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†. Gen 35:1 . . God said to Jacob: Arise, go up to Bethel and remain
there; and build an altar there to the god who appeared to you when
you were fleeing from your brother Esau.
That is some very strange language. Why didn't God say "build an altar to
Me; who appeared to you when, etc". On the surface, it appears that God is
speaking of a god other than Himself. But according to Gen 35:2, Jacob's
family had a number of gods in their possession and I think God just wanted
to make sure Jacob understood that He wanted no truck with them. For
example:
"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an
idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in
the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I,
Yhvh your god, am a jealous god, (Ex 20:3-5)
†. Gen 35:2 . . So Jacob said to his household and to all who were
with him: Rid yourselves of the alien gods in your midst, purify
yourselves, and change your clothes.
This is embarrassing. To top off the shame of recent events-- Dinah's tryst,
the murders, and the subsequent looting in town-- now it turns out that the
one family on earth who was supposed to be a witness to the one True God.,
and all that He stands for, had other gods in their midst! They were also
wearing clothing taken from the dead in town, clothing that more than likely
honored the religions-- and thus the morals-- of the Canaanite gods! No
doubt the alien gods themselves were booty too, collected from Shechem's
town after the massacre.
Precisely what Jacob meant for his household, and all who were with him, to
do in order be "purified" is not said. Bathing in water was the usual means of
purification in the Old Testament; and often done in preparation to meet
with God; but it's more likely that he simply regarded the alien gods and the
stolen booty as ill gotten gain; ergo: contamination.
†. Gen 35:3 . . Come, let us go up to Bethel, and I will build an altar
there to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who
has been with me wherever I have gone.
Jacob thus made a distinction between the mute gods of the Canaanites, and
the vocal god of Israel. Jacob's god had been extremely active and useful in
his life; whereas the Canaanite gods were only inanimate pieces of
superstitious statuary, like voodoo dolls.
The altar would serve a couple of important purposes, but the one that
would really count in this case is its capacity as an official place of confession
and absolution of sins. The people of God, whether Jew or Christian, have
never been sinless. But sinless-ness is not an indicator that certifies whether
or not someone is in God's family. Confession and absolution are far better
indicators, e.g. Ps 32:5-7.
The advantage of being in the family of Israel's God is the latitude His own
have for being themselves. Jacob's household sinned big time, yes, but their
sins will effect neither their divine purpose, nor their eternal destiny.
†. Gen 35:4 . .They gave to Jacob all the alien gods that they had,
and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under
the terebinth that was near Shechem.
According to Webster's, a terebinth is a small European tree (Pistacia
terebinthus) of the cashew family yielding turpentine. The Hebrew word for
"terebinth" is 'elah (ay-law') which just means an oak or other strong tree.
The religious items Jacob collected, were not only in the possession of his
kin, but also in the possession of "all who were with him" (Gen 35:2) which
would have included servants, his slaves; and the recent captives. Some of
the items would have come from looting the town of Shechem, but many
would have been acquired in the area up and around Laban's vicinity in
Mesopotamia; which is where Jacob acquired the bulk of his labor force (Gen
30:43). Jacob lived for many years in close proximity to religions centered
upon gods other than Israel's God, and the influence of those religions had a
heavy impact upon the most holy community existing on the entire planet at
that time.
Exactly why Jacob chose to bury those items under a terebinth, instead of
just burying them in a hole out in pasture, is not said. He could have
incinerated them too, but, for some undisclosed reason, didn't. Some have
tried to find symbolism in that, but his decision may have been motivated by
something as simple as a hot day, and Jacob would rather work in the shade
than out in the open.
†. Gen 35:5 . . As they set out, a terror from God fell on the cities
round about, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
The patriarchs had some very interesting advantages. Even when they
deserved to die, or at least assaulted and battered, the Bible's God was
often on hand to prevent it. Think about it though. If you knew that a small
force of Jews were able to overpower a whole town, would you want to lock
horns with them? I don't think so. Jacob's boys no doubt had a reputation in
those parts now, and made their neighbors nervous.
People were very superstitious in those days and often gave the credit for
military victories to their own personal gods; or to the gods of their
conquerors, if that's the way things went in battle. So that the god of the
people of Israel now became the one to be feared in those parts.
However, it's far better-- if at all possible --for the people of God to give a
testimony to the love of God rather than to the terror of God. But because of
the patriarchs' recent violent behavior, the love of God was far from the
minds of the people in Jacob's vicinity. They saw the people of Israel and
their god as a serious threat to the safety and well being of their
communities rather than seeing Israel's God as a potential source of blessing
and providence.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 35:1 . . God said to Jacob: Arise, go up to Bethel and remain
there; and build an altar there to the god who appeared to you when
you were fleeing from your brother Esau.
That is some very strange language. Why didn't God say "build an altar to
Me; who appeared to you when, etc". On the surface, it appears that God is
speaking of a god other than Himself. But according to Gen 35:2, Jacob's
family had a number of gods in their possession and I think God just wanted
to make sure Jacob understood that He wanted no truck with them. For
example:
"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an
idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in
the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I,
Yhvh your god, am a jealous god, (Ex 20:3-5)
†. Gen 35:2 . . So Jacob said to his household and to all who were
with him: Rid yourselves of the alien gods in your midst, purify
yourselves, and change your clothes.
This is embarrassing. To top off the shame of recent events-- Dinah's tryst,
the murders, and the subsequent looting in town-- now it turns out that the
one family on earth who was supposed to be a witness to the one True God.,
and all that He stands for, had other gods in their midst! They were also
wearing clothing taken from the dead in town, clothing that more than likely
honored the religions-- and thus the morals-- of the Canaanite gods! No
doubt the alien gods themselves were booty too, collected from Shechem's
town after the massacre.
Precisely what Jacob meant for his household, and all who were with him, to
do in order be "purified" is not said. Bathing in water was the usual means of
purification in the Old Testament; and often done in preparation to meet
with God; but it's more likely that he simply regarded the alien gods and the
stolen booty as ill gotten gain; ergo: contamination.
†. Gen 35:3 . . Come, let us go up to Bethel, and I will build an altar
there to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who
has been with me wherever I have gone.
Jacob thus made a distinction between the mute gods of the Canaanites, and
the vocal god of Israel. Jacob's god had been extremely active and useful in
his life; whereas the Canaanite gods were only inanimate pieces of
superstitious statuary, like voodoo dolls.
The altar would serve a couple of important purposes, but the one that
would really count in this case is its capacity as an official place of confession
and absolution of sins. The people of God, whether Jew or Christian, have
never been sinless. But sinless-ness is not an indicator that certifies whether
or not someone is in God's family. Confession and absolution are far better
indicators, e.g. Ps 32:5-7.
The advantage of being in the family of Israel's God is the latitude His own
have for being themselves. Jacob's household sinned big time, yes, but their
sins will effect neither their divine purpose, nor their eternal destiny.
†. Gen 35:4 . .They gave to Jacob all the alien gods that they had,
and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under
the terebinth that was near Shechem.
According to Webster's, a terebinth is a small European tree (Pistacia
terebinthus) of the cashew family yielding turpentine. The Hebrew word for
"terebinth" is 'elah (ay-law') which just means an oak or other strong tree.
The religious items Jacob collected, were not only in the possession of his
kin, but also in the possession of "all who were with him" (Gen 35:2) which
would have included servants, his slaves; and the recent captives. Some of
the items would have come from looting the town of Shechem, but many
would have been acquired in the area up and around Laban's vicinity in
Mesopotamia; which is where Jacob acquired the bulk of his labor force (Gen
30:43). Jacob lived for many years in close proximity to religions centered
upon gods other than Israel's God, and the influence of those religions had a
heavy impact upon the most holy community existing on the entire planet at
that time.
Exactly why Jacob chose to bury those items under a terebinth, instead of
just burying them in a hole out in pasture, is not said. He could have
incinerated them too, but, for some undisclosed reason, didn't. Some have
tried to find symbolism in that, but his decision may have been motivated by
something as simple as a hot day, and Jacob would rather work in the shade
than out in the open.
†. Gen 35:5 . . As they set out, a terror from God fell on the cities
round about, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
The patriarchs had some very interesting advantages. Even when they
deserved to die, or at least assaulted and battered, the Bible's God was
often on hand to prevent it. Think about it though. If you knew that a small
force of Jews were able to overpower a whole town, would you want to lock
horns with them? I don't think so. Jacob's boys no doubt had a reputation in
those parts now, and made their neighbors nervous.
People were very superstitious in those days and often gave the credit for
military victories to their own personal gods; or to the gods of their
conquerors, if that's the way things went in battle. So that the god of the
people of Israel now became the one to be feared in those parts.
However, it's far better-- if at all possible --for the people of God to give a
testimony to the love of God rather than to the terror of God. But because of
the patriarchs' recent violent behavior, the love of God was far from the
minds of the people in Jacob's vicinity. They saw the people of Israel and
their god as a serious threat to the safety and well being of their
communities rather than seeing Israel's God as a potential source of blessing
and providence.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=