[And He Walks With Me] Genesis 35

1-29        This is a tumultuous chapter. On the one hand, we have an encounter with God which prompts Jacob to call his family to a new level of surrender. On the other hand, we have the death of his beloved Rachel, betrayal by his son Reuben, and the death of his father Isaac. And in between, we have him moving from place to place. Life is like this. We will have highs, lows, and the merely mundane, all mixed together like this. A good day does not make us immune to a bad day any more than a bad day makes us ineligible for a good day, and in between, there are a lot of just days.

1        When he was fleeing Esau, God revealed himself to Jacob via a vision at Bethel (28:10-22). In 28:20-22, Jacob vowed that, if God went with him and took care of him, he would return to Bethel, make the marker he set up then into God’s house, and give God a tenth of everything he had. God had fulfilled his end of that deal, but thus far, Jacob had neglected to fulfill his. Instead, he settled in Shechem, where his daughter was raped and his sons violent tendencies exposed. No doubt, the tragedies of chapter 34 shocked Jacob into a state of mind where he was again ready to hear from God, and God did not disappoint. The call to go to Bethel, settle there, and build an altar there to the God who appeared to you was a poignant reminder of Jacob’s vow and the importance of choosing to dwell in the presence of the Lord.

2-7        Jacob responded favorably to God’s call, and in turn, he called his family to commit themselves exclusively to the Lord. This call had three steps: (1) Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, (2) purify yourselves and change your clothes, and (3) build an altar at Bethel. In verses 4-7, we see Jacob and his family do all of these things, and in so doing, Jacob’s spiritual leadership over his family was restored. It is never too late to repent of apathy and return to what God has called you to do.

8        It is interesting that there is no mention in Scripture of Rebekah’s death or burial. This could be because it happened during the 20 years Jacob was away, or it may be because of Rebekah’s deception in ch 27.^[79]

9-13        God appeared to Jacob again and did two things. First, he confirmed the promises he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob himself in 28:13-14, making clear that the catastrophic events of chapter 34 did not negate the promise. Second, God reaffirmed Jacob’s new name, Israel (32:28). This is significant because Jacob was no doubt blaming himself for the terrible things that happened in ch 34 and wondering if he had now forfeited the promise God had given his ancestors. Certainly, his apathy led him to fail for a time as the spiritual leader of his family, but God’s reaffirmation of his new name made a point: Jacob was not responsible for Dinah’s rape or Simeon’s and Levi’s rage. Those were all things outside of his control, and now that Jacob had recommitted himself to the Lord, the new name still applied. He was still the one who “struggled (with) God” (see note on 32:27-28).

15        In response to God’s reaffirmation of his new name, Jacob reaffirmed the name of the place, Bethel. He first named this place after God appeared to him in 28:19.

18        Grief is a weird thing. On the one hand, Rachel with her last breath named her son Ben-oni meaning “Son of My Sorrow.” On the other hand, Jacob called him Benjamin meaning “Son of the Right Hand,” which was a sign of strength. In grief, sorrow and strength are often mingled, and that is okay.

22        Rueben’s actions here are repulsive on numerous fronts. There is the immorality of it: he was not married to Bilhah. There is the incestuous aspect of it: Bilhah was his father’s concubine. However, in the culture of the day, the rights and responsibility to the harem passed to the next head of the clan upon the patriarch’s death. By going in and sleeping with his father’s concubine before his father was dead, Reuben was mounting a hostile takeover of the family. For this reason, Reuben will forfeit his birthright as the eldest and Judah will become the leader of Israel.

23-26        The sons of Jacob are not listed here in birth order, but in the order their mothers were married to Jacob.

27-29        After decades of estrangement and separation, Jacob came to his father Isaac at the end of his life, and Esau and Jacob worked together to bury Isaac. It took a lifetime to rebuild what Jacob’s manipulation and deceit had compromised.

[79] Sproul 2016, Genesis 35:8