Jacob – From Bethel To El Bethel

Feature 1 – September 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Jacob – From Bethel To El Bethel

Isaac and Rebekah, who were godly, had twin boys, Jacob and Esau. We read: “Isaac pleaded with the L ORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the L ORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived … And the L ORD said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.’ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob” (Gen. 25:21,23-26 NKJV ).

Jacob’s name means “supplanter” or “deceitful,” and we will see that on many occasions he was true to his name. The same comment can apply to him as applied to the “scoundrel Nabal” in David’s lifetime: “for as his name is, so is he” (1 Sam. 25:25).

“Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents” (Gen. 25:27). In the aspect of dwelling in tents, Jacob was like his grandfather and father (Heb. 11:9), implying that they were “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (v.13). Christians are called “sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Pet. 2:11), and as such we are told to “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). By contrast, Lot, the nephew of Jacob’s grandfather, gave up his pilgrim character to live in a house in Sodom. Genesis 19 reveals how this sad decision impacted him.

The Birthright
Jacob, loved by his mother, always wanted to be ahead regardless of the means. Once Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau, being weary, asked for some. “But Jacob said, ‘Sell me your birthright … Swear to me as of this day.’ So he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob” (25:31,33). Jacob saw his brother’s weakness and took advantage of it to obtain the birthright. The birthright meant that he would have the honor of being the head of the family with the blessing of his father. Bible scholar William Kelly commented, “Jacob earnestly sought that title which to his forefathers and his descendants was bound up with blessing; and he knew that his brother had not such value for it.”

We do not know if Rebekah had ever told Jacob that the LORD told her, “The older shall serve the younger” (v.23). Regardless, Jacob was not willing to wait on God. Jacob thought that he could use his intelligence and ability to get the birthright. He acted selfishly, and the result gave him gratification for a moment.

The Blessing
In Genesis 27 Jacob lied to his father, who was blind. Isaac felt Jacob and smelled him before he blessed him, thinking Jacob was Esau. Jacob had deceived his father. About this, Bible teacher C. H. Mackintosh wrote: “God’s purpose must stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Faith knows this end, [and] in the power of that knowledge, can wait for God’s time. This, nature never can do, but [it] must set about gaining its own ends, by its own inventions.”

When Jacob’s act was discovered, Isaac had to tell Esau, “‘Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.’ And Esau said, ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!’ … And Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, my father?’” (Gen. 27:35-36,38). Isaac had only one blessing, but our God and Father has many blessings. He “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3) – none of which can ever be taken from us!

The Flight
Esau hated Jacob for what he had done, and he was planning to kill his brother as soon as their father died. Rebekah was told of Esau’s intention, and she plotted to send Jacob to her brother Laban in Padan Aram. Accordingly, Jacob was sent on his way and “came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep” (Gen. 28:11). Jacob still had a scheming heart; he had yet to learn to trust in the LORD. Much later, Solomon wisely instructed his son, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). That night God gave Jacob a dream. “He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). The ladder is a type of the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man (consider 1 Tim. 2:5). In Jacob’s dream God told him who He is and what He would do for him (Gen. 28:13). Acting in His Sovereignty, God said nothing to Jacob about his scheming and deceitful ways.

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’” (Gen. 28:16-17). Jacob’s conscience was pricked because he knew that his way of life was not right in the eyes of the LORD.

“Jacob … took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel” (vv.18-19). Bethel means “house of God.” The oil pictures the Holy Spirit. In this we are reminded that we are members of “the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-21).

The Bargaining
Jacob heard what God would do for him, but instead of taking God at His word, he began to bargain with God. He said, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God” (Gen. 28:20-21). How pitiful! Jacob was determined to go his way. He would only acknowledge God as his God if God did certain things for him.

He left Bethel for Paran Aram with a conscience stirred, but there were things in Jacob’s heart yet to be judged. God, at work in Jacob’s life, sovereignly led him to Laban’s daughter, Rachel. He kissed her and wept (29:11). Rachel went and told her father about Jacob, and “Laban … ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house” (v.13). “The bargain-making Jacob met the bargain-making Laban. They were both seen straining every nerve to outwit each other” (C. H. Mackintosh).

Jacob needed to learn that “God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Gal. 6:7-8). Jacob had been sowing seeds of deception; now it was time to reap the fruit. For seven years he thought he had a deal, a firm commitment from Laban for Rachel. He was deceived, receiving her older sister Leah instead. Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? (Gen. 29:25). He had to serve Laban another seven years for Rachel. Later, Jacob told Rachel and Leah, “Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times” (31:7).

Twenty years earlier Jacob had come to Laban’s house with nothing, fleeing from his brother’s wrath. Now Jacob had wealth, while continuing to lean on his own understanding. Jacob had no word from God during these 20 years, but then God said to him, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family … And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had” (vv.13,20-21). Jacob had fled from Esau in fear; now he was fleeing from Laban in fear. He had bargained with God, wanting to come back to his father’s house in peace (28:21).

Leaving Padan Aram, he did not have settled peace in his soul. He was not living in the consciousness of the love of God and the word of God. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 Jn. 4:18). God in His great faithfulness was taking Jacob back to his father’s house, but there were many lessons for Jacob to learn.

The Protection
“So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is God’s camp.’ And he called the name of that place Mahanaim” (Gen. 32:1-2). God, in His compassion, was caring for and protecting Jacob. As believers we, too, are “kept by the power of God” (1 Pet. 1:5). God could have had just one angel meet Jacob, but He sent “angels.” They are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). The place, “Mahanaim,” means “double camp,” having two camps present. God desired to escort and encourage Jacob on his way to Bethel, for He knew what was necessary for Jacob even though he was not enjoying the overtures of His grace.

The Planning
Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in an effort to appease the wrath Jacob anticipated. Jacob’s conscience was still bothering him. He seemed at the time to forget God’s promise, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Gen. 28:15). Jacob also forgot about the angels God had sent. Not praying at this point, he quickly went back to his own plans. Jacob referred to Esau as his “lord” and himself as a “servant” to Esau (32:4). He still had Esau before him, as opposed to the LORD who told him to return.

“Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, ‘We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him’” (v.6). So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he immediately came up with a plan. He decided to divide those with him in two groups. He was not in the good and enjoyment of “Mahanaim,” which means two camps but not two of Jacob’s invention. There was no thought of first turning to God after hearing what the messengers said. Jacob made his plans; then he prayed. Is this not true of us at times? After we have made our plans, we ask God to approve them. Jacob did not wait for an answer. He immediately “took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother” (v.13). He said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me” (v.20). The plan had no faith in it, but Jacob executed it.

The Wrestling
“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day” (v.24). “This was a turning point in the history of this very remarkable man. To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways. No matter what we may think about ourselves, nor yet what man may think about us. The great question is, ‘What does God think about us?’ The answer to this question can only be heard when we are left alone. Away from the world, away from self, away from the thoughts, reasonings, imaginations and emotions of mere nature, and alone with God; thus, and thus alone, can we get a correct judgment about ourselves” (C. H. Mackintosh).

Genesis 32 does not say that Jacob wrestled with the Man, but the “Man wrestled with him.” Jacob had to learn how stubborn and weak he was, as seen in his way of life. The Man “touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless You bless me!’” (vv.25-26). Jacob was now holding on to the Man. His strength was gone and he found his support in and from the Man.

Jacob asked for a blessing. Many years earlier he took blessings away from his brother Esau. The Man acknowledged himself to Jacob, saying, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (v.28). Jacob had a new name, Israel, which means “prince of God.” He also had a new walk: “he limped on his hip” (v.31). It was a new day for Jacob – “the sun rose on him” (v.31).

The Meeting
“Now Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants” (33:1). Jacob did not think of Esau and his men as a welcoming party; he thought otherwise. Again we see Jacob scheming in order to prevail. He was fearful instead of trusting God, who directed him to return. Why did he not commit the meeting with Esau to God?

God had worked on Esau. The meeting was far better than Jacob expected. “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (v.4). They had not seen each other for over 20 years. Esau’s welcome in some ways is similar to the one Jacob received from Laban (29:13). Many times we are like Jacob – fearful, troubled, anxious, burdened and distressed about things that God has already resolved. May we “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let [our] requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).

The Different Direction
We still see traces of the old Jacob after his meeting with Esau. He told Esau that he would follow him to Seir (Gen. 33:14). He had the wrong person and the wrong place before him. He was not depending on God to lead him.

He did not go to Seir; instead he went to Succoth. “Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock … Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city” (vv.17-18). Shechem was the first city that Abram visited in Canaan after he left Haran (12:6). There “the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the LORD” (v.7).

Jacob, too, built an altar there (33:20). In Jacob’s altar he called attention to himself. “This was taking a contracted view of God. True, it is our privilege to know God is our God, but it is a higher thing to know Him as the God of His own house and to view ourselves as part of that house. It is the believer’s privilege to know Christ as his Head, but it is a higher thing to know Him as the Head of the Body, the Church and to know ourselves as members of that body” (C. H. Mackintosh).

There were still lessons for Jacob to learn about God and about himself. The place where God desired to have him was not Shechem but Bethel. In Genesis 34:30 Jacob used the personal pronouns: “I,” “me” and “my” eight times. This is a picture of his life as a self-centered man.

“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother’” (35:1). The Shechemites wanted Jacob and his children to dwell with them (34:10). This was never God’s will. Jacob had been going places without God directing him. At one time he had said he would follow Esau to Seir; but he went to Succoth. Then he went to Shechem. Now the LORD directed him to Bethel where he was to make an altar to God. In giving him these directives, God would prick his conscience by reminding him of the time he fled from his brother.

The Readiness
Jacob was finally ready to do what God told him to do, but he was aware of things in him and his household which needed to be corrected before they could go up to Bethel and dwell. Foreign gods, defilement and filthy garments are not compatible with Bethel, the house of God: “He who works deceit shall not dwell within My house; he who tells lies shall not continue in My presence” (Ps. 101:7). “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully” (24:3-4).

“And Jacob said to his household and to all that were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way I have gone’” (Gen. 35:2-3). Are there things in our lives which we must put away? Are there weights or sins? “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Heb. 12:1).

Jacob and his household needed to purify themselves. Thank God for His word: “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (Ps. 119:9). In Ephesians we read: “Christ … loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word” (5:25-26). Those in Jacob’s household had to change their garments. As we know, garments are seen, and they speak of a person’s way of life. The people were to change their way of living. We are to put on “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another … But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Col. 3:12-14).

The foreign gods, which were stolen from Laban (Gen. 31:19), were given to Jacob. He “hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem” (35:4). Jacob was now ready to go to Bethel. They left Shechem without a challenge, and their journey to Bethel was free of conflict. Jacob was now moving in the will of God.

The Lack Of Fear
On arriving at Bethel “he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel” (v.7). “El Bethel” means “God, the God of His own house.” On his way to Padan Aram, the morning after he had the dream of the ladder, Jacob had taken the stone he used for his pillow, poured oil on it, and called that place “Bethel.” Jacob had returned to the same place, but he had made progress. His occupation was not with the place but with God – the God of the place. God then appeared to Jacob and said, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name. So He called his name Israel” (v.10). God can thoroughly change a person’s life; He is sovereign. Among others, He changed Saul to Paul (Acts 13:9) and Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5). “Israel” means, “a prince with God.” God was now free to reveal Himself to Israel as God Almighty and assure him of blessings he and his descendants would enjoy.

Jacob had a pleasant experience at Bethel. It was no longer a dreadful place; he was no longer afraid. He went with the desire to honor God. “Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder” (35:21). Jacob was moving in the joy and liberty of his new name, Israel. He was associated with his tent, moving as a pilgrim in the world. May we, too, live and move as pilgrims in this world, to the glory of the Lord.

We would like to add one final note. There is no indication that Jacob ever saw his mother after he left her and his father for Padan Aram. However, Jacob was able to see his father again, and it is commendable to see that both he and Esau buried him (vv.27-29).

By Paul Palmer