The God of Jacob
– God’s faithfulness to Jacob –
Genesis 33:12-35:29
Good morning. Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you, M. Esther and M. Ruth, for praying for us and feeding us delicious food each time. May God continue to bless you richly this year.
Today’s passage is about how God kept his promise to Jacob despite Jacob’s shortcomings. Did you ever hear about a quote saying, “Danger past, God is forgotten.” This quote came from an English pastor, Thomas Fuller. It points out our two opposite attitudes: people seek God’s help during times of crisis but do not maintain a consistent practice of faith once the crisis is over. In today’s passage, Jacob lived like “Danger past, God is forgotten.” Yet, God did not give him up. God was faithful to him. We are not much different from Jacob. When we are in need, we seek God’s help. But when things are good, we become like him. Through this message, let us learn the God of Jaco so that we may trust in God who is faithful to us despite our weaknesses.

Part 1. Jacob settled in Sukkoth and Shechem (33:12-34).
[MAP1] In summary, we learned last week that in Paddan Aram, after God blessed Jacob to be super rich, God commanded him to return to his fathers’ land (Hebron). He started his journey back to his father’s land. But as he was close to the land, he was in great fear and distress because of his brother Esau. He still remembered how Esau was angry and wanted to kill him when he deceived Esau and took his blessing. God knew his fear. So, God wrestled with him and blessed him to overcome the fear. Finally, when he met his brother Esau, he was not afraid of Esau anymore. He said, “Seeing your face is like seeing God’s face.”
Now, everything was good. He had only one thing left: to arrive safely at the land of his fathers. But look at verse 17. Verse 17 says “Jacob, however”. What does this mean? Instead of going to his father’s land, he went to Sukkoth. Sukkoth means “shelter”. There, he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. Why did he move there? He suffered a lot for the last 20 years under his mean father-in-law, Laban. As Sukkoth means, he wanted to relax, rest, and enjoy his life.
Then, in verse 18, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem. Shechem was a big commercial center like New York. Later, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Northern Israel, like Washington D.C. After camping within sight of the city, he bought a plot of ground for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor. In our term, he bought land (a house) to settle there. Then, he built an altar to God. We do not know how long he lived there. It seems for him to live there long. But again, why did he not go down to the land of his fathers but settle in Shechem? It is something not right. Out of thankfulness, he should be faithful to God. But he did not want it. At the same time, he could not deny God. So, he was moving very slowly, as much as he could. In the meantime, he enjoyed city life as much as possible.
This is our sinful nature. When we are in need, we humble and sincerely seek God. We said we would do anything for him if he helped us. But like Jacob, we begin to have second thoughts after God’s blessing. Instead of being more faithful to God, even though we know what to do, we do not want to obey it. We insist on our own way. We serve God but want to live in Sukkoth (shelter) and Shechem (city life). Yet, we have a conscience. We cannot ignore God completely. So, very slowly, like snails, with a minimum, we obey God. Yet, we misunderstand we are serving God very well like Jacob built an altar in Shechem.
Now, let’s look at chapter 34. His only daughter, Dinah, went out to visit the women of Shechem. But when Shechem (a man’s name) saw her, he took her and raped her. When Jacob heard of this, he did not know what to do. He waited until his sons came from the field. When they heard what happened to Dinah, they were shocked and furious.
Then, what did they do? They planned to kill all men in the city of Shechem. They deceived Shechem and his father Hamor that all men are circumcised. When Shechem asked his town’s people, all men agreed and supported him. However, in verse 25, while all the men were suffering in the pain of circumcision, on the third day, Simeon and Levi came and killed every man. Verse 25 says they attacked the unsuspecting city. We do not know how many men lived in the city. Probably at least 500 or 1,000 or 5,000 men. Simeon and Levi were crazy. They misused circumcision. Originally, God gave them circumcision as a sign of covenant: God is their God, and they are God’s people. God did not give them circumcision to murder others. But their evilness is not over yet. In verse 27, the sons of Jacob came and looted the city. They carried off all their wealth, all the women, and children. It is hard to believe what they did as so-called God’s people. They did not respect life. They were worse than unbelievers.

Part 2. God told Jacob to go up to Bethel (34:30-35:1)
Look at verse 34:30. Jacob was so scared that he and his family would be destroyed when the people on the land joined forces against him. He did not want to move. But he had to leave. But where?
Then, how did God help him? Let’s read 35:1. Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.
Until this time, God did not say anything to Jacob. At Sukkoth, when Jacob enjoyed his sheltered life. At Shechem, when he enjoyed city life, God was silent. God’s heart must have been hurt because of Jacob’s unfaithfulness. Yet, God endured Jacob and waited. However, when Jacob was in great fear and distress, God immediately jumped into Jacob’s situation. He gave Jacob a solution: go up to Bethel, settle there, and build an altar. Why Bethel? What is Bethel? It was where Jacob had a personal encounter with God for the first time in his life. While fleeing from Esau, at Bethel, he met God. God promised Jacob in Genesis 28:15, saying, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then, Jacbo was so thankful that he made a vow that if God is with him, watches over him, and safely returns to the land of his fathers, God will be his God, the stone that he set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and he will give God a tenth. Bethel was a special place between God and Jacob. God has kept his promise to Jaco. Now, it is Jacob’s turn to keep his promise to God.
What is your Bethel? It could be a place or something else. It might be the place where you met God/Jesus for the first time or the Bible passage where you accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord or the place where you met God for the first time, like the UD campus. When we are in trouble, God first wants us to go up to our Bethel. There, we meet our own God once again. That is the beginning of all solutions in our life.
God also commanded Jacob to settle and build an altar at Bethel. What does building an altar mean? It is a sign of repentance and commitment to God. It is a sign of worship. So far, Jacob has not been faithful to God. His attitude was not right. But God forgave him. God gave him another second chance to renew his faith at Bethel.
Thank God for his mercy upon Jacob. He and his sons did not deserve God’s grace. Yet, God was merciful to them. When you see verse 5, when Jacob set out for Bethel, the terror of God fell on the towns around them so that no one pursued them. God protected Jacob from any harm.
That is not the end. Look at verse 10. At Bethel, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel once again. Jacob means ‘grabs his heel’ or ‘deceiver.’ Israel means ‘struggle with God’. In chapter 33, God gave Jacob a new name, “Israel,” but his inner character did not change much. Even though his name was Israel, he still lived like Jacob. So, God named him Israel, meaning from now on, live as Israel (wrestle with God, live a God-centered life).
Also, in verses 11 – 13, God renewed his covenant again. He said to Jacob, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number.” Then, God promised him that a nation, a community of nations, and kings would come from him, and he and his descendants would occupy the land of Canaan.
Wow! The God of Jacob is amazing. It seems too much favor on Jacob. When God saw Jacob’s unfaithfulness, God could say, ‘That is it’. He could call another man and start all over again. In fact, in Exodus, God was very angry with Israel. In Exodus 32:9,10, he told Moses, “I have seen these people,” the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
However, God did not give up Jacob or his sons. Why? Because that is who God is. Romans 9:15 says For God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Also, that is what God is doing: calling undeserved people and changing them into God’s people. In Genesis, Abraham and Isaac had their own shortcomings and weaknesses. Yet, God endured them for long years. Then, he changed them into God’s people in the end. Now, he was doing the same thing to Jacob.
Like Jacob in the Bible, we do not deserve to be called God’s people. Who are we? In the past, we were the object of God’s wrath. Even after we became God’s people, we are still selfish, greedy, and stubborn. Sometimes, we are worse than unbelievers. We want God’s blessing but do not want to sacrifice for God. We often do barely the minimum for God. God knows all this. Yet, he does not punish us. He does not give us up. He wants us to repent with our will. Romans 2:4 says, do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Part 3. Jacob told his whole family to remove the idols. (35:2-29)
Let’s look at how Jacob responded to God’s command. Shall we read verses 2 and 3? So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.
Jacob repented of his unfaithfulness. He decided to go up to Bethel to live a God-first life. But before that, he told his whole family to get rid of the foreign gods and purify themselves. We know that Rachel stole a house god from her father. But how did Jacob’s household have the idols? Where did they come from? It came from when Jacob lived in Sukkoth and Shechem. While he relaxed and enjoyed the pleasure of life, his sons, his wives, and all the people in his house were influenced by the ungodly culture. They became corrupt and began to possess idols. They did not fear God. Actually, Jacob knew this. But until this time, he did not say anything to them. But now, as he purified himself before God, he challenged his household to remove the idols and purify themselves.
How did Jacob’s family respond to him? In verse 4, they did not protect him nor be rebellious. Instead, they gave Jacob all the foreign they had. They themselves knew that having idols was wrong. But they did not want to remove those. But when Jacob told them to do so, they obeyed him. Then they went to Bethel to meet the God of Jacob.
Now look at verse 27. Finally, Jacob came home to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. God safely led Jacob to the land of his fathers as he promised Jacob at Bethel.
Before conclusion, let me ask you one question. The sons of Jacob murdered all men in the city of Shechem. They should pay for their own sins. But in this chapter, they did not pay for anything. God is holy. How can they get away with no penalty? Did God ignore their sins because they are God’s people? Absolutely not. Unlike the sons of Jacob, the son of God, Jesus was sinless. Yet, God demanded the payment of the sins of Jacob’s sons to Jesus. In place of them, Jesus was crucified on the cross to pay for their sins. He also paid for our sins on the cross.
In conclusion, today’s story is not favorable. Yet, through Jacob’s ups and downs, we learn spiritual lessons. After God’s blessing, instead of being faithful to God, he lived in Sukkoth (shelter) and Shechem (city life). His sons did terrible things in chapter 34. God could abandon Jacob and his sons. But God did not give them up. In particular, God immediately helped Jacob when he was in trouble. Ultimately, God led him to Bethel to have the right relationship between God and Jacob. God was faithful to him as he promised. When Jacob found God’s faithfulness, he told his family to remove idols and purify themselves. If we really know God’s faithfulness, we should put our hope in God and, as a sign of faith, get rid of the idols and purify ourselves to meet our God. Let us live with a new quote, “Danger past, God is remembered.” May God bless each of us to continue to know the God of Jacob, the God of us that we may be faithful to him.