Back to Bethel
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We have been Studying “Life is a Journey of Faith”.
We have looked at the lives of the great Patriarchs of Israel.
Abraham, who was called to leave his country and family and Follow God.
Issac, who was the son of Promise to a man that was 100 years old and a mother of 90 that was barren.
Jacob, the trickster, man of guile, that seemed to do things his way rather than trusting or having faith in God.
We saw in the life of Jacob, that at Bethel, after deceiving His brother our of his birthright, lying to his father, and sealing it with a kiss, fleeing for his life has an encounter with God.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
It was here at Bethel that Jacob became a son of God.
It was here at Bethel that Jacob died to his sins.
It was here at Bethel that Jacob left with a spring in his step.
However, after 20 years of living in Abraham’s former country with Abraham’s former family working for wives and wealth that Jacob finally left heading back to his family.
He found himself alone with God at Jabbok.
At Jabbok, Jacob sees the Lord God face to face.
At Jabbok, Jacob becomes a Saint of God.
At Jabbok, Jacob dies to Self.
At Jabbok, Jacob leaves limping but with a forever changed heart.
Jacob names this place, Peniel, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
Everyone needs a Bethel, a place where they have a personal encounter with God and give their life to Jesus.
Even though his grandfather Abraham knew God and Isaac knew God, Jacob had to have his own encounter with God.
Everyone needs a Peniel, a place where they see God face to face.
However, there was one more thing that Jacob was lacking.
Back at Bethel, when Jacob was running for his life and became a son of God, Jacob made a promise to God.
19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
In chapter 33 we find everything working out with Esau, Jacob’s brother.
17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20 And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
Jacob seemed to have forgot something. He didn’t return to Bethel but rather came to Shalem, in the land of Canaan, and pitched his tent before the city. He bought a parcel of a field, and erected an altar.
In Genesis 34, Jacob’s daughter gets raped by Shechem, a local Canaanite prince.
Simeon and Levi walk into camp after having them circumcised in order for Shechem and Dinah to get married and kills the men.
Jacob is upset because his sons have rocked the relationship among the Canaanites, fearing they might take revenge.
Remember, Abraham was a nomad within the land, He had to learn faith. Isaac had to learn faith, Jacob needed to learn faith. But instead of trusting God and following through with his vow. Jacob has nailed down roots near a Pagan city. He is comfortable with all that he has.
He has just failed one thing, He has forgotten his promise to God when God blessed him with salvation.
Jacob may have forgotten his promise and commitment to God, but God never forgets.
Solomon warned us in
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
We need a Bethel, we need a Jabbok that becomes a Penuel, but, we also need to keep our promises and commitment to God.
If we don’t do what we promised, God will remind us how he has blessed us.
Today’s message, “Back to Bethel” reminds us that even though we are a son of God and even though we have encountered God face to face and become a saint of God, we can still backslide and move away from the presence of God. However, notice that God NEVER moves away from us or LEAVES us.
Salvation and Surrender does not guarantee Sanctification on earth until you get to heaven.
The only way to assure Sanctification on earth is as you go through this Journey of Life of faith, that you abide in Jesus Christ.
A Journey is always moving. You are either going forward, or you are going backward. You are not journeying by standing still.
Jacob had become still, which causes Jacob to move backwards away from God. Jacob needed to come back to God.
My prayer this morning is that if you are listening to this message this morning that you will realize where you are with God.
You are either moving forward or you are moving backward. My prayer is that you return to God by remembering your destination of your journey.
So, we come to our text.
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
All this terrible stuff has happened to Jacob’s family and he doesn’t even realize he has left God and has not come to his destination.
But notice, God has not forgotten Jacob or Jacob’s destination.
A Call from the Lord:
A Call from the Lord:
“Arise, go up to Bethel”. Remember, up, toward God, down is away from God.
Bethel means “The House of God.”
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
Wow! What do you think Jacob was thinking when he heard the name Bethel, “The house of God.”
This call included 3 things:
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
RETURN - “Go up to Bethel.”
RETURN - “Go up to Bethel.”
Over 20 years has passed since Jacob was at Bethel.
We are not sure how long it was after Penuel, but long enough for him to set up a homestead.
Long enough for him to get involved with the Canaanites, a people of idolatry.
7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
Not only does God want you to return to Him, but He also want you to
REPENT - “Dwell there” in Bethel.
REPENT - “Dwell there” in Bethel.
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Quit dwelling where he wants and dwell where God wants you.
Owning property and putting down roots is a battle I face everyday.
So, God wants us to Return, Repent, and thirdly,
REBUILD - “make there, in Bethel, an altar unto God.”
REBUILD - “make there, in Bethel, an altar unto God.”
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
Remember what God told the church at Ephesus when they got away from the love and relationship of God.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
So, we see a Call from the Lord,
Next we see a
A Consecration to the Lord:
A Consecration to the Lord:
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
When Returning, repenting, and rebuilding a relationship with God, the first thing that must happen is
A Separation from the World.
A Separation from the World.
How do we Separate from the World.
A Choice is Made - Get Rid of Idols
A Choice is Made - Get Rid of Idols
Remember, Rachel had stolen her father’s gods.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
The Canaanites were an idolatrous people.
The Old Testament is very clear about this.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
The New Testament is very clear.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Remember, an idol is anything that comes between you and God. This was clarified earlier in 1 John
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
A Cleansing Takes Place - Be Clean
A Cleansing Takes Place - Be Clean
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
Be Clean:
Before you can return to the House of God a choice has to be made to do it His way. Nothing can come before Him.
When this is done, A Cleansing has to take place.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confession takes place first, then cleansing.
We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
You can not come back to God unless you first make a choice to return and be cleansed and that happens through confession and correction of sins.
When coming back to God, you have to Be clean.
Have you made a choice to return to God?
Have you been Cleansed by confession?
Well, Jacob tells his family one more thing.
The third step to Consecration to the Lord is
A Change your Garments -
A Change your Garments -
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
This is when sanctification happens and consecration takes place.
There should now be a new you.
Clean garments are symbolic of separation. You are to look different. You are to act different. You are different.
We are to dress ourselves in the holiness of the Lord.
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Changing your garments is also symbolic of habits. Change your clothes, change your habits.
After we have separated from the world, then we must have
A Sanctification unto God
A Sanctification unto God
3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
Notice, 2 things were given up:
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
“All the strange god” - Idolatry.
“All the earrings” - symbols of worldliness and habits.
After they gave Jacob there stuff, He buried it all under an oak.
Not so they could return to get it but so they would be gone forever.
Repent means to turn and never return!
5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
Because they are Consecrated and Sanctified, God was with them and notice something.
These pagans didn’t fear Jacob, but they feared the God of Jacob and therefore didn’t pursue the man of God, Jacob.
But lastly, notice
The Celebration of the Lord.
The Celebration of the Lord.
6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him.
7 And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
Remember, Luz means “separation”. Bethel means “the house of God”.
But Jacob builds an alter and adds and El to the already named Bethel.
El is the name of God that means mighty God or the Almighty.
Because of the change of heart, He basically says this “the mighty God of the house of God.”
Why did Jacob change the name from Bethel to El-Bethel?
Here is what I think based on the context of the scripture.
I think that pure worship of God had been replaced by ritual and religion noted by earrings for ritual and idols for religion.
You know what I am talking about.
You had an encounter with God, you met Him at Bethel. Then you see God, face to face at Penuel and survive.
However, you now come to church and you sing hymns, you meet with friends, you hold your Bible, you just go through the motion, the ritual of coming to church, but you never know “the mighty God of the house of God.”
Worship of God must be done
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The altar is very significant.
The altar is at a specific place and served a specific purpose.
It was a place not to sit and ponder but a place of service and commitment.
It represented complete obedience to God.
It is a place of obligation for what Christ did for us and a debt of gratitude for all the Lord’s blessings on our life.
And lastly, it is a place of Sacrifice. God is not looking at this altar for blood and death, but death to self and dedication to him.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Do you need to come back to Bethel?
You need this altar. God wants you at this altar.
