1446 - "Jacob's Return to Bethel to where it all began" Genesis 35:1-4

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Each weekday, Dr. Crisp will be discussing biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Tune in daily to start your day right and deepen your understanding of how to better walk the way and enjoy the journey. Here's your host, Dr. Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Welcome to On the Way. This is Tony Crisp, and this is Podcast 1446. Today we're going to continue the story of the Crimson River. And we're going to be in Genesis chapter 35 as we look at the altars that were built in the book of Genesis from Abraham onward. Today we're going to look at Jacob and his return to Bethel, where it all began for him, and his great vows were made to God before he went into the land that was north of the promised land. He left Canaan, then he came back, and we'll talk about that in just a moment. But before we do that, I want to remind you that in the coming days we are going to look at the various altars and kinds of sacrifice, the erection of the tabernacle, and we'll spend quite a bit of time in the days ahead looking at the various kinds of sacrifices. Why? Because that is where the crimson river flows. And if you can understand the sacrificial system in the book of Exodus and in all of the Torah from there onward, you will understand much of the language of the New Testament in relation to sacrifices and God's call upon us. Because you see, the sacrifices could never take away sin, and I'll say that over and over again. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. Only the blood of a Messiah could take away sin. In other words, a person who was worthy to die for the sins, much like Adam committed sin and all were plunged into depravity and to the curse. It is in one man, that's right, in Jesus the Messiah, the perfect Son of God, who lived in perfect obedience, unlike Adam, who sinned, who failed the test, Jesus was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. And because of that, he could die a sacrificial death to pay the penalty once for all for sin in our lives and for the entire universe, because in Jesus all things are made new. And so we'll talk about that in the days ahead, but I want to just prepare you for that because we're going to be looking at the tabernacle proper and all that God did through that to teach us about who He is and what He has done for us and what He's going to do in the future. So I pray that you'll hang with me in the days ahead. But I want to look at the book of Genesis chapter thirty five, and I'm going to begin reading, and then I want to explain to you what's going on here just to prepare us for the book of Exodus. 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. This is very important because God is taking him back to the place where it all began with him. And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves and change your garments. Now he said three things to them. He said in preparation for worship, in preparation for meeting God, in preparation, I want you to get yourself right with the God of my fathers and my God. Because he had people who were with him that he had brought from a foreign land. All of them obviously were not God worshippers, they still were holding on to old traditions of their fathers, as they had come now with Jacob back to the land. Jacob said, I want you to put away everything from you that's going to be a hindrance. I want you to purify yourselves. In other words, there were purification rituals that Jacob wanted them to go through to get themselves ready and prepared, and to change your garments. In other words, you need to wash yourself, you need to wash your garments, you need to put on something special because we're going to meet God. Now, we're going to talk about this as we go through this Old Testament, the law of the prophets, and the writings, and we see this crimson river and this concept of worship and preparing ourselves to meet God. This is so important and it's almost lost in our culture today. And I'm talking about those of us who are followers of Jesus when we go to worship. So we'll get into that more, but please just put that in the back of your mind. Because Jacob said you need to get ready. 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 when I was running from Esau, and he has been with me in the way that I have gone. So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods, that is, they were among them. Jacob knew that, and they came, they gave them to Jacob, the earrings, everything that was associated with these foreign acts of worship, and Jacob hid them under the terabith tree, which was by Shem. It's interesting because this terabith tree comes up over and over again. Now for those of you who are interested in all of the different varieties and species of trees and vegetation in the Bible, this is Ella E L A H, just like you would pronounce the Ella Valley. And this is the word for what we would call a pistachio tree. They're pistachio trees that are over a thousand years old, and they are huge. Many of them are huge. Some of you have been with me up to the Dan Reserve in northern Israel, and we've walked through what look like something out of Colorado or the Smoky Mountains, great vegetation, great trees of every kind, and a swift water, what we would call rapids on the Dan River. You've crossed and you've heard the roar of that. All of that's in the land of Israel. It's not all desert. Some of you have gone and actually studied with me under the great pistachio tree that is located in the Dan Nature Reserve up in northern Israel. And it is a place that has benches all around it, and I've taught there many times, and we've got a panoramic view of that valley that's all around Dan and the hills, and it is just absolutely wonderful. It's in the great tall hills of the tribe of Naphtali. These were pistachio. Many would call it Atlantic pistachio that has the red berries on it. I have many pictures of those around Jerusalem. They are all over Israel, especially in the north and and around the area of Jerusalem, and God has used those as symbols throughout the scriptures for stability. The other word is very much like is the word alone, which is the word that's usually translated oak. And so terabeth and oak are interchangeably sometimes used in the scriptures. But enough for that right now. I just want you to understand as we go through, I'm going to do as from time to time an explanation to help you to understand some of these things that you might have always wondered about. Some of you don't care, but others do because uh you're interested in that kind of thing. But I want you to understand that in all of the patriarch's life, in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then all of the sons of Israel, when we get into the passages that have to do with the historical books, with Joshua, with Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, you're going to see that the concept of worship becomes increasingly important. But in these early days, we can already see where God is going. Because sacrifice had to do with thanksgiving. Sacrifice had to do with vows. Sacrifice had to do with commitment. Sacrifice had to do with trust. Sacrifice had to do with obedience. As we go through the scriptures, you're going to see these themes begin to be emphasized. And this is why the Apostle Paul and Peter and the other disciples use this term that comes up over and over again about altars, about sacrifice. And the writer of the book of Hebrews, of course, the most Jewish of all the New Testament books, he goes into great detail about this, especially in chapters 9 and 10 about the sacrificial offerings and the tabernacle and the worship and what it all involved. And so I just want to get you ready because this story of Jacob is very typical of what God asked the patriarchs to do. Building these altars was a symbol of taking time to honor God and to give Him our very best and to follow His instruction. And by the way, this has never changed. No one is saved by building an altar. No one is saved by the sacrifice of rams and lambs and bulls and goats. But we're all saved by trustful obedience. That is, don't think that I'm putting works in there. What I'm telling you is if you truly are trusting God, you're going to obey Him. If you've truly given your life to God, you're going to obey Him. And this is taught throughout the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. Grace always leads to obedience. Trust always leads to obedience. And that's best summed up in a Christian hymn. Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. You see, faith is not just intellectual ascents. It's not just a census. It's not just recognition, taking note of something. It is fiducia. It is trust. It's credo. It's trust. It is something that you do. You see, trust is a noun, but it's also a verb. Faith is a noun, but it's also a verb. And these are concepts that we're going to have reiterated throughout these studies. And so I want you to just prepare for that because tomorrow we're going to get into the book of Exodus. And after a brief introduction, we're going to go immediately to Mount Sinai and God's orders for Moses to build a worship center where he can teach his people about how to approach him. I pray you'll walk with me. We're on the way, this is Tony Crisp.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Thanks for listening to On the Way with Tony Crisp. Tune in every weekday for information on biblical passages, people, places, and prophecies. Fridays are for your questions. Email your questions to questions at TonyCrisp.org. Then just listen for your question to be answered on Friday's podcast. That's Questions at TonyC R I S P dot org. Thanks for listening and have a blessed day on the way.