Genesis 35:1-15
Return to Bethel
Read the passage
1Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
2So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
3Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.
5As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
6So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
7There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.
8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.
9After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
10And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.
11And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.
12The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
13Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him.
14So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
15Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
God tells Jacob to arise, go up to Bethel, settle there, and make an altar to the God who appeared to him when he fled from Esau. Jacob tells his household to put away the foreign gods among them, purify themselves, and change their clothes. They are going to a place where Jacob will build an altar to the God who answered him in his distress and has been with him wherever he has gone.
The household gives Jacob the foreign gods and the earrings they have. Jacob buries them under the oak near Shechem. Then they journey, and a terror from God falls on the surrounding cities so that no one pursues Jacob's sons. The family reaches Luz, which Jacob calls Bethel, in the land of Canaan.
There Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, dies and is buried under the oak below Bethel. Jacob names her burial place Allon-bacuth.
God appears to Jacob again and blesses him. God repeats the name Israel, says that Jacob is now Israel, and promises a nation and a company of nations, kings, and the land given to Abraham and Isaac. Jacob sets up a stone pillar, pours a drink offering and oil on it, and calls the place Bethel.
The return to Bethel is a return to worship after a household has passed through fear, deception, and violence. The family cannot undo what happened at Shechem by changing clothes or burying idols. But they can turn again toward God, name the place where he met them, and receive the next step under his promise.
Questions
1 What did God tell Jacob to build?
AnswerGod tells Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar. Jacob orders his household to put away foreign gods, purify themselves, and change their garments.
2 What did Jacob’s household put away?
AnswerThe household gives Jacob its foreign gods and earrings, and he buries them under the oak near Shechem. The act marks a deliberate break with old practices.
3 Who was buried near Bethel?
AnswerDeborah, Rebekah's nurse, dies and is buried under the oak below Bethel. Jacob names the place Allon-bacuth.
4 What name did God repeat for Jacob?
AnswerGod appears to Jacob, blesses him, and repeats the name Israel. The covenant identity is reaffirmed before the family continues its journey.
What This Means for Us
Returning to God is more than adopting a new appearance. It means naming what has claimed our trust, grieving the people we have lost, and letting worship redirect our next choices. A household can begin again without denying its history. Bring the whole story to God and choose one concrete act of faithfulness.
Prayer
God who meets us again, call us back after seasons of fear and failure. Help us put away whatever competes for our trust, grieve those who carried us, and worship you without pretending our history is clean. Give our family a faithful next step under the promise of your presence. Amen.