창세기 Chapter 35

Translation: ESV

1

God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.'

Key Message

After failure, God calls us back to the place of first encounter to begin again.

▸After the Shechem tragedy, God calls Jacob back to Bethel — the origin point of his covenant journey.

After the Shechem tragedy, God calls Jacob back to Bethel — the origin point of his covenant journey. This is both a summons to spiritual renewal and a path of safety. God draws Jacob back to where they first met, offering a fresh beginning after failure.

Related Verses

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
2

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.'

Key Message

Approaching God in worship requires removing the idols from our lives and purifying our hearts.

▸Jacob's response to God's command is immediate and thorough: he orders the removal of all foreign gods, demands ritual purification, and commands a change of garments.

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.

Key Message

Mature faith values the God who meets us more than the sacred places where he meets us.

▸Jacob builds an altar and names it 'El-bethel' — 'the God of Bethel.

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.

Key Message

The new identity God gives is confirmed through repeated encounters, growing deeper with each one.

▸The name change from Jacob to Israel, first given at Peniel (Gen.

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.'

Key Message

God Almighty's covenant expands from one person to a family, from a family to a nation, and from a nation toward all peoples.

▸God identifies himself as El Shaddai — the name used with Abraham (Gen.

18

And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

Key Message

God gives new life even in the place of sorrow; human grief can be transformed by hope.

▸Rachel names her dying breath's child Ben-oni — 'son of my sorrow' — but Jacob renames him Benjamin — 'son of my right hand' or 'son of the south.

19

So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem),

Key Message

Even in grief and death, individuals occupy a place in God's unfolding story of redemption.

▸Rachel is buried on the road to Ephrath — Bethlehem.

29

And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Key Message

A life fully lived in faithfulness to God, ending in peace — this is the witness of God's faithfulness.

▸Isaac dies peacefully, 'old and full of days' — a phrase that connotes a life lived out to its God-given fullness.