Genesis Ch35v1-15 - Grace - Again!

Have a good time. We'll see you at tea and coffee time afterwards.

For the rest of us, please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 35, please.

Genesis chapter 35.

Genesis 35 · chapter mention

We've been following the true story, the true account of Abraham and Isaac, which we've completed.

And today we finish up with the account of Jacob.

Jacob has been a friend to us over these weeks.

It's been encouraging to learn from his life,

but ultimately to meet the God that he knew and the God who intervened in his life.

So Genesis 35, we're going to read from verses 1 to 15.

Let's hear God's words together.

Then God said to Jacob, Go up to Bethel, settle there.

Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him,

Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,

who answered me in the day of distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears,

and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them,

so that no one pursued them.

Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz, that is, Bethel, in the land of Canaan.

And there he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,

because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

Now Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel.

So it was named Alon Bakuth.

After Jacob returned from Padam Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

And God said to him,

Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob, your name will be Israel.

So he named him Israel.

And God said to him,

I am God Almighty.

Be fruitful and increase in number.

A nation and a community of nations will come from you,

and kings will be among your descendants.

The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac,

I also give to you,

and I will give you this land to your descendants after you.

Then God went up from him at that place where he had talked with him.

And Jacob set up a stone pillar at that place where God had talked with him.

And he poured out a drink offering on it.

He also poured oil on it.

And Jacob called the place where God had talked with him.

Bethel.

Well, let's keep our Bibles open and we'll pray.

Amen.

Our Father God, we thank you so much

for this true account of the life of Jacob

and all that he did, all that's recorded here for us.

For through it we meet the living God,

the same God who is speaking to us now through your word.

And so it is our prayer that we would encounter you afresh,

that we would know you greater and deeper.

And most of all, we will come to see

the wonder of your grace

to people like us,

your faithfulness

and your goodness.

So help us now, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, what do you do with a young lad

who smashes his father's car,

promises not to do it again,

and then goes off and smashes his father's car?

Well, I thought I was a done for.

And yet, to my surprise, within a week,

I was back driving again in my dad's car.

Now, maybe you think of that and you think,

well, your dad was pretty careless and reckless

to let you back in his car, wasn't he?

Well, for me, from my perspective,

it was grace upon grace.

You see, God has a habit

of not giving up on failures

and troublemakers.

And that's certainly been the case

with our friend Jacob.

We might think it's been reckless

and careless of God

to hang in with Jacob.

But from Jacob's perspective,

it is grace upon grace.

You see, that's what grace is.

It's receiving from God

what we don't deserve

again and again

and again

and again.

It's what we might call

the cycle of grace.

It just keeps going

round and round

and round.

In our text this morning,

there are three big things

we want to learn

about God's grace

towards us.

The first is

relentless grace.

Relentless grace.

Now, if we want to capture

this relentless grace,

we need to know

what Jacob has been up to.

The last time we met Jacob,

it was back in chapter 32,

where we had encountered

Jacob in a wrestle with God

and Jacob came away

from that blessed.

He was all fired up

and ready to do God's will,

going back to meet

his brother Esau.

Everything was going

to be good again.

Well, it seems Jacob

has begun to drift

again.

Look back with me

to chapter 33.

Having been promised

by God

that God would be with him,

that he would meet

his brother

and everything would be okay,

God called him

to go back

to the promised land.

Chapter 33,

verse 17.

Jacob, however,

went to Succoth,

which, well,

it's not in

the promised land.

And there,

Jacob built a place

for himself

and he made shelters

for his livestock

and he called that place

Succoth,

which means shelters,

which means he basically

settled down there

for a couple of years.

He didn't go

where God

commanded him to go.

And then in chapter 34,

we find he's in trouble

with the locals.

Horrifically,

his daughter

is raped.

But instead of doing

something about it,

look at chapter 34,

verse 5.

When Jacob heard

that his daughter

Dinah

had been defiled,

his sons were in the fields

with his livestock,

so what did he do?

He did nothing

until they came home.

What kind of father

is that?

In fact,

if we read on

in chapter 34,

it seems that he was

more interested

in keeping his own

peace and security

and not upsetting

the locals any further

and didn't want to

do anything about it.

There's no running

to God

and asking for help.

There's no prayers.

He doesn't get out

his Bible.

He delays

and he dithers.

It seems Jacob

is doing his own thing

again.

All of which

brings us

to our text

in chapter 35

where we meet

God's relentless grace.

What does God do

with a serial failure

like Jacob?

Well, look at verse 1

of chapter 35.

Then God said

to Jacob,

Now that should

just shock us.

Jacob doesn't get

the silent treatment.

God doesn't take

the huff

and refuse

to speak.

In fact,

God takes

the initiative

again

because God

always takes

the initiative

in people's lives

and he goes

after Jacob.

He pursues him.

God sees

his wandering heart

and he goes

after him

again.

He speaks

to him.

But perhaps

what is more

amazing

is what God

actually says.

Look at verse 1.

God said to Jacob,

Go up to Bethel

and settle there

and build an altar

there to God

who appeared

to you

when you were

fleeing

from your brother Esau.

Why is he

to go back

to Bethel?

Well,

Bethel has

history

with Jacob.

Go back with me

please

to chapter 28.

This is about

35 years

before.

35 years

before.

Here Jacob

is on the run

from his brother

Esau.

He's stolen

his brother's

blessing.

His brother

is out

to murder him

and kill him.

So Jacob

flees

for his life

and he stops

for the night.

He lays down

to sleep

and he has

a vision

of God

and God

is coming

down

these great

steps

to meet

with him.

God

present

with a

rebellious

sinner

like Jacob

and look

what God

says to him

in verse

15 of

chapter 28.

Here's the one

who's just

stolen

his brother's

blessing

and God

says

I am

with you

and I

will watch

over you

wherever you

go

and I

will bring

you back

to this

land.

I will

not leave

you

until I

have done

what I

have promised

you.

this was

the place

where God

confronted

Jacob

with his

amazing

grace.

Now go

back to

chapter 35.

This is

35 years

later

and God

comes to

Jacob

again

and God

says to

Jacob

let's go

back

to Bethel

settle

settle

there

build

an altar

there

to God

who

appeared

to you

when you

were fleeing

from your

brother

Esau.

Back

to Bethel

back

to where

this all

started

back

to the

place

of grace.

You see

this is

Jacob's

life

isn't it?

This is a

summary

of what

his life

has been.

It starts

with grace

and it

will finish

with grace.

God is

relentless

year

after year

in chasing

and pursuing

and calling

his wandering

and wayward

people.

And isn't

that what God

is exactly

doing right

now as we

listen to

his word?

God

because now

as God

speaks to us

through scripture

his message

is still the

same.

He's bringing

us back

again

time and

time again

to the

beginning

where God

demonstrates

his grace

in all

its fullness.

We've sung

about it

this morning.

We've already

read about it.

He brings

us back

to Christ

and his

cross

and he

shows us

how Jesus

died for

our sin

our past

present

and future

sins.

He shows

us that

our walk

with God

always

starts

with grace.

It continues

with grace

and it

will finish

with grace.

Now I

don't know

about you

but that's

good news

for Jacob

like me

because

don't we

wander

and drift

all the

time?

Don't

our hearts

grow cold?

Don't

we forget

God?

Don't

we fail

him in

what we

should be

doing?

Well let

us listen

afresh to

God's

word today.

Let's

go back

to Bethel.

Let's

go back

to that

place of

grace

where God

first

intervened

into our

life

and

changed

us

and

has

continued

with

us

and

will

be

there

in

the

future.

So

first

relentless

grace.

Second

there's

transforming

grace.

Grace is

relentless

it continues

after us

but it

never

leaves us

where we

are.

Grace is

not a

license just

to live

as we

please and

go oh

it's okay

God will

forgive me.

No grace

changes us

and it

transforms

us.

Look at

the impact

it has

on Jacob

verse 2.

Jacob

said to

his household

and all

who are

with him

get rid

of the

foreign

gods

you have

and purify

yourselves

and change

your clothes.

In other

words this

is a

fresh start

a new

beginning

because if

we're going

to be

devoted

and loyal

to this

God of

grace

we need

to clear

out all

of the

gods

and the

idols

that we

carry with

us in

our life.

Now we

don't have

to live

back in

Jacob times

to figure

out what

a God

is.

We've

all got

our own

little

gods

that we

carry

around

with us.

A God

is something

or someone

that we

must have

to get us

through life.

And we

look to

these gods

for our

peace

and our

happiness

our hopes

and our

dreams

and we

think that

if I

could just

have this

new job

or a

successful

family

or a

secure

pension

then I'm

going to

be happy

if I

could have

better

health

or more

friends

or greater

freedom

then I

will be

satisfied.

Now these

things are not

bad things

many of them

are good

things to

pursue

but can't

they become

distractions?

They begin

to consume

our thinking

and drive

our decisions.

they become

replacements

for the

one

true

and

only

God.

So how

do we

get rid

of the

gods

that we

carry

around

with us

and

build

our

lives

on?

How do

we purify

ourselves

from these

gods?

Well

we set

our focus

on the

one

true

God

of

grace.

Look at

verse

three.

Jacob

says to

all his

family

come let

us go

up to

Bethel

where I

will build

an altar

to God

who answered

me in

the day

of distress

and who

has been

with me

wherever

I have

gone.

Now why

would you

ever turn

away from

a god

like this?

You see

the gods

of our

making

let us

down

all of

the time.

But the

true

God

verse

three

well

he

answers

me

in

all

of

my

distress.

He

hears

me.

He

is

concerned

for me.

He

knows

what I'm

going

through

in my

life.

He

sees

it

all

and

he

provides

all

that I

need

as I

go

through

life.

And

this

same

true

God

is the

God

who

is

with

me

wherever

I

go.

He

never

leaves

me,

never

abandon

me.

There

is

nowhere

I

can

go,

not even

the

depths

of my

greatest

sin.

There

is

nowhere

where I

can

go

where

he

is

not.

You

see

in all

his

wanderings

Jacob

could

look

back

and

see

a

God

who

has

been

faithful

and

loyal

and

dependable.

He's

been

there

at

every

twist

and

turn,

every

disaster

and

every

disobedience.

Here

is a

God

who

doesn't

give

up

despite

the

sin

and

the

mess

that

we

have

caused.

So

for

Jacob

and his

family

to get

rid of

the

gods,

well it

meant

living a

daily

life

of

repentance.

We

see that

in

verse

4.

They

gave

Jacob

all the

foreign

gods

that they

had in

the

rings

and the

ears

collections

that they

had

gathered

and

Jacob

buried

them

under

the

oak

at

Shechem.

He

put

them

to

death.

Now

don't

we

have

gods

ourselves

that we

need

to

bury?

Distractions

and

desires

in our

own

lives

that we

need

to

put

to

death.

What

are

they?

Well

you know

what

they

are.

They

are the

things

that we

go to

in our

minds

all the

time

even

now

as we're

thinking

they

consume

us

and

they

keep

us

from

looking

to

God.

But

how do

we

put

them

to

death?

How

do

we

bury

these

gods?

Well

we

don't

do it

by making

promises

to

ourselves

and to

God

to say

well I'm

going to

do better

this time.

I'm

going to

make a

better job

of my

life.

No

what we

do is

we fill

our minds

with the

greatness

and glory

of God.

We set

our hearts

on him.

We

gaze

at his

beauty

and his

goodness.

Verse

three

God

who

answers

us

in

our

distress

and

who

is

with

us

wherever

we

go.

This

is

the

God

we

fill

our

minds

with.

This

is

the

vision

that

is

set

before

us.

You

see

as we

focus

as we

meditate

and reflect

on

God

instead

of being

distracted

by these

little

gods

we're

beginning

to be

attracted

by his

amazing

grace.

We're

drawn

to him

more

and

more.

You

see

all

that

we

ever

need

is

found

in

this

God

of

grace.

We

don't

need

to look

elsewhere

because

that's

what

grace

is.

It's

receiving

from

God

what

we

don't

deserve

again

and

again

and

again

and

so

we

gather

together

as we

are

today

to

remind

ourselves

to fill

our

vision

with

the

greatness

and

glory

of

God

so

that

we

are

attracted

to

his

beauty

and

not

distracted

by

our

helpless

gods.

So

there's

relentless

grace

there's

transforming

grace

and then

there's

promised

grace.

So

in

obedience

to

God

verse

6

Jacob

and

all

the

people

with

him

came

to

Bethel

in

the

land

of

Canaan

just

as

God

had

said

all

those

years

ago

he

comes

back

to

the

beginning

verse

9

after

Jacob

returned

from

Padam

Aram

that is

as he

came

back

to

Bethel

God

appeared

to

him

again

and

blessed

him

now

isn't

that

wonderful

the

writer

wants

us

to

take

note

end

of

verse

9

God

appeared

to

him

again

and

blessed

him

because

this is

the

God

who

just

does

not

give

up

he

is

relentless

in

pursuit

of

his

people

there

are

a hundred

reasons

why

God

should

not

show

up

again

but

he

does

God

comes

again

to

Jacob

to

remind

him

of

his

promised

grace

verse

10

he

says

no

longer

will

you

be

called

Jacob

but

you

will

be

called

Israel

this

is

you're

a

new

person

you're

changed

I'm

giving

you

a

new

name

verse

11

and

God

said

to

him

I

am

God

almighty

I

am

the

all

powerful

God

I'm

the

one

who's

created

all

things

I

own

all

things

I

rule

all

things

I

am

sovereign

over

everything

and

over

everyone

I

am

God

almighty

be

fruitful

and

increase

in

number

and

a

nation

and

a

community

of

nations

will

come

from

you

how

big

and

how

great

and

awesome

is

that

he's

just

a

small

family

but

he's

going

to

have

nations

and

out

of

those

nations

will

come

more

and

more

verse

12

and

the

land

I

gave

to

Abraham

and

Isaac

I

also

give

to

you

and

I

will

give

this

land

to

your

descendants

after

you

God

will

these

are

God's

extravagant

promises

that

God

will

have

a

people

living

in

God's

place

who

will

enjoy

God's

presence

so that

they can

be a

blessing

to those

around

them

these

promises

are not

new

these

are the

promises

we've

already

seen

that

God

gave

to

Jacob's

father

Isaac

and

to

his

grandfather

Abraham

in

fact

these

promises

aren't

new

to

Jacob

either

he's

heard

them

all

before

so

why

does

God

take

the

trouble

to

go

and

repeat

them

all

over

again

well

go

back

with

me

please

to

chapter

28

chapter

28

remember

we've

already

read

from here

this

morning

reminding

us

that

well

we can

see it

in

chapter

28

verse

14

that

the

descendants

will be

like

the dust

of the

earth

they're

going to

be a

great

big

nation

God

says

I'm

going to

bring

you

back

to

the

land

I'm

going

to

be

present

with

you

I'm

not

going

to

leave

you

here

35

years

ago

Jacob

first

heard

these

promises

from

God

and

in

response

Jacob

makes

a

promise

to

God

look

at

verse

20

then

Jacob

made

a

vow

saying

if

God

will

be

with

me

and

will

watch

over

me

on

this

journey

I

am

taking

and

will

give

me

food

to

eat

and

clothes

to

wear

so

that

I

return

safely

to

my

father's

household

then

the

Lord

will

be

my

God

I'm

going

to be

for

you

God

I'm

going

to

be

with

you

you're

going

to

bring

me

back

again

I

promise

God

I

promise

well

for the

next

35

years

after

that

promise

Jacob

would

spend

his

time

breaking

that

promise

and

making

new

promises

and

breaking

those

promises

round

and round

it went

for

35

years

let's

go back

to

chapter

35

so

why

does

God

repeat

these

same

promises

again

to

Jacob

at

Bethel

well

to

show

Jacob

that

if

the

promises

ever

depended

on

Jacob

then

it's

doomed

to

failure

it's

just

not

going

to

happen

in

other

words

God

is

coming

to

Jacob

afresh

to

say

I

am

the

promise

making

promise

keeping

God

what I

say

is

what I

do

you

fail

I'm

faithful

it

depends

on

me

Jacob

it

all

depends

on

me

it's

all

promised

grace

because

that's

what

grace

is

it's

receiving

from

God

what we

don't

deserve

again

and

again

and

again

the

question

is

how

long

could

this

cycle

of

grace

go

on

for

how

long

is

God

going

to

persevere

with

the

family

through

whom

he

gave

his

promises

well

God

did

persevere

didn't

he

and

God

did

bring

about

that

person

that

someone

who

was

deserving

of

his

promise

someone

who

was

faithful

and

in

Jesus

we

meet

that

person

the

God

man

who

comes

who

lives

the

faithful

and

dependable

life

for

us

who

fulfills

the

promises

so that

the

promises

would

always

flow

to

us

in

grace

you

see

God

had

made

a

promise

that

he

would

have

a

people

and

they

would

live

in

his

place

and

they

would

enjoy

God's

presence

and

they

would

be

a

blessing

to

those

around

him

God

says

I

will

do

it

and

here

we

are

what

how

many

thousands

of

years

later

from

this

time

of

Jacob

isn't

this

what

Karageline

Baptist