JACOB: BACK TO BETHEL – VICTORY AT LAST

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” – Genesis 35:1

Today, we’ll ponder on Jacob’s final phases on destiny’s journey: the Shechem Crisis and the Second Bethel Crisis.

The sordid Shechem Crisis followed immediately after the Peniel events. Now that God had graciously taken away the old name and shame, Jacob was expected to live up to his new name. But no, his ingrained suspicion and scheming held fast. Afraid of Esau, he once again deceived his brother, and instead of completing the homeward journey, pitched his tent toward Shechem (Gen.33:13-18). Like his relative Lot, who was guilty of a similar act of folly at Sodom, he paid dearly for his deceit and unbelief (Gen.34:30). Choosing to scheme his way out of trouble rather than trust God, tragedy – rape, murder and fear – engulfed his family. It is a costly thing to break a vow, withdraw surrender, or backslide from grace.

God could have given up on this stubborn character, but in His steadfast love He made yet another attempt to win Jacob’s confidence by personally appearing to him (vs. 1). The Second Bethel Crisis became the turning point of his life and career. At last the patient chastening of the Perfect Potter achieved its purpose. Jacob no longer lingered. He promptly gathered his family and hastened to Bethel, travelling under the promised divine protection (vs.5). The God he had so shamefully neglected prevented the consequences of his sin from overwhelming him. Arriving at Bethel, he discovered that God was awaiting him there with a blessing (vs. 9).

God is unrelenting in His purpose to bless, and is infinitely resourceful in overcoming his children’s reluctance. Once again Jacob heard the words whose fulfilment his obstinacy had thwarted: “…your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name” (vs. 10). This time he lived up to the privilege of his new name and never again backslid into his former deception and scheming. The disciplines of God had prevailed, and Jacob the worm found his way into the Galleria of Faith’s Hall of fame (Heb.11:21). “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom.5:20b).

In Jacob’s typical life, God preaches a gospel of recovery to counter the devil’s message of despair. The laws of heredity and of psychology defer to God who made them. The God of Jacob is pre-eminently the God of the second chance to the Christian who has failed and failed again. The second – or twenty-second – chance does not necessarily avert the temporal consequences of past failure, but even the failure can be a stepping stone to new victories. God wastes nothing, not even failure. The supreme lesson of Jacob’s story is that no failure need be final. May you have cause to sing, “Victory at Last!”