Buried under the Oak
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Genesis 35:2-15
Genesis 35:2-15
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Last time we focused on Sanctification.
We talked about Jacob and why he is still called Jacob even though God changed his name.
We talked about our willingness to allow God to work in our lives.
To Sanctify us.
This is a process.
The process of sanctification comes through our willingness to be sanctified.
Genesis 35:1 God is continuing to direct Jacob.
He tells Jacob to go to Bethel.
God continues to speak into Jacob’s life.
We talked a bit about this last time as well.
Click #1 and #2
1. Jacob is not too different than us.
2. Often we need reminders to respond to God.
Just thinking of my own testimony.
When I began hearing the Lord drawing me into the ministry, I initially ignore Him.
Often we need multiple reminder or correction before we begin to respond in keeping with His will.
But to His glory.
He never gives up.
Jacob responds to this direction in verses 2.
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
In this instance Jacob chose to respond to God.
He took action to get his house in order.
Jacob instructs those who were going to travel with him to Bethel to get rid of the foreign gods.
There may have been a number of hired hands traveling with Jacob
Some would have come with him when he left Laban.
Others may have joined while traveling or when they settled in Shechem.
Many of the hired workers would have been from various pagan backgrounds.
Jacob is making a decree to be rid of the foreign gods
Many commentators allude to the fact that Jacob was not being a good steward over his house up until this point.
What I mean by steward of his house is those who were under his authority.
Jacob wasn’t watching over what was allowed to enter in.
Because of this, many pagan gods were allowed to be worshipped.
Influences that were not honoring to God were allowed to direct some who were under Jacob’s authority.
Jacob is finally taking a stand for God.
Something he should have done from the beginning.
He should have been a been a steward of the blessings the Lord had poured out upon him.
Doing his due diligence to keep these blessing from corruption.
Application: Exodus 20:3-5
“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
A very plain reading of he verses warn us to not make false images and worship them.
Don’t worship graven images and claim that they are like God.
The Golden calf at the foot of Mt. Sinai comes to mind.
The Israelites formed a idol of gold and they claimed it was their God.
3. Exodus 20:3- You shall have no Gods before me.
Don’t claim a different false god in the place of Almighty God.
Another way we can interpret this verse, Don’t worship another God and claim that it authority.
Jacob is aligning his house under the authority of God.
He is declaring that there will be no other Gods
Application for us is the same.
Click #4 and #5
4. Be aware of what we allow into our homes.
5. Be aware of what we allow into our minds.
Be stewards of the blessings of God.
Reject false influences.
Reject things that attempt to take our eyes off of God.
Back to Genesis 35
In verse 2, Jacob also instructs his house to change their garments.
Symbolizing the changing of position.
No longer identified as the old self, we are coming in line with our true image under the authority of God.
This verse is not really about putting on a new outfit.
It is about being conscious of how you appear.
Click #6 and #7
6. Adorn yourself with things that glorify God.
7. Be aware of how you present yourself.
This can have a bit to do with what we wear.
But ultimately it has to do with our character.
Be aware of the person that you are called to be.
And proclaim it so that others can see the glory of God revealed in your life.
Not only does our attitude serve as a testimony, having an attitude of submission to God can be an encouragement.
It can help us to have the correct perspective.
So this is really what the verse is helping us to recognize.
When we walk in the authority of God,
The old self must perish.
We must put on the new self or the true self as identified as a child of God.
Look at verses 3-7
Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
The people gave up all of the foreign gods.
Jacob buried them.
Where did he bury them?
Jacob buried them in the place they were leaving.
He buried the things that were a distraction at the place God was taking them away from.
There are times when we are called out and we need to leave things behind.
Click #8
8. There are times when God delivers us from something, and we need to leave it behind.
This cannot go with us as we continue to walk toward God.
We all have examples of things that we left behind as we walk in faith.
We all can name things that we needed to allow God to bury in our past so that we can walk toward the future.
Let go of things in order to move toward God.
It is fitting how Jacob got rid of the things.
He buried them.
The idols represented dead things that have no life.
They were anchors keeping the people stuck.
The fact that Jacob buried the idols symbolized what they had the power to do.
They had the power to keep other stuck in the past.
Stuck in the things that God delivered you from.
Additionally, as they did this the terror
In the Hebrew the word is חִתָּה (ḥit·tā(h)): n.fem.; ≡ Str 2847; TWOT 784d—LN 25.251–25.269 terror, fear, i.e., an alarm that immobilizes one to action (Ge 35:5+)
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
This word means to cause someone to be immobilized.
Not able to react.
How is this going for the church in our day?
There was a time when the church held a position of authority in our country.
For better or worse.
But at the very least, governments respected to a degree the position of the church.
At the very least the culture conducted themselves in a way that recognized moral responsibilities founded in Scripture.
9. We as the church, need to walk in boldness.
10. Not conforming to the culture around us.
After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.
God reminding Jacob of who he is.
God is saying, “Don’t you remember?”
Don’t you remember that you have been delivered?
You have been set free?
Jacob neglected to walk in this manner.
God is correcting.
God is reminding Jacob of who he truly is meant to be.
Like us.
Click #11 and #12
11. It sometimes takes time to be able to see ourselves as a child of God
12. We think there is so much grime on us.
We are too focused on the self perceived grime.
Think of men at Mission.
They do not feel worthy to be called loved.
We all can feel the same way.
We have a struggle in our past that haunts us.
Rather than allowing God to bury that struggle, we continue to dig it up.
13. The devil is going to wave it in our face and say that you are not worthy of being called a child of God.
14. Let God bury these things.
As they are buried, ask God to help us keep them buried under the oak.
Benediction: Zephaniah 3:15-17
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.