Jacob's Delay In Following God's Instructions

INTRO

Even though we’re imperfect people, God still uses us to help further the Seed, Christ. The path of the Seed at this point was: Abraham Isaac Jacob 12 sons, 1 daughter.

TEACHING

Genesis 34:2–30: Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, was raped by Shechem, which caused some serious anger among the brothers. Their outrage was not just about Dinah, but Israel! Shechem wanted to marry Dinah, so he made an agreement with Simeon and Levi that all the males in his village would be circumcised. The men were circumcised, and on their third day of recovery, Simeon and Levi entered the village and killed every male. Jacob’s other sons plundered the city. Jacob told Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me” (v. 30). Jacob had the seed of the serpent mentality again and was concerned about losing his seed because of what his sons had done.

Genesis 35:1: God told Jacob to move from Shechem and settle at Bethel. This was a repeat of God's instructions to Jacob in Genesis 31:13 but Jacob didn't go all the way.  It had been over twenty years earlier (Genesis 28), when Jacob had set up a stone and made a promise to make the Lord his God in Bethel. Now God told Jacob to do what He had said. Even though Jacob had heard from the Lord, he didn’t finish the instructions. After he had encountered Esau, Jacob arrived in Shechem and stayed (Genesis 33:18). And this is where Dinah was raped. Did Jacob’s delay bring destruction to his family?

God told Jacob to go, but he delayed. Multiple times, men of God were told to go back: Abraham–Genesis 13; Isaac– Genesis 26; David–2 Samuel 12; Jonah–Jonah 3; and Peter–John 21

Genesis 35:2-5: Before leaving for Bethel, as God had instructed, Jacob told his family to remove all foreign gods, become purified, and change their clothes. But Rachel had stolen her father’s idols. Jacob had implied he wanted his family to have a new beginning. Scripture emphasizes the cleansing of impurities (Psalm 51:2,7; Isaiah 1:16; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 John 1:9). New garments are an image of cleansing (Isaiah 64:6; Genesis 3:21). Jacob proclaimed that God had answered his prayers! Jacob made a public confession again that God was with them!

Jacob took up the idols and buried them. Jacob buried the idols at the oak near Shechem, the same place where God appeared to Abram after he entered the land (Genesis 12:6). When Jacob and his family began to move, a terror from God came over the cities around them as soon as they set out! A true revival will never imply that people are just sitting! Wiersbe wrote, “When God’s people are doing God’s will in God’s way, they can depend on God’s provision and protection.”¹

Genesis 35:6–7: Jacob renamed Bethel and recognized God. Waltke wrote that, at this time, “The covenant family retains their separation from Canaanites, their witness to them, and symbolically claim the land based on God’s promises.”²They declared that they were not part of the Canaanites and that they followed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob and his family believed God was going to fulfill His promise to them. Was this the first revival? Maybe. They gave up their idols, purified themselves, and walked it out to Canaan.

Genesis 35:8–17: Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, who had a strong presence in the family, died and was buried. It is a big deal for her to be listed here; most likely, she was an integral part of Jacob’s life. God spoke life into Jacob again. The Lord was overemphasizing that the Seed was coming through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gave Jacob the name “Israel.” We know God did this when Jacob wrestled with Him. Our memory can be so short that we can have an encounter with God one day and still need another one the next day. These people were no different. God said, “I am God Almighty!” (El Shaddai). God told Jacob to be fruitful and multiply, reminding him that a nation would come from him and that kings would descend from him (2 Samuel 7:12). Like Genesis 12 when God met with Abram, He was physically present when He withdrew from Jacob.

Genesis 35:14–15: Jacob marked with a stone the place where he had spoken with God and named it Bethel (v. 15). Pouring out a drink offering was a symbol of dedication, giving everything one had (2 Samuel 23:16; Philippians 2:17).

Genesis 35:16–17: They set out from Bethel. But God never told them to leave. Rachel had given birth to their last son, and the labor was difficult. It was difficult because of Genesis 3 and the fall of Adam and Eve. She had reaped the consequence of sin.

Genesis 35:18: Rachel named her son “Ben-oni,” meaning, “son of sorrow, son of trouble” but Jacob renamed him “Benjamin,” or “son of my right hand.” Rachel died in childbirth. Did judgment come on Rachel because they left Bethel or because of her past comments? We’re not sure, but when Jacob had been disobedient, there were consequences (i.e., Dinah’s rape and Rachel’s death). God’s power always trumps who we are (our imperfectness), but we still have consequences for our sin. Wiersbe said, “Life is a mosaic of lights and shadows, joy and sorrows; and the same baby that brought Rachel and her husband joy also brought tears.”³

Genesis 35:19–21: Rachel was buried on the way to Ephrath (Bethlehem). Jacob was now referred to as Israel. Moses chose when to refer to him as Israel and when to refer to him as Jacob. While they lived in that region,Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father’s concubine and his mother’s slave.There was no clear reason as to why Reuben did this. The Law said, “A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s bed” (Deuteronomy 22:30). Because of what he did, Jacob cursed him and told him he would no longer excel. Reuben lost his blessing (Genesis 49:3–4).

Genesis 35:22–26: The 12 tribes of Israel are listed again: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher (vv. 22–26).

Genesis 35:27–29: Isaac lived 180 years. When he died, Esau and Jacob came together and buried their fatherr.

CLOSING

Somewhere amidst all of this, the Seed continues.