At Bethel Jacob had made a vow to God, promising that if God would preserve him and care for him, the stone which he set up for a pillar would be the house of God (Gen. 28:20-22). Here, God reminded Jacob to fulfill his part of that vow (cf. Gen. 31:13). On his return from Paddan-aram, Jacob came to Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he settled there (Gen. 33:18-20). However, this was short of God’s goal. God’s purpose according to His heart’s desire is to have Bethel, His house on earth. Thus, it was necessary for Jacob to go on from Shechem to Bethel. All the unfortunate events in Gen. 34 were sovereignly used by God to make it impossible for Jacob to remain in Shechem and to prepare Jacob to receive God’s charge to go up to Bethel. Jacob’s passing through Shechem and going up to Bethel signifies our passing through the individual Christian life and going up to the corporate church life for the building up of God’s eternal dwelling place, which is the church today and the New Jerusalem in eternity.

Bethel is a great seed in the Bible, a seed of the house of God. When Israel, the transformed Jacob, was multiplied into the house of Israel, in God’s eyes the house of Israel was the house of God (see note Heb. 3:6^1a). Eventually, the tabernacle and later the temple were built as symbols of the house of Israel as God’s dwelling place on the earth in the Old Testament time. In the beginning of the New Testament the Lord Jesus came through incarnation to be the reality of the tabernacle and the temple (John 1:14; 2:18-21). Then, in Matt. 16:18 the Lord prophesied that He would build the church as the habitation, the temple, of God (Eph. 2:22; 1 Cor. 3:16-17) on Himself as the rock and with His believers as stones (1 Cor. 3:11; 1 Pet. 2:5). This is Bethel, the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15). Ultimately, this Bethel will be enlarged to consummate in the New Jerusalem, the eternal tabernacle of God, in which God Himself and the Lamb will be the temple (Rev. 21:3, 22). See note Gen. 28:12^1a.

An idol is anything that replaces the genuine and true God (cf. 1 John 5:20-21). For Bethel, God’s house, the idols must be removed (2 Cor. 6:16). Furthermore, everything impure, filthy, or defiled must be cleansed away (2 Cor. 7:1). For the realizing of Bethel, the old man with his old manner of life, signified by the old garments (Isa. 64:6), must also be put off, and the new man with his new manner of life, the church life, must be put on (Eph. 4:22-24).

Earrings are for self-beautification. Jacob buried these with the foreign gods, the idols, indicating that in the consciousness of Jacob and his household, the earrings were as abominable as the idols (cf. Exo. 32:2-4 and note Exo. 32:2¹).

An altar is for consecration. Jacob’s consecration in erecting an altar at Shechem (Gen. 33:20) was for himself as an individual; his consecration in building an altar at Bethel was for the house of God, to fulfill God’s eternal purpose and satisfy His heart’s desire.

Meaning God of Bethel. At Bethel God is no longer merely the God of individuals but the God of a corporate body, the house of God.

Meaning oak of weeping.

At Peniel God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 32:28), but there Jacob did not have much experience of this new name. It was at Bethel that Jacob was actually renewed and became a new person, a transformed person (cf. Rom. 12:2). This kind of change can be experienced only at Bethel, i.e., in the proper church life. The church is altogether a new man (Eph. 2:15), and the church life is the new life of the transformed Israel (Gal. 6:16), which life is God in Christ.

Heb. El Shaddai. This chapter and Gen. 17 correspond to each other in the revelation of the divine title the All-sufficient God (v. 11; 17:1), in the changing of human names, signifying the transforming of human beings (v. 10; 17:5), and in the promise of multiplication for the bringing forth of nations and kings (v. 11; 17:4, 6). These three matters indicate that God’s all-sufficiency and His transforming of His people are for them to be fruitful and multiply to produce transformed persons as materials for the building of God’s house, Bethel. See note Gen. 17:5^2a and note Gen. 17:15².

See note Gen. 17:4¹.

This was a repetition of what Jacob had done in Gen. 28:18. There Bethel, the house of God, was only a dream; it was not yet Jacob’s experience. Here Jacob set up a second pillar at Bethel to consecrate himself to God for the fulfillment of the dream and of his vow to God in Gen. 28:10-22. This pillar was the second landmark in Jacob’s experience (see note Gen. 31:52¹).

See note Phil. 2:17^1b. This is the first mentioning of the drink offering in the Bible (Num. 15:1-5; 28:7-10; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6). Its being mentioned here in connection with the pillar at Bethel indicates that the drink offering is for God’s building. The fact that Jacob poured a drink offering upon the pillar before pouring oil upon it signifies that the pouring out of the drink offering brings in the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:33) for the sanctifying of God’s house (Exo. 40:9).

Rachel was Jacob’s natural choice according to his heart’s desire (Gen. 29:18-20). The death of Rachel was the loss of Jacob’s natural choice. This was a deep and personal dealing for Jacob. Jacob lost Rachel, but in the process he gained Benjamin, who was a type of Christ. “Rachel” had to die so that “Benjamin” could be born. In the same manner, God will eventually take away our natural choice so that we may bring forth Christ for His expression. God’s goal is not to make His chosen ones suffer loss; it is to bring forth Christ through them.

Meaning son of my affliction.

Meaning son of the right hand. Benjamin is a type of Christ, who was first Ben-oni, the Son of affliction, from His birth through His human life on earth (Isa. 53:3), but eventually became Benjamin, the Son at the right hand of God, from His resurrection and in His ascension (Matt. 26:64). See note Psa. 68:27^1a.

Benjamin and Joseph, the two sons born to Jacob by Rachel, are both types of Christ. Although Joseph was born first, in typology he is the continuation of Benjamin, for the record of Joseph’s life (chs. 37—50) follows the record of Benjamin’s birth. Joseph, like Benjamin, typifies the suffering and exalted Christ. During the first part of his life Joseph suffered as the son of affliction, and during the second part he was exalted to the throne at the right hand of Pharaoh (Gen. 41:40-44).

See note Gen. 31:52¹.

Prior to this time Jacob’s name had been changed to Israel (Gen. 32:27-28; 35:10), but this is the first time he is actually referred to as Israel. This indicates that after his experience at Bethel and the death of Rachel, Jacob had become a transformed person.

Reuben, born of Leah, was the firstborn and should have inherited the birthright. However, because of his defilement in his lust, he lost the birthright, and it was given to Joseph, Rachel’s son (1 Chron. 5:1; Gen. 49:3-4; 48:22). Joseph gained the birthright because of his purity (Gen. 39:7-12). Cf. Heb. 12:16 and note Heb. 12:16¹.

After experiencing the deeper and more personal dealings, Jacob entered into full fellowship with God at Hebron (Hebron means fellowship, communion). Abraham had come to Shechem (Gen. 12:6), had passed through Bethel (Gen. 12:8), and had dwelt in Hebron (Gen. 13:18; 18:1), and Isaac spent nearly his whole life in Hebron. Jacob followed Abraham’s footsteps to come to Shechem (Gen. 33:18), to pass through Bethel (Gen. 35:6), and to dwell in Hebron. In Hebron Jacob enjoyed full rest, joy, satisfaction, intimacy, and fellowship with the Lord. It was in Hebron that he began to mature in life.

Isaac died in faith, as indicated by the fact that he was buried in the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 49:30-32; cf. Gen. 23:9 and notes).