I.
Jacob cleanses
his house of “strange gods”
a.
Genesis
35:1 – And God said unto
Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel
1.
Where is Jacob?
He has not yet left Shechem
2.
God said – in a
dream? A vision? And audible voice?
§
God - אלהים 'elohiym
§
First of three communications with God in this chapter
3.
God gives Jacob four
commands:
§
Arise
§
Go to Bethel
a.
Bethel
b.
South country of Judah
§
Dwell there
§
Make there an
altar unto God
4.
God - אל 'el
- god, god-like one, mighty one
5.
Reminds Jacob
that this is where He had appeared to him when he fled Esau (and tactfully
reminding him that Jacob made a vow there)
§
Genesis
28:20-22 – 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, So that I come again to my father's house in peace;
then shall the LORD be my God:
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.
a.
God will remind
those He will remind of their obligations
b.
Ecclesiastes
5:4-5 - 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. Better [is it] that thou shouldest not
vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
b.
Genesis
35:2 – 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:
1.
Household –
family, 4 wives, 11 sons and at least 1 daughter
2.
Jacob, in his
role as Master of the Household, prepares his household to enter into the Holy
ground.
§
Isaiah
1:16-17 – Wash you, make you
clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
§
Joshua
24:15 – And if it seem evil
unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the
gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
3.
All that were
with him – Servants and those captured from Shechem
4.
Where did the
strange gods come from?
§
The spoils from the
Hivites in Shechem
§
Rachel
a.
Genesis
31:19 - And Laban went to
shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that [were] her father's.
b.
Genesis
31:34 - 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.
§
God is patient,
note that God did not command Jacob to instruct his household in this manner,
Jacob initiated the purging.
5.
Jacob gives three
commands:
§
Put away strange
gods
§
Be clean
§
Change your
garments
c.
Genesis
35:3 – And let us arise, and
go up to Bethel
1.
“Answered me in
the day of my distress” – Jacob is remembering the last time that he was
distressed over fleeing from his brother Esau.
Now he is returning under another distress in that he is troubled
because of what Simeon and Levi had done in Shechem.
2.
God is perhaps
calling Jacob/Israel to return to this place as a reminder that He will not
leave him and that He will honor His covenant with Jacob.
d.
Genesis
35:4 – 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.
1.
“Strange gods”
§
Strange – נכר nekar,
foreign, alien, foreignness, that which is foreign
§
gods - אלהים 'elohiym
2.
Jacob hid these items under the oak by Shechem which indicates that he
did this before they ever left
e.
Genesis
35:5 – 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.
1.
Why was the
terror of God upon the cities? Well,
only two men from Israel Shechem
2.
God struck fear
into the Canaanite tribes
3.
Note that while
the false gods remained in Jacob’s house, fear paralyzed him, but after the
purging the Canaanites are struck by the terror of God.
§
When we walk in obedience
to God, there is nothing to fear.
§
God fights for
his people while we are unaware
§
Romans 8:31 – What
shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?
II.
Journey to Bethel
a.
Genesis
35:6 – So Jacob came to Luz,
which [is] in the land of Canaan Bethel
1.
All the people
included the women and children from Shechem
2.
Luz - לוז Luwz,
"almond tree"
b.
Genesis
35:7 – And he built there an
altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when
he fled from the face of his brother.
1.
Elbethel - אל
בית–אל 'El Beyth-'El, "The God of the House of God"
§
Genesis
31:13 - I [am] the God of
Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto
me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy
kindred.
a.
When God spoke to
Jacob
§
The God of Bethel
§
This is how God identified Himself when the “Angel of God” appeared to
him in a dream while serving Laban
2.
Wasn’t there
already an altar here?
§
Genesis
28:18 - And Jacob rose up
early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and
set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
§
Possible that he
fulfilled his vow of offering a tenth part of all that the Lord has given
him.
c.
Genesis
35:8 – But Deborah Rebekah's
nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel
1.
Deborah likely
joined Jacobs caravan after Rebekah’s death
§
No mention of the
timing of Rebekah’s death
§
Likely Deborah
came to Shechem to help Jacob’s wives after Rebekah died.
2.
Allonbachuth - אלון
בכות 'Allown Bakuwth, "oak of weeping"
3.
First of three
people to die in this chapter
4.
Deborah - דבורה Dĕbowrah,
"bee"
§
A good name for a
servant as a bee is known for being busy and working hard, this may have been a
charachteristic of Deborah and the reason she was held in such high regard
§
Since there is a
special to call out the fact that she was buried under the “oak of weeping” it
appears as though her death was greatly mourned by Jacob’s household.
III.
God appears to
Jacob at Padanaram
a.
Genesis
35:9 – And God appeared unto
Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
1.
God appeared –
how dis He do this?
§
Exodus
33:20 - And he said, Thou
canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
a.
If this is what
God spoke to Moses, then in what form did He appear to Jacob?
b.
In order for God
to meet with us He must veil the face of His glory, for it is too intense for
our flesh eyes to behold.
c.
There is a
difference in that Genesis 35:9 God is אלהים 'elohiym, whereas
in Exodus 33:20 the passage refers to יהוה Yĕhovah
i. Is there a difference in characteristics between the two roles?
ii. How can God appear to Jacob if no man can see God’s
face and live?
§
God - אלהים 'elohiym
2.
Padanaram - פדן Paddan,
"field"
b.
Genesis
35:10 – And God said unto
him, Thy name [is] Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel Israel
1.
Genesis
32:28 - And he said, Thy name
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel
2.
Israel
3.
God had already
changed his name to Israel
4.
Why separate
encounters to change name?
c.
Genesis
35:11 – And God said unto
him, I [am] God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of
nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
1.
God identifies
Himself – I am God Almighty
§
God – אל 'el
§
Almighty - שדי
Shadday, almighty, most powerful
2.
God commands – be
fruitful and multiply, not a command for him, but for his sons as Benjamin will
be Israel
3.
God informs –
nations and kings shall be your descendents
§
A nation AND a
company of nations – What does this refer to
a.
Judah &
Benjamin à nation Southern
kingdom (2 tribes Judah and Benjamin)
b.
Israel Northern
kingdom (the remaining 10
tribes)
d.
Genesis
35:12 – And the land which I
gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will
I give the land.
1.
Re-establishing
the covenant He made with Abraham with Jacob/Israel
2.
Why is God doing
this? Confirming His end of the deal
e.
Genesis
35:13 – And God went up from
him in the place where he talked with him.
1.
Went up - עלה
`alah
f.
Genesis
35:14 – And Jacob set up a
pillar in the place where he talked with him, [even] a pillar of stone: and he
poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
1.
Why Jacob? His
name was to be called Israel
2.
Is the name Israel
g.
Genesis
35:15 – And Jacob called the
name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel
1.
Bethel
IV.
Benjamin born,
Rachel dies
a.
Genesis
35:16 – And they journeyed
from Bethel
1.
Ephrath - אפרת
'Ephraath, "ash-heap: place of fruitfulness", another name for Bethlehem
b.
Genesis
35:17 – And it came to pass,
when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou
shalt have this son also.
1.
Midwife - ילד
yalad, verb, to bear, bring forth,
beget, gender, travail
§
Its used as a
noun in English in this context, but it’s a verb in Hebrew
2.
“Fear not; thou
shalt have this son also” – seems like a strange thing to say to a woman in
hard labor, was there a reason for this?
§
Genesis 30:24
- And she called his name
Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
§
This midwife may
have been the midwife when Rachel bore Jospeh (possibly Bihah?) who heard
Rachel make this statement at her birth and by telling Rachel that this was a son
it would comfort Rachel in her distress.
c.
Genesis
35:18 – And it came to pass,
as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni:
but his father called him Benjamin.
1.
Rachel - רחל
Rachel, "ewe lamb or any sheep"
2.
Benoni - בן–אוני
Ben-'Owniy, "son of my sorrow"
3.
Benjamin - בנימין
Binyamiyn, "son of the right hand"
§
Why is this
mentioned? Benjamin elevated from son of sorrow to son of the right hand. Another shadow picture of the coming Messiah perhaps?
a.
Isaiah
53:3-7 - He is despised and
rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions,
[he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
b.
Hebrews 1:13 - But
to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit
on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
i. Psalm 8:5 - For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast
crowned him with glory and honour.
ii. Romans 8:16-17 - The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,
that we are the children of God: And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.
§
We can see any
assortment of “typology” here where Rachel as a “ewe lamb” can represent the
sacrifice Christ made on the cross to bring forth the atonement. Son of
my sorrow can represent both Christ Himself as a man of sorrow as well as
the body of believers who mourned His death.
Son of my right hand can
represent both Christ Himself at the right hand of the father as well as His
Body the church.
§
Matthew
2:18 - In Rama was there a
voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for]
her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
a.
Rama - Ῥαμά Rhama,
"a hill", a town of the tribe of Benjamin, situated about 5 miles
(8 km) north of Jerusalem Bethel
b.
Is there a
connection? Possibly, but Rama and Ephrath are not the same place as Ramah is
North of Jerusalem and Ephrath is South.
4.
Was Rachel’s
death a consequence of Jacob’s proclamation against the thief of Laban’s gods?
§
Genesis
31:32 - With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live:
before our brethren discern thou what [is] thine with me, and take [it] to
thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
d.
Genesis
35:19 – And Rachel died, and
was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem
1.
Rachel not buried
in the family plot with Abraham, Sarah, and Rebekah (Leah is later buried
there)
e.
Genesis
35:20 – And Jacob set a
pillar upon her grave: that [is] the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
1.
Two pillars
erected in this chapter one for the blessings of God and one for the sorrow of
his loss
2.
1 Samuel
10:2a - When thou art
departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in
the border of Benjamin at Zelzah…
§
We can see that
this location fell into the eventual territory of the tribe of Benjamin.
