Mar 17

Genesis 35:1-29
Memorise Genesis 35:11
“Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name”

After the fiasco at Shechem, God appeared to Jacob and instructed him to return to Bethel – the place where God first appeared to him when he was on the run from Esau (Genesis 35:1, ref 28:19). It was a place where Jacob had first made his promise to God, that he would worship Him if God indeed took care of him. Now, the Lord was calling him there in order that he might rededicate himself to the Lord. Before they went they were to leave all their past behind them, including idols that some within his household had taken to, probably including the teraphims that Rachel had stolen from Laban (Genesis 31:19). God wanted them to start afresh, for if He was to make a nation out of Jacob and his 12 sons, they needed to put away their sins and idolatry before God would give the promise to them.

As they came to Bethel, God appeared to Jacob again. The name change that was first instituted in Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestled with God was now repeated. This is significant, for Jacob needed a new name befitting his position. He was to be a father of a nation. He had to put his old past as a deceiver and supplanter behind him, and embrace his role as the head of a family that would become the nation of God’s chosen people. And so God told him “thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel” (Genesis 35:10). The name Israel could mean either “God prevails”, or “one who prevails with God”. The explanation for the name was given in Genesis 32:28, when God told him “for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed”. This indicated that God was giving Jacob an exalted position as His representation, and that He would rule and prevail through the nation that He would form through Jacob. Indeed what an honour that the almighty God would give to a man. God then elaborated on His promise to Jacob in the next few verses, promising that there would be nations that would come forth from him, and kings would proceed from his loins. The promise of the land given to Abraham and Isaac was extended to him as well (Genesis 35:11-12).

Yet we must remember that before Jacob was ready to do all this, he first had to repent of his sins, acknowledge the Lord as His God, and dedicate himself and his family to Him. Dear teen, are you ready to be used by God?

Thought: What are the sins and idols in my life that I need to be rid of?
Prayer: Lord, help me to be a servant fit for the Master’s use.