enter into the promise land by one difficulty after another

So too are we being prepared for heaven through one difficulty after another

The greatest preparation is the realization that actions and decisions have consequences