vow — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

Gen. 35:5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.

Gen. 35:9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 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. 12 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.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Let’s review. Jacob has returned home, back to the land of Canaan, after spending two decades working for his uncle Laban. No longer is the LORD simply his father Isaac’s God; the LORD is now Jacob’s God. After the LORD has fulfilled his promises to bring Jacob safely back home, he instructs Jacob to fulfill his vow to worship the LORD. Jacob follows his instruction to return to the place where the LORD had appeared to him when he was on the run from his brother Esau.

We pick up this story at the time Jacob and his whole household are traveling to Bethel to worship the LORD. If we aren’t thinking about the greater context of what’s been happening, some details given to us by Moses seem extraneous. What’s the point of mentioning that “a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them?” (Vs. 5) The answer lies in what happened seemingly a short time after Jacob and his household returned to Canaan, and Shechem the Hittite raped Jacob’s daughter Dinah and wanted to marry her. Jacob’s sons used circumcision, the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, to trick the Hittite men and slaughter them. Jacob was concerned that the various people groups might join forces and seek retribution. Ah! Now it makes sense, right? Moses is simply telling the reader, “This is why the various groups in that area did not pursue Jacob’s family to kill them. The LORD was protecting them while they were traveling to do what God had told them to do.” Jacob arrived at Bethel and built an altar at the place where the LORD first appeared to him.

Moses wrote that Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried. What does this have to do with anything? Is this another “insignificant” detail? I don’t think so. Soon, we’re going to read about the death of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, who would die giving birth to one more son. Then, Moses records the death of Isaac. What I believe is happening is that Moses is giving the reader this detail to realize that time and life is moving on. Whereas the LORD had spoken to Abraham and made the covenant with him, Abraham died without receiving all the promises of that covenant. But the covenant was passed on to his seed, Isaac. Then, between Esau and Jacob, the covenant goes to Jacob. We’re seeing the passing of the former generation, and the focus should lead us to wonder, through whom, of all these descendants of Jacob, will the promised seed come? Already, a few of the older brothers have committed genocide through an abuse of the sign of the Abrahamic covenant and have likely disqualified themselves.

Genesis 35:3-15 has many parallels to Jacob’s encounter with the LORD recorded in Genesis 28:10-22. In both instances, the LORD reveals himself to Jacob, and Jacob responds by setting up a stone as a monument to the LORD and anoints it with oil. It’s not just an inclusio in the story of Jacob revealing his journey of faith, but a testament to the faithfulness of God to fulfill his promises.

This is an important lesson to Jacob and his descendants, who’ve had their own journey of faith coming out of Egypt, about to enter the land that God has promised them. We who worship the same God can also trust that our God is able and faithful to do all things he has promised.