Genesis 59
LET’S GO UP TO BETHEL
(Genesis 35:1-8)
Introduction:
Jacob experienced failure in Shechem. Something tragic happened. Jacob's daughter Dinah was seriously injured, and Jacob's sons used the sign of
the covenant to commit merciless murder and plunder in order to seek revenge. How terrible is this? What was Jacob doing while all this was happening?
He was silent. Failed to take appropriate action. He fails to do his job properly and experiences great failure. He prioritized his own safety, and he is still
afraid that enemies around him will attack him as well. His authority as the head of the family plummeted, and as a father he became a failure.
What happened in Shechem caused Jacob to fall.
Jacob was faced with a dangerous situation. A grate problem occurred in his family beginning with the incident with Dinah and the murders.
1. The fastest way to solve man’s problem
1) Psalms 121:1-8
v. 1. I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?
v. 2. My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
2) Isaiah 40:30-31
v. 31. but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk
and not be faint.
3) Jeremiah 33:1-9
v. 3. 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'
4) Gen. 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your
brother Esau."
2. The background and meaning of going up to Bethel
1) The meaning of Bethel
2) Gen. 28:10-22
What Jacob experienced: ladders, angels, the LORD’s promise, pillars, vow
3) Restoration of grace and worship
3. The attitude of Jacob who went up to Bethel
1) The attitude when hearing God’s voice (Gen. 35:1)
2) Get rid of the foreign gods (Gen. 35:2)
v. 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.
3) Purify yourselves (Gen. 35:2)
4) Change your clothes (Gen. 35:2)
5) Opened his eyes to the covenant
6) Carried out the reformation (Gen. 35:2)
7) The purpose of going up to Bethel (Gen. 35:3)
v. 3. 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."
8) Complete reformation, complete devotion (Gen. 35:4)
v. 4. 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.
4. Results
1) No pursuers (obstructors) (Gen. 35:5)
v. 5. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
2) All his family and the people with him got to Bethel (Gen. 35:6)
v. 6. Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
3) Built an altar (Gen. 35:7)
v. 7. 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.
Conclusion: Go up to Bethel and worship God.
No matter what difficulties or problems there are, worship is what we must do first. Then the God of Bethel, the God who has guided and protected us
until now, will be with us. Almighty God will work in accordance with His will. He will be faithful to keep every promise He has made to us.