"Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel."
-Genesis 35:14-15
So this post is actually based on last Thursday's passage, not today's, I've just been running behind because I've been busy with a lot of things. Again, this post is going to be a bit shorter.
A couple things happen in Genesis 33-35. To start, Esau proposes that Jacob leave with him to Seir. Jacob perhaps still doubts Esau's good will towards him, so Jacob refuses Esau's offer to go with him. Instead, Jacob again deceives Esau, and goes his own way. Jacob goes to another land, Shechem. While he and his family are there, Jacob's daughter is raped by Shechem (which is a person's name as well as the place). When Jacob's sons find out about this, they take revenge on the people of Shechem by killing some of the men. This forces Jacob to leave the area.
What I learn from this part of the passage is that we cannot go against God's will without consequences. When Jacob deceived Esau, he was actually going against God's will. God wanted Jacob to return to his hometown with Esau, but for some reason Jacob did not trust Esau. Jacob's decision to go to Shechem led to the rape of his daughter and the killing by his sons. Thus, God's will was completed anyway, because Jacob had to leave to his hometown. God is sovereign, and we cannot do anything to disrupt his plan.
After leaving Shechem, Jacob heads toward Bethel, where he previously built an altar. Before he arrives there, he tells his family to rid themselves of any idols. When they arrived, Jacob built another altar and poured a drink offering on it. He remembered God's goodness in his life, and he wanted to thank God for all that He had done. Here we see that Jacob matured in his faith, and he now puts his trust in God, not in himself. If we have the same attitude as Jacob, God is sure to bless us, as He blessed Jacob.
-Smart
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