We
are now at the second checkpoint of Genesis 35:1-15.
The verse is set in the context of Israel becoming a
distinct nation as can be seen from the footnote to Genesis 34:7. I would encourage you
to read Genesis 34 for yourself. The enslaved Israelites were already reckoned
as a separate nation by Pharaoh. Israel was a nation of God’s treasured
possession. For this reason, God told Pharaoh through Moses to “Let My people
go” (Deuteronomy 7:6, Exodus 5:1). Today, believers are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special possession
as 1 Peter 2:9 tells us. In Deuteronomy 1:31, we read that “God carried Israel as a father carried his son”. As it was with Israel, it is
with us now for we have received the Spirit of sonship by whom we cry “Abba,
Father!” (Romans 8:15). From Deuteronomy 7:7-8, we see that God
chose Israel and delivered her from slavery because He loved her. In John 3:16, we read of that same
love that caused Him to send His only beloved Son to die for the sins of the world.
In this passage of scripture, we see that Bethel was
once called Luz and was located in the Promised Land of Canaan. Here, God
established the Abrahamic Covenant with Jacob. In Genesis 35:15, we see that God
spoke to Jacob in Bethel, the House of God.
Today, the House of God is the Church, which is not a building. When two or more people gather in the Name of
Jesus, it is a church and Jesus will be among them (Matthew 18:20).
Therefore, the gist of this passage of scripture is:
“God established the Abrahamic Covenant with
Jacob”.
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