Genesis 35
Genesis 35
In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God. He didn’t win, but he also didn’t lose. As the dawn broke, Jacob asked for a blessing to which God replied, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (28). In Genesis 35, God makes this name change official.
The chapter begins with God calling Jacob to “Arise, go up to Bethel…” Bethel appears many times in Scripture. The New Bible Dictionary, reminds us of what we’ve read in Genesis so far regarding Bethel:
“Abram camped to the east of Bethel, where he built an altar to Yahweh (Gn. 12:8). After his visit to Egypt, he returned to this site (Gn. 13:3). For Jacob, Bethel was the starting point of his realization of God, who is for him ‘God of Bethel’ (Gn. 31:13; 35:7). As a result of his vision of Yahweh he named the place ‘House of God’ (Heb. bêṯ ’ēl) and set up a pillar (Heb. maṣṣēḇâ, Gn. 28:11–22). He was summoned to Bethel on his return from Harran, and both built an altar and set up a pillar, reiterating the name he had given before (Gn. 35:1–15).”
While Genesis 35 isn’t the end of Jacob’s life, it does end his journey as the primary protagonist of the Genesis story. Two monumental shifts happen as it relates to God’s Covenant made through Abraham—the “Seed Project.” First, Jacob has been humbled in many ways. We must remember his journey to Bethel was made with a limp that he had until the end of his days—his wrestling match with God continued to have lingering effects. The time had come for him to purify his family. The deception, distrust, and manipulations are gone. He still isn’t perfect, but he’s a very different person than the one who arrived at Bethel back in Genesis 31.
After the purification, or likely, because of it, God spoke to Jacob, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
The second major shift in the “Seed Project,” is in verse 22, “While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it.” This is a big deal because, as we’re reminded in verse 23, Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. As God reiterated his Covenant with Jacob, it should have been Reuben who took preeminence in carrying on the “family business.” Like Esau who sold his birthright, Reuben betrayed it.
At the end of his life Jacob blesses each of his sons in Genesis 49. It’s this occasion in chapter 35 that prevents Reuben from receiving his rightful blessing.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
Instead of Reuben, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,” as it was through Judah that Jesus came as the King of Kings.
By: Tyler Short
In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God. He didn’t win, but he also didn’t lose. As the dawn broke, Jacob asked for a blessing to which God replied, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (28). In Genesis 35, God makes this name change official.
The chapter begins with God calling Jacob to “Arise, go up to Bethel…” Bethel appears many times in Scripture. The New Bible Dictionary, reminds us of what we’ve read in Genesis so far regarding Bethel:
“Abram camped to the east of Bethel, where he built an altar to Yahweh (Gn. 12:8). After his visit to Egypt, he returned to this site (Gn. 13:3). For Jacob, Bethel was the starting point of his realization of God, who is for him ‘God of Bethel’ (Gn. 31:13; 35:7). As a result of his vision of Yahweh he named the place ‘House of God’ (Heb. bêṯ ’ēl) and set up a pillar (Heb. maṣṣēḇâ, Gn. 28:11–22). He was summoned to Bethel on his return from Harran, and both built an altar and set up a pillar, reiterating the name he had given before (Gn. 35:1–15).”
While Genesis 35 isn’t the end of Jacob’s life, it does end his journey as the primary protagonist of the Genesis story. Two monumental shifts happen as it relates to God’s Covenant made through Abraham—the “Seed Project.” First, Jacob has been humbled in many ways. We must remember his journey to Bethel was made with a limp that he had until the end of his days—his wrestling match with God continued to have lingering effects. The time had come for him to purify his family. The deception, distrust, and manipulations are gone. He still isn’t perfect, but he’s a very different person than the one who arrived at Bethel back in Genesis 31.
After the purification, or likely, because of it, God spoke to Jacob, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
The second major shift in the “Seed Project,” is in verse 22, “While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it.” This is a big deal because, as we’re reminded in verse 23, Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. As God reiterated his Covenant with Jacob, it should have been Reuben who took preeminence in carrying on the “family business.” Like Esau who sold his birthright, Reuben betrayed it.
At the end of his life Jacob blesses each of his sons in Genesis 49. It’s this occasion in chapter 35 that prevents Reuben from receiving his rightful blessing.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
Instead of Reuben, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,” as it was through Judah that Jesus came as the King of Kings.
By: Tyler Short
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