Sermon

Life Journey Filled with Promises Genesis 35:1-15

Life is a journey; For each of us, that journey is filled with a wide variety of experiences. That is life. Sometimes those experiences feel really good, and sometimes they feel pretty rotten. The Christian walk is also a journey. It has a distinct beginning and a conclusive end. And this journey is filled with God’s promises, but this journey is not easy. Sometimes we understand what’s going on, and sometimes we are confused and ask God. “God, what are you doing, and what am I supposed to do next?” Have you ever prayed that prayer?

We’ve been working our way through the book of Genesis, and today's passage is Genesis 35:1-15. In this chapter, Jacob is leading his family on a journey. Follow Jacob's journey, and we’ll learn some life lessons from it, and I believe God will speak to us about our own journey. Or maybe He will answer some of the questions in our hearts.

Context: Jacob had spent over 20 years living with his Uncle Laban. There, he married his wives, had children and accumulated livestock. Then God told him to return to his homeland in Canaan. On his way, he came to a town called Succoth that was in the territory of the Hittites. It’s about 64 kilometres north of Jerusalem and north of where Jacob was supposed to go (Bethel). Living with the halfway obedience, Jacob settled in and bought a piece of property near Succoth.

Then, Jacob’s sons (Simeon and Levi) had caused trouble for him when they avenged the rape of their sister Dinah by killing Hamor and his son Shechem, looting the city and seizing their flocks and herds and donkeys, carrying off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. Jacob was terrified of the consequences. Genesis 34 ends with Jacob arguing with his sons, Simeon and Levi. Look at Genesis 34:30, “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, 'You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ' " We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” Obviously, Jacob’s halfway obedience left him and his family vulnerable to problems. But after a period of complete chaos in his family at Shechem (the place of burden), only 24 kilometres from Bethel, Jacob began to hear and obey the voice of God.

I. God’s Voice Led the Journey Genesis 35:1-7

So, Jacob is humbled by what has happened to his daughter. And he’s really worried about what the surrounding tribes may do to him. Apparently, Jacob and his family have made a mess. But out of God’s sovereign grace, God speaks loudly to Jacob, using four imperatives to catch his attention. Those imperatives are “Get up,” “Go,” “settle”, and “Build.” Each word matters. So, we see God’s command sets the steps, the place, and the practice. And such a command was so forceful, urgent and intense that it shook Jacob to the core, roused him from his comfort and troubled him to no end. In Genesis 35:1, God speaks to Jacob. “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” Notice the instruction, “Go up to Bethel….” In other words, God was saying to Jacob, “Return, do what you were supposed to do in the first place. Now get up and do it!”

And God also said to Jacob: “Build an altar there….” Over the past 20 years, outside of Bethel, Jacob had made peace with his father-in-law, Laban, and with his brother, Esau, but he had not made right with God. Sure, he had previously built one in Shechem (Gen 33:20), but it was for convenience, without cost or commitment, in his own backyard. The difference between the altars of Jacob and his forefathers, Abraham (Gen 12:7-8, 13:4, 18, 22:9) and Isaac (Gen 26:25), was that they voluntarily built altars to the Lord, whereas Jacob was ordered to do so. With that instruction also came words of comfort. God graciously reminds Jacob of their previous encounter at Bethel—a time when he was in fear of Esau’s retaliation. Now he is afraid of Hittite retaliation. So basically, God was saying to Jacob: “Remember, Jacob, I protected you then, and I will protect you now, but you need to fully obey me.” In other words, the reason God tells Jacob to return to Bethel is that that’s where God first appeared to Jacob in Genesis 28, in a dream, and made the same promise to him that He had originally made to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham. That was an extravagant promise about inheriting the land of Canaan, having offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth, and being an instrument of blessing to the entire world.

Interestingly, some of God’s kindest invitations arrive in a single word: Return. When our lives feel scattered, God always whispers, “Come back to the place where you first heard My voice.” My friends, maybe your calendar is packed, the nights are long, and your soul has been living on fumes. You love God, but lately the noise of lesser things has been loud. You’ve been carrying what God never asked you to carry; You’ve been building altars to worry rather than altars of worship. And then, graciously, God calls you by name and points you home. God’s grace is amazing in our lives. Even when we made a mess, He meets with us and speaks to us, and He patiently reminds us of what He has already told us to do. I think this is really something for all of us to be grateful for.

It’s easy for singles to move but hard for families to move; in fact, it’s many times harder. Not only that. Jacob was very rich. Before, he had to worry about food, clothes and safety (Gen 28:20-21); now he owned large flocks, servants, camels and donkeys. But this time, Jacob recognised God’s voice and sovereign leadership. Under God's directive alone, he sets out for Bethel. And before that, Jacob knew he must remove anything that would obstruct his journey. So, he started by destroying idols in his midst. Some of these idols represented wealth; others were good-luck charms. You know, idols hide in pouches, under cloaks, and in customs we picked up from neighbours. They also hide in our loves and in our fears. Putting them away means handing them over rather than keeping them secret inside us. Jacob’s previous disobedience does not negate his responsibility to lead his family. Sometimes fathers become tentative in leading their families because they are very aware of their own shortcomings. But the answer to that problem is not spiritual passivity; the answer is to draw near to the Lord, hear His voice, and lead your family. Now, Jacob committed himself to fully obey God. He has heard God’s voice, so he said to his people: “We are going to Bethel, and we’re building an altar there. But first, we need to get rid of some junk in our lives.”

Then, He gathered up all the idols and buried them. Where? He buried them at Shechem (the place of burden). Jacob buries that stuff where nobody will find it. Because he knows that there’s little use in building altars if you’re going to keep the wickedness at the same time. And it seems that everyone obeyed his lead and put the idols out. Jacob leads by action and word. He makes holiness practical. He teaches his people with real actions. This is how a home gets ready to meet God.

So often, we imagine that we can have certain sins in our lives and have God as well, as if the two of them could somehow coexist. Perhaps we think we can lie throughout the week and then come and worship God on Sunday as if nothing had happened. Or maybe we think we can habitually spread gossip and still enjoy God’s presence in our lives and maintain a close relationship with God. But these verses remind us that that’s just not true. Whenever we become aware of any sin in our lives, we stand at a crossroads. And the thing about a crossroads, of course, is that you can’t choose to go in two different directions at the same time. If you go right, you can’t go left. And if you go left, you can’t go right. You have to choose between two mutually exclusive options. Likewise, whenever the Holy Spirit brings a sin in our lives to our attention, we have a choice to make: Sin or God?

Take a moment and ask yourself, what sins have you been holding on to that you need to forsake even this very day? What idols do you need to smash to pieces? Understand that, as long as you tolerate those sins in your life, you’ll never be able to enjoy God or worship Him in a satisfying way—because holiness is the great prerequisite for meaningful worship. So, what we need is for God to cleanse us. And the way He does that is through Jesus. When we were utterly helpless to do anything about our spiritual condition, Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfectly sinless life, and then died on the cross to cleanse our sins. Of course, the Bible teaches that, to experience that cleansing, we must turn from our sinful ways and put our trust in Jesus alone as our only hope of being cleansed and made right with God. Only then can we know God and worship God as we were meant to do.

Then, as promised by God, we see in verse 5: as they move, God covers them. The “terror of God” came on their enemies, and those enemies backed off. When Jacob and his family put away the evil in their house, God put away the external threat of evil. The surrounding enemies did not pursue “the sons of Jacob” (Simeon & Levi). That’s specifically who they wanted to destroy because of what happened at Succoth. So, returning to Bethel was filled with dangers and consequences, but this time, to Jacob’s surprise, no one pursued his family because the terror of God fell upon the cities around them. This is mercy. This is protection. Don’t forget, the family is vulnerable. They carry children and flocks. They have just faced trouble in that region. But we see no enemy moves. Obedience does not erase risk, but it does place the people under care. God can restrain hands that would harm; He can silence plans forming in nearby gates; He can make a road safe that felt unsafe the day before. That’s why we learn to walk when God says walk, because He knows how to keep our steps.

So, we see that God providentially redeemed the mess and worked it all together for Jacob’s ultimate good. Israel was to be a separate people in God’s covenant. Jacob was getting way too cozy with the ungodly world around him. God used the conflict to separate him from those ungodly people and protect him from something even more negative. Sometimes a negative event can be protecting us from something even more negative. Never is God the author of sin; often, He is working pre-emptively on our behalf. This is really encouraging to us. To move ahead in this life journey, we have to face the past, not fear it. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb 13:8). There is no need to avoid the past; instead, we should acknowledge it and ask God to redeem and renew it for His glory. So, Jacob has fully obeyed the Lord. He has led his family in that obedience. He has fulfilled his vow, made 20 years ago, to return to Bethel. In verse 7, we see that He built an altar to the Lord. An altar was a structure built to express someone’s devotion to God and, usually, to offer sacrifices. And that is the starting point for an encounter with God.

II. Another Encounter with God in Promise Genesis 35:9-15

Then, in verse 9, God appears to Jacob again and confirms His covenant with him. God reminds Jacob in verse 10 of who he is: Israel, not Jacob. Jacob (heel catcher/supplanter) was renamed Israel (he will rule as God). God also, in verses 11-12, assures Jacob of His commitment to bless him and multiply him, and He confirms His promise to give him the Promised Land. And we see in verse 14, Jacob set up a pillar or memorial as a testimony of all this, and it’s also a reminder of God’s promises. This is how a life keeps truth close. When we tie God’s words to places and practices, we let His name define our name; We let His promise set our path; we let worship seal what He has said so we can carry it into the next day.

So, whole-hearted obedience positions us to hear from God and to enjoy His blessings. Obedience sounds simple, but it’s also weighty. It asks for movement in real space. It asks for worship in real time. It asks for trust when the road looks rough. God’s calling points to a name-Bethel. A real town; A real place tied to a promise. God cares about where we set our feet; He cares about where we set our altar. When He says go, the right time is now; When He says stay, the right place is there. Faith answers with steps, not only with thoughts. Faith builds something, not only dreams about something.

So, God reaffirms that Jacob’s name will now be Israel and also reaffirms the promises He had previously made to Jacob. And Jacob responds by setting up a pillar and pouring a drink offering and oil on it. And, as verse 15 tells us, he also calls the name of that place “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” And it’s interesting to note that Jacob had already named that place “Bethel” on his first visit there back in Genesis 28:19. So, we might wonder, why are we told here that Jacob names the place “Bethel,” apparently for a second time? I believe the best answer is that Jacob now has a much deeper and more profound understanding of God than he had in his youth. God has been progressively revealing Himself to Jacob and teaching him profound lessons through the various ups and downs of Jacob’s life. So, Jacob names the place “Bethel” for a second time, but now with a much deeper appreciation of its significance as the site of his encounter with God. Essentially, it’s the same name infused with new meaning and significance.

That’s why our worship should deepen and become more profound as we grow in the Lord. If we’ve been Christians for numerous years, we may not necessarily be learning entirely new truths all the time. In fact, we probably won’t be. But we should absolutely be developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of truths we’ve heard. So, for example, if we’ve just become a Christian recently, we might have a certain understanding of what it means for God to be merciful—and there might not be anything wrong or inaccurate about that understanding. However, after 10 years as Christians, hopefully, we have a deeper understanding of what it means for God to be merciful. Hopefully, we’re aware of new aspects of God’s mercy that we weren’t aware of at the beginning of our Christian life. Then, after we’ve been Christians for 30 years, hopefully, we have an even greater insight into the mercy of God. It’s the same truth, but one that we now understand with greater insight.

And it’s in this same way that we come to a deeper appreciation of the gospel, that is, the message of Jesus and what He’s done to rescue us from our sin. So, if you’re a Christian, this should be happening in your life. If it’s not, and if it seems as though you’ve become stagnant, hopefully, this is a wakeup call for you. As the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14, “…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Are you doing that? Are you “straining forward to what lies ahead”? Are you growing in your knowledge of God, your love for God, and your likeness to God? Or…are you just trying to live off of yesterday’s gains: the prayer life you had a decade ago, the Bible verses you memorised when you were a teenager, the habits of Bible study you had when you were first saved? Are you trying to live off yesterday’s gains?

If so, let these words from the nineteenth-century theologian J. C. Ryle serve as a warning to you. He writes, “Believe me, you cannot stand still in the affairs of your souls. Habits of good or evil are daily strengthening in your hearts. Every day you are either getting nearer to God or further off.” In other words, it’s not really possible to be at a spiritual standstill. You’re either actively growing closer to God, or you’re passively drifting away from Him. So, which state are you in right now? And if you determine that you’re drifting way, what can you do today to get back on track?

Conclusion: In Genesis 35, we see that Jacob doesn’t just get a lecture; he gets a lift from the promise. God tells him to go back to Bethel—the place where grace met him in the dark and a ladder stretched from heaven to earth. God had been faithful. Now, years later, God invites him to remember and renew. Isn’t that like the heart of God? He finds us in our dust and directs us to an altar; He takes us by the hand and leads us toward fresh obedience, clean hearts, and a clear name. Tim Keller once wrote, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” (Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage) That sentence sings over Genesis 35. God knows the mess in Jacob’s tent and still calls him to a meeting; God sees the idols hidden in the camp and still offers a clean slate. Grace doesn’t shrug at sin; grace invites us to put it away. Grace doesn’t crush the weary; grace carries the weary to the altar and promises a new name.

So, friends, bring your scattered heart; bring your household and habits; bring the things you can’t fix and the fears you can’t shake. Ask with me: If God called Jacob back to Bethel, where is He calling me? What altar needs rebuilding? What identity has God spoken over me that I’ve forgotten? Friends, you are not beyond His reach; You are not past His promises; The same God who met Jacob meets us today, with mercy that cleanses, with a blessing that holds.