Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope." Psalm 119:116
Text: Genesis 35:1-29
A SAFE JOURNEY TO BETHEL
By the mercy of God, Jacob and his family fled Shechem safely. If their enemies had launched an attack, they would be able to inflict severe damage. A tribe is most vulnerable when on the move. This is even more so when the flocks and herds are large! If a charge had been made on them, the animals would be the first to panic and a stampede would have occurred. Jacob must have known all that, and so when his family arrived in Bethel safely, the first thing he did was to build an altar to worship the Lord.
“And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel,
because there God appeared to him when he fled from
the face of his brother.” GENESIS 35:7“And he built an altar there …”
The significance of this statement must not be lost. Let us consider the following thoughts:-
1. A deep sense of Gratitude
But of course, we would expect that this spirit of gratefulness would be there. Many could have been slain or seriously wounded, if God had not especially protected them.
2. A great sense of nostalgia
It was here when Jacob first met the Lord. It was here where he anointed a rock and where he had laid his head to rest (Cf. Genesis 28:18). It was good to be back where it all started.
3. Starting over
How should Jacob see this event? Wasn’t God giving him a fresh new chance? The foreign gods that his household had acquired had all been discarded (They should not have been accumulated in the first place)! If they were to start all over again, how should they commence?
Surely, the most logical thing to do would have been to worship the Lord. Wasn’t that the reason why he built an altar? God had appeared to him at Bethel. He had also directed Jacob to return to Bethel? Yes, worship was the right place to start!
“And called the place El Bethel…”
Jacob had called the place “Bethel” though the common name of the place was called Luz. He gave another new name to the place to mark the significance of his return to Bethel.
The old name “Bethel” simply meant “God’s House”. The addition of the word “El” which simply means “God” was to emphasise the Lord’s Presence in his life. Jacob’s consciousness of God was very high at this point of time!