†. Gen 35:6-7 . .Thus Jacob came to Luz-- that is, Bethel --in the land
of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. There he built
an altar and named the site El-bethel, for it was there that God had
revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Bethel is located approximately 11 miles directly north of Jerusalem. Jacob
had erected a stone pillar there when he left home; and gave the site its
name: Bethel (House Of God). At least thirty years have gone by since then.
He stayed twenty years with Laban, and had lived for an undisclosed number
of years in the vicinity of Schechem. Jacob was 75 when he left home, and
was now easily over 100. He is not only older now, but he's a lot wiser too.
The experience at Shechem changed Jacob in a remarkable way.
This time he builds an altar instead of a pillar, and names the site El-bethel
(the god of the House Of God). So Jacob's focus has shifted. Previously his
emphasis was upon a special site to worship God. This time, Jacob puts the
emphasis where it should have been in the first place: upon the object of his
worship. Because, unless God is actually present during worship, then
designating a special place for worship is futile. In Rev 3:14-22, the church
of the Laodicians is so entirely christless that Jesus isn't even a member, no,
he's depicted on the outside of the building banging on the door trying to get
someone's attention to let him in. That was a bustling, thriving Christian
church; but it was christless.
What really matters is whether or not the object of your worship is present
at the site of your worship when you yourself are present there; and for a
christless Christian church like that of the Laodicians, it's a forgone
conclusion that the lights are on, but He is not home.
†. Gen 35:8a . . Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died, and was buried
under the oak below Bethel;
By now, Deborah was very aged; older than Rebecca, and had come south
with her to Canaan twenty years prior to Jacob's birth (Gen 24:59, 25:20,
25:26). Deborah was already a mature woman when she came south with
Rebecca because the word for nurse-- yanaq (yaw-nak') --indicates a wet
nurse. So Deborah did the surrogate task of breast feeding the infant
Rebecca, whose biological mom, for reasons unknown, couldn't do it herself.
Jacob knew Deborah quite well, having grown up with her in his own home,
and remained with her a good number of years before leaving home himself
at 75.
There's pretty good reason to believe that Rebecca had died prior to Gen
35:8 because it's extremely doubtful Deborah would leave Rebecca to join
Jacob's troupe otherwise.
†. Gen 35:8b . . so it was named Allon-bacuth.
Allon-bacuth means: oak of weeping. Deborah's passing was surely as
emotionally painful a loss to Jacob as the loss of his own mother.
†. Gen 35:9a . . God appeared again to Jacob on his arrival from
Paddan-aram,
Paddam-aram was the region up north, in and around where Laban lived,
and from whence Jacob fled a number of years prior to Gen 35:9. But God
reckoned Jacob still on-route for the simple reason that he had yet to strictly
comply with the order to "Return to the land of your fathers where you were
born" and "arise and leave this land and return to your native land." (Gen
31:3, 31:13). Instead of going directly to Bethel, as God apparently
expected Jacob to do, he settled in the region around Shechem-- where his
daughter became promiscuous, his sons became murderers and thieves, and
Jacob alienated his neighbors: thus; he, and his whole family, had become
quite useless as a witness to the knowledge of the one true God in that
region.
†. Gen 35:9b-10 . . and He blessed him. God said to him: You whose
name is Jacob, you shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be
your name. Thus He named him Israel.
This wasn't news to Jacob. He was renamed Israel by the angel (Gen
32:29). But Jacob wasn't living up to his new identity. He needed urging to
live as who he now is, not live as who he once was before meeting God face
to face.
†. Gen 35:11a . . And God said to him: I am El Shaddai.
The patriarchs were aware of God's other name yhvh, and often referred to
Him by it; but El Shaddai is a name of God that they knew Him by in a
personal way. It means: God of all might; viz; the all-powerful god; or the
god who invented, created, and controls all natural and supernatural powers.
El Shaddai is the god who can make things happen, even things that are
impossible by natural means, and things that are above and beyond Man's
mortal imagination; so that El Shaddai is "the" god of providence who is
easily strong enough to meet any, and all, human need.
†. Gen 35:11b . . Be fertile and increase;
At this point in his life, Jacob was just about done reproducing. He had one
more to go: Joseph. So it would seem Jacob disobeyed what appears to be a
direct order. But when you compare this passage with Gen 17:6, it's
obviously a reiteration of Abraham's blessing; and the blessing can be safely
inferred to extend to all that pertains to Jacob's progeny; viz: to all of Israel.
†. Gen 35:11c . . A nation, yea an assembly of nations, shall descend
from you. Kings shall issue from your loins.
That's pretty much what God promised Abraham back in chapter 17. The
most important kings were those of Israel, and in particular, the ones in
David's line who preceded Messiah.
†. Gen 35:12 . .The land that I assigned to Abraham and Isaac I
assign to you; and to your offspring to come will I assign the land.
Ownership of the land didn't pass from Abraham down to Isaac, and then to
Jacob as if it were an heirloom. God promised each patriarch full ownership
along with their progeny. We might call that kind of ownership tenancy in
common, community property, or joint-heirship.
Cont.
/
of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. There he built
an altar and named the site El-bethel, for it was there that God had
revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Bethel is located approximately 11 miles directly north of Jerusalem. Jacob
had erected a stone pillar there when he left home; and gave the site its
name: Bethel (House Of God). At least thirty years have gone by since then.
He stayed twenty years with Laban, and had lived for an undisclosed number
of years in the vicinity of Schechem. Jacob was 75 when he left home, and
was now easily over 100. He is not only older now, but he's a lot wiser too.
The experience at Shechem changed Jacob in a remarkable way.
This time he builds an altar instead of a pillar, and names the site El-bethel
(the god of the House Of God). So Jacob's focus has shifted. Previously his
emphasis was upon a special site to worship God. This time, Jacob puts the
emphasis where it should have been in the first place: upon the object of his
worship. Because, unless God is actually present during worship, then
designating a special place for worship is futile. In Rev 3:14-22, the church
of the Laodicians is so entirely christless that Jesus isn't even a member, no,
he's depicted on the outside of the building banging on the door trying to get
someone's attention to let him in. That was a bustling, thriving Christian
church; but it was christless.
What really matters is whether or not the object of your worship is present
at the site of your worship when you yourself are present there; and for a
christless Christian church like that of the Laodicians, it's a forgone
conclusion that the lights are on, but He is not home.
†. Gen 35:8a . . Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died, and was buried
under the oak below Bethel;
By now, Deborah was very aged; older than Rebecca, and had come south
with her to Canaan twenty years prior to Jacob's birth (Gen 24:59, 25:20,
25:26). Deborah was already a mature woman when she came south with
Rebecca because the word for nurse-- yanaq (yaw-nak') --indicates a wet
nurse. So Deborah did the surrogate task of breast feeding the infant
Rebecca, whose biological mom, for reasons unknown, couldn't do it herself.
Jacob knew Deborah quite well, having grown up with her in his own home,
and remained with her a good number of years before leaving home himself
at 75.
There's pretty good reason to believe that Rebecca had died prior to Gen
35:8 because it's extremely doubtful Deborah would leave Rebecca to join
Jacob's troupe otherwise.
†. Gen 35:8b . . so it was named Allon-bacuth.
Allon-bacuth means: oak of weeping. Deborah's passing was surely as
emotionally painful a loss to Jacob as the loss of his own mother.
†. Gen 35:9a . . God appeared again to Jacob on his arrival from
Paddan-aram,
Paddam-aram was the region up north, in and around where Laban lived,
and from whence Jacob fled a number of years prior to Gen 35:9. But God
reckoned Jacob still on-route for the simple reason that he had yet to strictly
comply with the order to "Return to the land of your fathers where you were
born" and "arise and leave this land and return to your native land." (Gen
31:3, 31:13). Instead of going directly to Bethel, as God apparently
expected Jacob to do, he settled in the region around Shechem-- where his
daughter became promiscuous, his sons became murderers and thieves, and
Jacob alienated his neighbors: thus; he, and his whole family, had become
quite useless as a witness to the knowledge of the one true God in that
region.
†. Gen 35:9b-10 . . and He blessed him. God said to him: You whose
name is Jacob, you shall be called Jacob no more, but Israel shall be
your name. Thus He named him Israel.
This wasn't news to Jacob. He was renamed Israel by the angel (Gen
32:29). But Jacob wasn't living up to his new identity. He needed urging to
live as who he now is, not live as who he once was before meeting God face
to face.
†. Gen 35:11a . . And God said to him: I am El Shaddai.
The patriarchs were aware of God's other name yhvh, and often referred to
Him by it; but El Shaddai is a name of God that they knew Him by in a
personal way. It means: God of all might; viz; the all-powerful god; or the
god who invented, created, and controls all natural and supernatural powers.
El Shaddai is the god who can make things happen, even things that are
impossible by natural means, and things that are above and beyond Man's
mortal imagination; so that El Shaddai is "the" god of providence who is
easily strong enough to meet any, and all, human need.
†. Gen 35:11b . . Be fertile and increase;
At this point in his life, Jacob was just about done reproducing. He had one
more to go: Joseph. So it would seem Jacob disobeyed what appears to be a
direct order. But when you compare this passage with Gen 17:6, it's
obviously a reiteration of Abraham's blessing; and the blessing can be safely
inferred to extend to all that pertains to Jacob's progeny; viz: to all of Israel.
†. Gen 35:11c . . A nation, yea an assembly of nations, shall descend
from you. Kings shall issue from your loins.
That's pretty much what God promised Abraham back in chapter 17. The
most important kings were those of Israel, and in particular, the ones in
David's line who preceded Messiah.
†. Gen 35:12 . .The land that I assigned to Abraham and Isaac I
assign to you; and to your offspring to come will I assign the land.
Ownership of the land didn't pass from Abraham down to Isaac, and then to
Jacob as if it were an heirloom. God promised each patriarch full ownership
along with their progeny. We might call that kind of ownership tenancy in
common, community property, or joint-heirship.
Cont.
/
