166. Jacob's Return to Bethel

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166.


Jacob Moves to Bethel

1.

Today's Passage: Genesis 35:1-15

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Or, for your convenience I have typed the verses below from the
New Living Testament (NLT).

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(An Aside:  
Author:  Moses - according to tradition.  
Date Written: 1450-1410 BC  
The Book of Beginnings)  

1. Then God said to Jacob, "Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. 
Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you 
when you fled from your brother, Esau." 

2. So Jacob told everyone in his household, 
"Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, 
and put on clean clothing. 
3. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar  
to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. 
He has been with me wherever I have gone." 

4. So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, 
and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. 
5. As they set out, a terror from God spread over 
the people in all the towns of that area, 
so no one attacked Jacob's family. 

6. Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz 
(also called Bethel) in Canaan. 
7. Jacob built an altar there and named 
the place El-bethel (which means "God of Bethel", 
because God had appeared to him there when 
he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. 

8. Soon after this, Rebekah's old nurse, Deborah, died. 
She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. 
Ever since, the tree has been called Allonbacuth 
(which means "oak of weeping"). 

9. Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, 
God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, 
10.  saying, "Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. 
From now on your name will be Israel." So God renamed him Israel. 

11. Then God said, "I am El-Shaddai⏤'God Almighty.' 
Be fruitful and multiply, You will become a great nation, 
even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! 
12. And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. 
Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you." 
13. Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob. 

14. Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. 
Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and 
anointed the pillar with olive oil. 
15. And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means "house of God") 
because God had spoken to him there. 
Genesis 35:1-15 NLT 

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2.

I found this strategy to be helpful.
What do you think?

4th strategy.
Is this a who, what, when, where, or how passage?

• Begin by inviting God into your reading. Ask Him to join you and show you the plot of this passage.
• Read the passage
• Ask yourself as you read the passage which is most important in the passage.
  • Is who the passage about the most important thing?
  • Is what the passage is about the most important thing?
  • Is when or where the passage takes place the most important thing?
  • Or is how the passage presented, worked out in time, or motivates the reader the most important thing...?
• After you decide which is the most important vehicle of the passage, re-read it.
• Contemplate if this passage could bring you to a fuller understanding of God and His purposes.
  

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3.

Thank you Abba,
Thank you for your presence with us.
We need your guidance as we ponder the days of old
We need your heart to enter into these passages and find your spirit.
Help us find either something that we can see afresh through your words.
Give us the heart to hear.
In your precious holy name
Jehoshua
we pray
Amen.

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4.

Thank you for coming.

We recently investigated a chapter in Exodus.
A place in the word where God brings His people out of bondage.
This passage is even older in our church history.
Genesis.
But oh what a wonder to see Jacob's faith as he moved his family and belongings.
How with God's help he is facing the fears of the unknown.
Help us meet these people as more than characters in a story.
Help us see them as people God wants us to get to know better,
for they were set down in this book of relevance.

Please leave your name and your last initial.
We are so glad you are here.


And I will be back here tomorrow.
I hope you will be here too.
~Robyn

Blessings on your day,
Robyn & Biff
RR&BC, LLC ©2016

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