Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.
At Bethel God had just appeared to Jacob, named Himself God Almighty, confirmed the name Israel and renewed the promises. Then, in the same place, He went up — and that quiet departure says much about the meeting Jacob had just had.
Talk, Not Wrestling
One writer traces the order of events at Bethel: buried idols, then a revealed name, then the parting.
J. N. DarbyThere is no real putting away of idols until we get into the presence of God. Notice: when the idols are buried, the first thing God did was to tell him His name. He did not before, but now that is the first thing: "God appeared to him and said to him, I am God Almighty," the name He had given Himself to Abraham. And then, though the conversation was short, and there was no intercession for others, God went up from him just as He did from Abraham. You do not get as much bright blessing here, but God does reveal Himself now and talks with Jacob and does not wrestle with him.
Compared With Abraham
The wording here is not new. God used similar terms of Abraham in Genesis 17:22, and one commentator calls it a favour to both men.
William Kelly"Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him." We may compare this favour to Jacob with the similar terms used of Abraham in Genesis 17:22. What grace to both! And what an unspeakable difference from the mythological dreams of gods mixing with Gentile mankind, even if these had been true!
That earlier scene also settles the timing of the departure. God was not interrupted and did not leave early:
J. N. DarbyGod went up from him. He was talking with Abraham, and went only when He had finished. Abraham could present the desires of his heart to Elohim (God), and had a full answer, but God had His own purpose.
A Visitor, Not a Resident
Why does God go up at all, instead of staying at Bethel? Because at this stage of the story He comes to His people but keeps no address on earth.
J. G. BellettCreation denies the Lord God a rest or a dwelling, because of the sin that defiled it. He must rise and depart. It could not be His rest, for it was polluted. So we see Him at once as a stranger in the world His hands have made. This was not His place of staying. He visits His chosen ones who are in it. But in the days of the patriarchs — with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — He does not make it a home. He communicates with them in marked, personal closeness, but He seeks no place on the earth. Still, He has a dwelling place here — in His purpose, and in what is still to come.
What the Years of Struggle Were For
Jacob reached Bethel after years of struggle. One writer puts all such experience in its place.
J. N. DarbyExperiences are useful to bring us to God, but they all disappear when God reveals Himself.
Where Commentators Differ
Not every writer reads the departure as kindness. One writer takes the going up as a real withdrawal: God is finished with Jacob under that name, and what Jacob does next at the spot counts for little.
The Bible TreasuryJacob is passed over, and God's Israel alone is in view in this promise. So God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. He would never again acknowledge him in His record while he was in the land of Canaan, until by faith he goes out to God's separated man in Egypt. All is now lost for Jacob as such. He may set up a pillar of stone. He may begin his act of worship with an offering of thanksgiving. He may call the place where God spoke with him Bethel. But it comes to nothing.
So the same short sentence carries two readings: a gracious visit completed, or a solemn withdrawal. Commentators differ on the weight of the departure, not on the fact. God spoke with Jacob in that place, and then went up.
Summary
- Cleared — the idols went into the ground before God spoke His name. No one really puts idols away until he comes into God's presence.
- Spoken — Bethel was conversation, not conflict. God revealed Himself and talked with Jacob instead of wrestling with him.
- Finished — He went up only when He had finished; the departure marks a completed word, not an interrupted one.
- Visiting — God came near but kept no home on a defiled earth; He visited His chosen ones without seeking a place on it.
- Outlasting — the experiences that brought Jacob here fade when God reveals Himself. The revelation is what remains, not the struggle.