'Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to
Bethel and settle there....” Genesis 35:1. When Jacob returned to Canaan, he
purchased a piece of land within sight of the city of Shechem for one hundred
pieces of silver, and settled there. (33:19) Though he set up an altar there
and dedicated it to God, (v20), it was not in accordance with the promise he
had made to God when fleeing from his brother Esau two decades earlier. We can
do our religious duties to the letter, even to the admiration of our peers, yet
still not be fulfilling our promises or living in obedience to God. As we saw
last time, the results of settling near to Shechem turned out to be devastating
for the family.
Sometimes we make promises to God when
we are desperate and then forget those promises the moment the threat has
passed. This was the case here. When Jacob met with God in a dream in which he
saw a staircase stretching between heaven and earth and angels ascending and
descending, (28:12), God made incredible promises to Jacob, promising to care for him, give him the land
he was in, give him uncountable offspring, telling him how he would be a
blessing to the whole world through his offspring, (28:13-15). In return, Jacob
promised that if he returned safely he would come back to that place, to the
stone he had set up and dedicated as God's house – Bethel, and give to God a
tenth of all he possessed.
It seems that by the time Jacob returned
to the land of Canaan he had forgotten his vow and settled at a place of his
own choosing which resulted in horrendous consequences. Yet, as we all know,
God never gives up on any of us. Following that harrowing experience, Jacob was
no doubt more open to what God had to say. Sometimes it takes a bad experience
for us to review where we are and to listen more intently to God. Like Jacob,
we all need to return, from time to time, to that place of first dedication.
'Am I what once I was?
Have I that ground maintained
Wherein I walked in power with thee,
And thou my soul sustained?' SASB 409:2
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