Genesis chapter 35, there's a
lot going on here in the life of Jacob. I'll begin reading
in verse 1 to the end of the chapter, and we'll look at the
various aspects of Genesis 35. Then God said to Jacob, Arise,
go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make an altar there to God,
who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau, your
brother. And Jacob said to his household
and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that
are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. Then
let us arise and go up to Bethel. And I will make an altar there
to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been
with me in the way which I have gone. So they gave Jacob all
the foreign gods which were in their hands and the earrings
which were in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the
terebinth tree, which was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the terror
of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they
did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, that is,
Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people
who were with him. And he built an altar there and
called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when
he fled from the face of his brother. Now, Deborah, Rebekah's
nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth
tree. So the name of it was called
Alan Bakuth. Then God appeared to Jacob again
when he came from Paddan Aram and blessed him. And God said
to him, Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called
Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name. So he called his
name Israel. Also God said to him, I am God
Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation
and a company of kings shall proceed from you, and kings shall
come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham
and Isaac I give to you, and to your descendants after you
I give this land. Then God went up from him in
the place where he talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar
in the place where he talked with him, a pillar of stone.
And he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with
him, Bethel. Then they journeyed from Bethel,
and when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel
labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to
pass when she was in hard labor that the midwife said to her,
do not fear, you will have this son also. And so it was, as her
soul was departing, for she died, that she called his name Ben-Oni,
but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried
on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar
on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.
Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of
Eder. And it happened when Israel dwelt in that land that Reuben
went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel
heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph
and Benjamin. The sons of Bilah, Rachel's maidservant,
were Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's
maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob
who were born to him in Paddan Aram. Then Jacob came to his
father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba, that is Hebron, where Abraham
and Isaac had dwelt. Now the days of Isaac were one
hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and
died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of
days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried
him. So again, a lot going on here.
First, we'll notice the return to Bethel. Jacob first went to
Bethel in Genesis chapter 28. It's there that God, without
the use of the language covenant, makes a covenant with him. And
I suspect that what's going on here at Bethel in chapter 35
is covenant renewal. So we'll look at the return to
Bethel in verses 1 to 15. Secondly, the death of Rachel
in verses 16 to 20. Thirdly, the sons of Jacob in
verses 21 to 26. And then finally, the death of
Isaac in verses 27 to 29. The bulk of the chapter has to
do with Bethel and what God does with Jacob at this particular
time. And with reference to the return
to Bethel, we'll notice first the command of God in verse 1.
It says, then God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell
there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when
you fled from the face of Esau your brother. Now, we should
appreciate the kindness and the mercy and the grace of God to
come to Jacob, as he does here, in chapter 35, verse 1, and give
him this instruction. Because when we last left off
with Jacob, he is perplexed, he is fearful, he is basically
terrified at the thought of losing his life and his household. Remember,
after the massacre in Shechem that was righteously carried
out by the sons of Jacob, we notice in chapter 34 at verse
30, it said, Again, not a great time. in the life of Jacob. He shows
something of a fearfulness and a cowardice that is not consistent
with his daughter's honor. His daughter had been raped by
this young man, Shechem. His daughter had been taken captive
and held in Shechem's house, and it was ultimately through
the means of Simeon and Levi liberating her. But his whole
beef, or his whole concern, is that he is troubled that he will
look or lose face in the sight of the inhabitants of the land,
namely among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. That is more
troubling or concerning to him than the honor and dignity of
his daughter. And then at the end of verse 30 it says, and
since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together
against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household
and I. So he is expressing great cowardice
and fear in light of these present circumstances. So verse 1 in
chapter 35 really is amazing grace. God gives him an anecdote. God gives him a remedy, God gives
him a means by which he can get rid of that fear or extricate
himself of that fear and he can go and meet with God and renew
this covenant that he had engaged in in Genesis chapter 28. Verse
1b indicates the similarity with chapter 28 when it says, "...who
appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."
Remember, in chapter 27, Esau wanted to kill Jacob. That was
his desire. After he had been cheated out
of the blessing, he had this desire and longing and intent
to kill or murder his brother Jacob. So then Rebekah says,
go to the land of Haran, and there go to your uncle's house,
and there find a wife. You'll be gone a few days. Well,
20 years later, he comes back to the land of Canaan. But on
the way to Mesopotamia, or on the way to Haran, Pat and Aram,
it's in Mesopotamia, there at Bethel he meets God, and God
reminds him of this in verse 1. Then we see the obedience
of Jacob in verses 2 to 8. He plans to go to Bethel, so
he tells his family to put away the idols. Notice in verse 2,
Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put
away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves
and change your garments. Now the last chapter dealt a
lot with defilement. Dinah was defiled, there was
sexual rape and sin, and the whole family, as it were, was
defiled. So now Jacob rightly understands
to go and meet in the presence of God, we cannot be defiled.
We have to be purified. So put away all those foreign
gods that are among you. Remember when they left from
Laban's, Rachel stole the teraphim, the household gods. But it may
not just be that that's in view. By this time, Jacob has Canaanites. that are living with him or within
his household as servants, and they no doubt have their items
of worship as well, which we see in verse 4 that they all
do get rid of. They do dispossess their pockets
and their pouches from the various idols that they were indeed carrying. And then that language in the
middle of verse 2, put away the foreign gods that are among you,
purify yourselves and change your garments. It does anticipate
the Mosaic legislation in terms of ritual cleanliness, ritual
purity. Waltke says the narrator seems
to assume the purification rituals of the Mosaic Law, bathing the
body, washing clothes, and abstaining from sexual intercourse, to effect
passage from defilement of idols to purity before God. So that's
legit and consistent. Get rid of those things as we
go into the presence of the living God. Again, that's for worship.
Now the idea that a sinner needs to get rid of his sin before
he goes to the Savior, that's not what's in view here. This
is the sanctified or the righteous or the covenant people meeting
with their God. Purification is in order. But
with reference to the sinner, come to the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's him that deals with sin. I think there's that false teaching
out there that many people sort of subscribe to, that I need
to clean up my act before I get I need to get myself right. I
need to get myself better. Well, the very purpose of the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is to deal with those who can't
make themselves better, who cannot make themselves appropriate,
who cannot cleanse themselves of their sins. In the prophet
Ezekiel, or rather Jeremiah, God says to the nation of Israel,
return you backsliding sinners and I will heal your backsliding. So that's the glory of the Christian
gospel. But in this instance, it's purification
prior to entering into the presence of the living God. And then Jacob
specifies the reason or the purpose for the visit to Bethel in verse
3. He says, Then let us arise and
go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to my God. That's
the reason for which he is going. And again, I think that what's
in view is covenant renewal. The covenant was made with Abraham
and Isaac, and then it's made with Jacob, specifically in Genesis
chapter 28, but here it's renewed. And you see this in the history
of Israel. There's a lot of covenant renewal sort of ceremonies that
God takes the people of Israel through. I think the supper,
the Lord's Supper that we undergo each and every month is a covenant
renewal ceremony. It's a time where God refreshes
His people. It's a time where God reminds
His people of His promises. He reminds them of the various
aspects of the covenant that they are involved in, not only
them, but God along with them. And so that's the reason for
this visit to Bethel. And then the theological reason
or the theological rationale is in the latter part of verse
3. He says, who answered me in the day of my distress and has
been with me in the way which I have gone. So Genesis 28 in
that initial covenant or that initial act of covenant with
Jacob was to help him and to gird him up and to strengthen
him for the various aspects of life that he would undergo, the
difficulties, the hardships. Well again, here it functions
in a similar manner, because if you follow the narrative here
in Genesis chapter 35, Jacob meets with a lot of hardship.
There's a lot of affliction that he undergoes here. His wife dies,
his father dies, there's all kinds of things that are in his
horizon, and so it is the gift or grace of God to come to Jacob
at Bethel in Genesis 35 to renew this covenant, to stabilize his
faith, to ground him in the things of God, and to prepare him to
march forward and to persevere by grace. And I think the overarching
concern in this particular chapter, or rather an overarching application
in this chapter, is the stabilizing influence of the means of grace.
The things that God gives us in our lives when we are beset
with distress or trial or affliction, God doesn't call us to undergo
those things alone, but rather God prepares us and equips us
and fits us to go through those things having spent time in His
presence. That's the reason why we read
the Bible and why we pray and why we come to Bible study, why
we go to church and why we take the supper. Yes, it's God-ward. We worship and glorify God, but
it's also man-ward. It stabilizes, secures, and encourages
the people of God so that they can, in fact, persevere in the
various hardships that they face in this lower world. And then
in verse 4, we see the response of the people. So they gave Jacob
all the foreign gods, which were in their hands, and the earrings
which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth
tree, which was by Sheka." Now, for any of you ladies that may
possibly be wearing earrings right now, I just want to encourage
you. We had a fellow at one time that
got a bee in his bonnet and thought that this particular chapter
taught that every woman who ever wore earrings was necessarily
committing idolatry. That's not the emphasis in this
passage. That's not what's in view in
this particular passage. John Gill says, not the earrings
that women wore in common, such as Abraham's servant gave to
Rebekah, and which Jacob's wives might wear, for such were not
unlawful, but either which were worn in the ears of the strange
gods or idols, for such used, it seems, according to some writers,
to be decorated and ornamented after that manner. or rather
in the ears of the idolaters themselves, worn by them in a
superstitious way, having the images of these idols on them."
So he says there's a difference between wearing earrings, which
God sanctions, God says it's okay, versus using earrings for
an idolatrous purpose. So to take this particular passage
and necessarily condemn every act of female decoration in terms
of earring is simply to go overboard with the text. And Robert Alter,
a modern commentator, reminds us that archaeology has abundantly
discovered earrings were often fashioned as figurines of gods
and goddesses. So if your earrings happen to
be in the shape of Baal or Asherah, So I'm scanning out. I don't
see any of that right now. You seem to be okay. But if you
had some sort of an idol hanging off your ear, well, certainly
you need to get rid of those particular things. That's what's
in view. The idea that God is here condemning
earrings is a misreading of the text, and it's really irresponsible
exegesis. That's not the point. But what
they did have that reeked of strange gods, they parted with,
and they throw down, and they bury them, or hid them under
the terebinth tree, which was by Shechem. And now they journey
to Bethel according to verses 5 to 8. And verse 5 really does
indicate why Jacob should have never been fearful. Jacob should
have never been afraid after Simeon and Levi went on that
mission to liberate their sister Dinah. Notice in verse 5, "...and
they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that
were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob."
So you see, God in His providence, God in His power, God in His
protective ability makes sure that the enemies of His people
don't get at His people. So those cities around no doubt
were upset by the way Simeon and Levi took care of business
there in the city of Shechem, but God had restrained them so
that they were not able to engage against Jacob and his family.
Wenham says, once again, Jacob's experience anticipates that of
his descendants when they conquered the land. If you go to the book
of Exodus for just a moment, just to see this theme, because
I think it's very valuable and very important, and I think it
does find its sort of pinnacle expression in Paul's language
in Romans chapter 8, when he says, if God is for us, what
can man do? And I think when we see these
Old Testament references, it puts that in a real tangible
perspective in a real tangible light. In Exodus 23 at verse
27, I will send my fear before you. I will cause confusion among
all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies
turn their backs to you. The book of Deuteronomy after
the mandate concerning holy war in Deuteronomy chapter 7 when
we drop down a bit to verses 20 to 24. God highlights that
fear that he will indeed put into the hearts of those around
Israel. Deuteronomy 720, Moreover, the
Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are
left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall
not be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, the great
and awesome God, is among you. And the Lord your God will drive
out those nations before you little by little. You will be
unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field
become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver
them over to you and will inflict defeat upon them until they are
destroyed. And he will deliver their kings
into your hand and you will destroy their name from under heaven.
No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed
that. And then that wonderful confession of Rahab the harlot
in Joshua chapter two. Joshua chapter 2 verse 9, well
in verse 8 she comes to the spies and says, Now before they lay
down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men,
I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror
of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the
land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how
the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you
came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites
who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom
you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these
things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any
more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord your God.
He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. So you see,
the Lord promotes the fear of the Lord in the hearts of those
outside of Israel to keep them from trying to harm anybody within
Israel. And that is the exact emphasis
here in 35.5. They arrive at Bethel, according
to verse 6. Jacob then builds an altar in
verse 7. And then we have this curious
note concerning the death of Deborah in verse 8. Now, there
may be great reasons for it. quite aware as to why it's here,
but it is intriguing. No record whatsoever of Rebecca's
death. Likely she's already dead by
this particular time. Waltke surmises she's not mentioned
because she did play a pivotal role in deceiving her husband.
So whether he's right in that or not, At least we have this
reference concerning Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died. She was
buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree, so the name of
it was called Alan Bakuth. So there you have their journey,
they're at Bethel, and now God appears in verses 9 and following. Verse 9 tells us, So all the
elements that were present initially in Genesis 28, if that was in
fact the initial covenant by God with Jacob, this again is
renewal. The terms are repeated, they
are reiterated, and that Not because God is contemplating
reneging, but it's for Jacob. It's for his faith. It's for
his encouragement. Again, that's why we take the
supper. That's why we read and study scripture. That's why we
pray. That's why we use the means of
grace. to fortify and strengthen our hearts that God is in fact
faithful." So God blesses Jacob and then He affirms that name
Israel in verse 10. He'd already gotten that sort
of name change back in chapter 32 when he wrestled with God
and he prevailed, he received the name of Israel. which is
prince of God that prevailed with God, basically, and that's
what the Lord reaffirms here. And then he highlights the particular
promises involved in the covenant. So with Abraham, Isaac, and now
Jacob, it's seed and it's land. And as he gives the seed promise
here, he uses the language of Genesis 1. He uses the language
of being fruitful and multiplying. Perhaps there's a connection
to what was failure on the part of the first Adam will be success
on the part of the second Adam. And that second Adam will ultimately
come from This man, Jacob, the Lord Jesus Christ, will come
as is specified in this very passage. So in verse 11, also
God said to him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. He says, a nation and a company
of nations shall proceed from you and kings shall come from
your body. That was given to Abraham. Specifically,
Abraham and Sarah, that there would be kings that would come
from her body in Genesis chapter 17 at verse 6. John Gill reminds us of some
of those kings as Saul, David, Solomon, and many others who
were kings of Israel and Judah, and especially the king Messiah. Again, as I've tried to encourage
us as we sort of think our way through these chapters in Genesis,
what at times appear to be very normal, sort of mundane, ordinary,
day-in and day-out events, like, you know, the 65 verses, I think,
in chapter 24, when Abraham's servant goes to find a wife for
Isaac. I mean, that's a lot of information
about a particular marriage. Again, the underlying current
in all of this is the seed. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And
as we have these two sorts of families under the one household
of Jacob, you've got sons of Leah, you've got sons of of Rachel,
there is factionalism between them. The latter half of the
book is essentially, or as we move into the Joseph narratives,
it's essentially the sons of Leah who have animosity towards
the son of Rachel, vis-Ã -vis Joseph. Now, just because Joseph
is favored by Jacob, that does not mean that the promise is
ultimately connected to him. Now, in terms of family, but
with reference to specifics, it's Judah. Judah was a son of
Leah, but you see that underlying current through all of this is
the seed, is the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's how you should, all
of us, should understand this. Kings shall come from your body. And then the land promise is
reasserted there in verse 12. The land which I gave Abraham
and Isaac I give to you, and to your descendants after you
I give you this land. Now, we've seen this land promise
a lot. Give me a little bit of a nod
if you remember this land promise. We've seen it with Abraham, we've
seen it with Isaac, and we're seeing it with Jacob. And we
might ask the question, why is it being repeated so many times?
Because as they are in the land, they're still surrounded by Canaanites
and Perizzites. While they are in the land, they
are still surrounded by non-Israelites. While they are in the land, they
are still not the full and sole occupiers of the land. So God
is nourishing their faith. God is encouraging their hearts.
God is reiterating these things. Again, not for God so that he
can kind of remember what his business is with this particular
family, but it's for the people in this particular family that
their hearts and their minds will be filled with the promises
of God so that when the mandate in Deuteronomy comes to go out
and engage in holy war and dispossess the land of the Canaanites, they've
gotten enough information, they've had enough promises. The foundation
has been laid so that they can go and embark on that particular
task and take the land as God had given it to them. So each
time, this promise is reiterated. It's not for God, but rather
it's for God's people, the inheritors of that land. And then, of course,
at this point, the natural reflex on the part of the worshiper
is to worship. And that's precisely what Jacob
does. Verse 13 says, then God went up from him. Now, when it
says that God went up from him, that's spoken in the manner of
men. God doesn't come down and then go up. That's language that
appeals to or speaks to us in a way that we can understand.
God is omnipresent. There's no sort of local movement
with God. He's not over here at one particular
time and over here at another particular time. These are anthropomorphisms. These are the predicating of
physicality or locality to an infinite being. It's done for
us so that we can understand. So God went up from him in the
place where he talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the
place where he talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured
a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. And Jacob called
the name of the place where God spoke with him. Bethel, and Bethel
literally means house of God. So there he goes to renew that
covenant, or God does, to renew that covenant with Jacob to sort
of ready him and sort of prepare him for all the sorts of things
that are going to follow from this point on. And that brings
us to the death of Rachel. And, you know, again, as we sort
of look at this and try to draw out practical implications, it
happens this way at times, doesn't it? You have these great experiences
with God, you're in the holy of holies, as it were, and you
sort of come back to the reality of life and there's tragedy,
there's hardship, there's pain, there's ache. In fact, there's
a... Lloyd-Jones, I don't know if it's in his Preaching and
Preachers, I think. A couple of guys over here have
been reading that, talking about the various, or no, Spurgeon
and his minister's fainting fits. He says that oftentimes, a minister's
depression comes after some season of great usefulness. In other
words, you think that you're on sort of top of the world,
and then the next day, Elijah under the broom tree. Well, the
same sort of thing obtains here. He's just met with God at Bethel,
and then his wife dies. And that brings us to consider
the death of Rachel in verses 16 to 18. Then they journeyed
from Bethel, and when there was but a little distance to go to
Ephrath, this is right near Bethlehem, Rachel labored in childbirth,
and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass when she
was in hard labor that the midwife said to her, Do not fear, you
will have this son also. Now, I think the midwife is speaking
connected with what she had said, with what Rachel had said when
she had given birth to Joseph. Back in Genesis chapter 30, at
verse 22, it says, Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her,
and opened her womb. And she conceived in Borison,
and said, God has taken away my reproach. So she called his
name Joseph, and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.
So whether it was prayer or prophecy, the midwife here reminds her
of that and assures her that you will, in fact, have this
son also. Unfortunately, as she has this
particular son, she dies. And we see that in verse 18.
Verse 18, it says, and so it was, as her soul was departing,
for she died, that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father
called him Benjamin. Now, before we look at the naming
of this particular sign, this does confirm something in terms
of individual eschatology. For the Saturday morning crowd,
we just went through this in Birkhoff's Systematic Theology. Under the chapter of eschatology,
which is the doctrine of or the study of last things, there's
two divisions. There's cosmic eschatology, What
happens when Jesus returns? Second coming, age to come, those
sorts of things. But there's individual eschatology.
What happens when a person dies? When a person dies, their soul
or spirit departs to be present with the Lord. And this passage
confirms that dichotomous nature of man. Man is not just physical. Man is also immaterial. There
is the physicality and the immaterial nature of man, and that's upheld
here. Verse 18, as her soul was departing,
for she died. The body died, but the soul departed. So the dichotomous nature of
man is seen in this particular passage, as well as the confirmation
of the intermediate state. The body dies, the body goes
into the ground, but the soul departs. Now we hope the soul
obviously here departed and was present with the Lord, but that's
certainly obvious in the passage. Her soul departs and then she
calls his name Ben-Oni, which literally means son of my sorrow
or son of my vigor. Son of My Sorrow seems to get
most of the sort of appreciation on the part of commentators,
but also Son of Vigor. I mean, her last very act with
reference to life was to give birth to this son. He was, in
fact, the son of her vigor in that 11th hour. But of course,
Jacob changes the name to Benjamin, which means Son of My Right Hand. And this means the son of my
favored son. Gil says, he named him this,
being as dear to him and as beloved by him as his right hand. Which again indicates something
of his favoritism for Rachel and for the children of Rachel
versus Leah and the children of Leah. I don't think he hated
any of them, but he certainly favored Rachel and her sons. and then Rachel is buried, she
dies in verse 19 and it's Bethlehem Ephrathah that's referred to
in Micah 5.2 as the birthplace of the Messiah. This is also
mentioned in Jeremiah 31.15 and then again in Matthew 2. Matthew
2 invokes or calls, quotes rather, Jeremiah 31 15 in terms of Rachel
weeping. And I think there's some typology
going on there and the murder of the innocents by Herod in
Matthew chapter 2. So there is more on this in the
Bible. And then according to verse 20,
it says, he set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of
Rachel's grave to this day. So certainly when Moses wrote,
it was still there. And then in 1 Samuel chapter
10, verse 2, that pillar was still there. And then that brings
us to this interesting scene with reference to Reuben in verses
21 and 22. It says, Then Israel journeyed
and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Adar. And it happened
when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with
Bila, his father's concubine, and Israel heard about it. Now
what do we make of this? Why would Reuben do this? This was an act of treachery.
This was a sinful thing. The Mosaic Law will certainly
speak against this kind of conduct in Leviticus 18.8, Leviticus
20.11, and Deuteronomy 27.20. This is absolutely positively
condemned. It seems to be the case that
Rubin does this more in terms of politics than sensuality. Wenham makes the observation.
It seems likely that Rubin's motives were more than sensual.
By his act, he hoped to prevent Rachel's maid succeeding Rachel
as his father's favorite wife. See, I don't think Reuben ever
liked the fact that Leah wasn't the favorite and that Rachel
was. So this was a strategic play
on his part to make sure that Rachel's maidservant didn't become
Jacob's favorite. He goes on to say, Reuben resented
that Jacob did not honor his mother, Leah. But also, and this
is fundamental when you see this through the former prophets,
it was a claim to authority over his father. It was a claim to
authority over his father. As firstborn, he was therefore
asserting a claim to his father's estate. Abner does this with
Saul's concubine. David is told by the prophet
Nathan, I gave you Saul's wives, I gave you his goods. If that
was too little, I would have given you more. Well, the giving
of the wives shows the authority that David now possesses. In
2 Samuel 16, this was Absalom's treachery when he went up on
the rooftop and he had relations with David's concubines. It was
an assertion, not of his sexual prowess and ability, it was an
assertion of his authority. He wanted to take the throne
away from David, and this was an evident usurpation of the
throne. And then you see it in 1 Kings
2, verses 13 to 25, when there's some jockeying for the throne
that ultimately goes to Solomon. And so if that's what Reuben
is doing, which it seems that that is the case, to make sure
that this woman doesn't become the favored, but as well to sort
of assert himself as the firstborn to take that authority that would
come to him. Most likely that's why Reuben
does what he does. It's intriguing that at the end
of verse 22, we read, and Israel heard about it. just like back
in chapter 34 at verse 5. Well, Jacob never does, you know,
express his feelings, if you will, or his
thoughts concerning the Dinah rape. Well, he doesn't do that
here either. He doesn't make any comment whatsoever. Could be just silence on the
part of the narrator, but the fact that he doesn't reprimand
the boy, the fact that he doesn't, or the young man, the fact that
he doesn't censure him, sanction him or something, seems to be
amiss. Now, later on, it certainly does
come back with reference to Jacob, and he brings this up with Reuben
in the blessing in Genesis 49. In Genesis 49, 3 and 4, Jacob
never forgot. Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of
dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you
shall not excel, because you went up to your father's bed,
then you defiled it, he went up to my couch." So certainly,
Jacob was concerned about it in the context of Genesis 35.
Nothing is said, but at the end of his life when he comes to
bless his sons, he goes along and he bypasses not only Reuben,
but also Simeon and Levi. And it's Judah that is ultimately
the leader of the 12 tribes, and that's the one from whom
Jesus comes. So the treachery of Reuben, the
sin, and then the response. And then that brings us to this
rehearsal of the sons of Jacob. Again, we might ask the question,
why? As far as I can tell, because we're going to look at the descendants
of Esau next week, That's maybe about a 10-minute Bible study,
so just keep that in your mind. I'm not sure how much I can say
about the genealogy of Esau. I'm going to do my best. I know
there's a lot of verses there, but I'm just not really invested
into the family line of Esau, though I will try to get something,
and it might be more than 10 minutes, Isaac. You're looking
too concerned. It was just a joke. But there's
this statement concerning the sons of Jacob, and then you've
got the descendants of Esau. But as I said, as we move into
the Joseph narrative, it's the sons of Leah that sort of have
this animosity, this jealousy, this envious spirit towards the
son of Rachel. And that's what leads ultimately
to this great breach within the family of Jacob, where Joseph
is ultimately sold into slavery, and then Benjamin is even proffered
up. He has to go, much to the chagrin
of Jacob. And with reference to these particular
sons, they're categorized by the wives. You've got the sons
of Jacob and Leah in verse 23, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun. the sons of Jacob and Rachel,
verse 24, Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Jacob and Billah,
Rachel's maidservant, in verse 25, Dan and Naphtali, and then
the sons of Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, in verse
26, Gad and Asher. And so this sets the stage again
for what we see in chapter 36 in terms of the sons of Esau,
and then the breach that obtains within the household of Jacob.
And that brings us finally to the death of Isaac. We see that
Jacob comes to his father Isaac at Mamre or Kirjath Arba, that
is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. Now the days
of Isaac were 180 years, so Isaac breathed his last and died. and
was gathered to his people, being old and full of days." So at
this particular time, Jacob would have been 120 years old, here
as Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born, according to Genesis 25
and verse 26. And notice, the last statement
there, before the family of Esau, his sons Esau and Jacob buried
him. That's a good thing. These brothers
did reconcile, these brothers did come back together. These
brothers are present at the death of their father and together
they bury him in the cave in Machpelah and that was the place
that Abraham and Sarah were buried and this is ultimately where
Jacob will be buried according to Genesis 49 verses 29 to 32. Well, as I said, the overarching
concern or application that I think is very helpful for us as God's
people is that concept of covenant renewal. And again, whether you
consciously think of the Lord's Supper in those terms or whether
you consciously think of reading your Bible or praying or corporate
worship in those terms, it's kind of what it is. It's the
means of grace that God has given. Now, when we talk about the means
of grace, it's not formulaic. It's not Baal-ism. When you sort
of did for Baal, then you could expect Baal would do for you.
It's not the way the means of grace work. Well, Lord, I read
my Bible for 34 minutes last week. I should get 34 units of
blessing. Or I prayed for 20 minutes, and
therefore I should get whatever. I think at times we approach
this in that way. We approach it, whether consciously
or not, as a health, wealth, and prosperity approach. We think
that if we do for God, then He's going to do for us. That's not
the way the means of grace work. And just because we read our
Bibles, or we pray, or we attend church, doesn't mean that sort
of blessings are going to flow. We've got something happening
tomorrow. I'm going to go to church today. If I go to church
today, then that secures whatever I want that's good tomorrow.
That's not the way it works. And it's not the case that God
cannot speak to you, and I don't mean audibly, but remind you
of scripture or whatever when you're doing your shopping or
when you're mowing your lawn. But there are things calculated
by God for the growth of His people. We are commanded in 2
Peter 3 at verse 18 to grow in the grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's not optional.
That's not for a handful of people in the church that like to get
up early and go to, you know, a theology study. That's for
every one of God's people. but grow in the grace and in
the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Well, how
do we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus? Is it magic?
Is it hocus-pocus? Do we have to, you know, disengage
our minds and just sort of lay there and hopefully God will
zap us and conform us? No, we use the means that God
has given. We use the Bible, we use prayer,
we use corporate worship, we use those means. Again, not formulaically,
that if we do it, we get so many benefits from it, but rather
we do it because God commands us to do it, and it is in the
midst of that that these are conduits by which God pours out
grace into the lives of His people. And I suspect that's what's happening,
both in Genesis 28 and Genesis 35. God knows the weakness of
Jacob. God knows the weakness of Jacob
far better than you and I do. As we move our way through the
Jacob narratives, there are things that make me go, I can't believe
he's not upset that his daughter was raped. I cannot believe that
he's upset about what Canaanites and Perizzites are going to think
of him, and he hasn't shed one tear, at least as far as we know,
over the rape of his daughter Dinah. I mean, God knows so much
more His weakness, and God comes to aid Him in His weakness. And
the same is true with us. He knows our frame, Psalm 103
tells us. He knows that we're but dust,
and He pities us. And so He gives us these things.
They're simple things. He doesn't tell us to shimmy
up Mount Shem and spend a week there and chant or hum, and God
will flood our souls with His presence. That's not what He
calls us to do. He calls us to read, He calls
us to pray, and He calls us to attend a corporate worship. Again,
the particular sorts of requirements aren't huge and they're not hardships,
but rather they are means given by God for our growth in grace
and for stabilization for the various things that life throws
at us. Again, consider post-Bethel in
Genesis chapter 35. He sees the death of Rachel,
his wife. He sees the treachery of Reuben,
his son. He sees the death of Isaac, his
father. And not long from now, he's going
to incur the loss of Joseph, his son, at least for a time. He's going to suffer under famine. Remember, behold, there is corn
in Egypt. That's why he sends his sons
over into Egypt. And then he's going to lose Benjamin,
at least for a time. So you see, in the kindness and
in the goodness of God, God comes to him at Bethel to strengthen
him and fortify him so that he doesn't fall apart even more
so. We see that in the midst of the
Jacob narratives, there are those instances where it does seem,
at least ethically, he's fallen apart. But he doesn't completely
abandon. He's never left shipwrecked.
He's never left without God and without that peace. And the same
thing is true for us. Those who neglect the Bible,
those who neglect prayer, and those who neglect corporate worship
are not typically the most stable when it comes to the sorts of
things that Genesis tells us are very commonplace. In other
words, as we look at this list, the death of Rachel his wife,
the treachery of Reuben his son, the death of Isaac his father,
These are the same sorts of things that you and I undergo in this
world presently. Well, how are we going to deal
with those sorts of things if we are strangers to the grace
of God, if we never avail ourselves of those resources that God gives
us and that He uses for our well-being and for our growth and for our
stability? So as we read through Genesis
35, yes, appreciate the amazing grace and the kindness and the
goodness of God that He comes to Jacob at Bethel, but also
see that Jacob went to Bethel, Jacob obeyed, Jacob complied,
Jacob received the grace that God was giving to him. The fact
that God is going to pour out all this grace upon His people
that are absent or that don't use the things that He has given
for us is an absolute shame. We are to be the people that
seek the Lord as the Lord has promised those who seek Him will
find Him. And He will stabilize us, He
will encourage us, and He will help us along the way. So let
us learn from Jacob's Bethel experience to make much of the
means of grace. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank
You for Your Word and we thank You for the clarity in these
narratives and for the fact that You show such grace and such
mercy and such kindness to Your people. And God, we know it's
not just Jacob then, but it's us even now. For as we look at
our own hearts and we look at our own lives and we look at
our own conduct, we do stand. in constant need of your grace
and of your mercy and of your loving kindness. We thank you
that you've promised to never leave us nor forsake us. We thank
you that Paul has well said that if you are for us, who can be
against us? May these things encourage us
and may you help us to persevere in this world. And we ask this
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
