There isn’t much flat land in life! Thankfully God is the God of both valleys and mountains.
Genesis 35 is a pivot point in the ongoing saga of the family that God selected to bring blessing to the whole world. Its many fits and starts tells us much of both the saving and sustaining grace of God. At Bethel, “God appeared to Jacob again” (v 9), blessed him, reaffirmed his new name to be Israel, revealed Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty or All-Sufficient, and concluded by repeating the promises He had made previously regarding the seed and the land given (see vv 10-12). Jacob again sets up a memorial pillar, but this time adds a drink offering to the oil he poured on it at first. Jacob has learned a thing or two in the intervening years. Remember how he said “If God will…” and then listed the terms on which, he said, “the Lord shall be my God” (28:20-21)? Now the drink offering pictures Jacob pouring himself out for the service of God instead of expecting God to be serving him. Amen to that! We are now coming to the conclusion of that period describing “the generations of Isaac,” which began at 25:19, and in this section Isaac’s younger son Jacob has been the dominant figure. So as this portion draws to a close, we have Jacob’s last son born (which we’ll think about in the next episode). We also have three funerals—Rebeka’s nursemaid Deborah, then Jacob’s beloved Rachel, and finally old Isaac. There is also the disqualification of Jacob’s eldest, Reuben, from being the firstborn as he preemptively tries to take control of the family. Recall that the book of Genesis has ten “generations” given, beginning with “the generation of the heavens and the earth” (2:4). Chapter 37:2 will begin “the generations of Jacob,” with his sons, especially Joseph, the focus of the narrative from there to the end of the book.