And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,
Open map →Back at the stone, thirty years and one name laterGenesis 35:6 · 2 places plottedJacob's long detour ends here. Years after he first left this place, he walks back into it. This time he does not come alone, and the place carries a new name.
Back to the Point of Departure
God had not asked Jacob for a fresh start somewhere new. He sent him to the one place where their dealings had begun.
F. B. HoleIn calling him back to the land of promise, God revealed Himself to him as "the God of Bethel," reminding him of the pillar he anointed and the vow that he made. So he was called back to the beginning of his direct dealings with God. This is always God's way with His people. We may wander away, but we have to come back to the very spot we left. The point of departure proves to be the place of recovery.
God had been patient with the years in between, but He never lowered the target.
C. H. MackintoshThis was true restoration. Jacob was brought back, after all his wanderings, to the very point from which he had started. Nothing less than this could ever satisfy God in reference to His servant. He could wait for him, bear with him, serve him, care for him and look after him. But He could never be satisfied with anything less than this — "Arise, go up to Bethel."
Two Names for One Place
The verse gives both the old name and the new. Commentators differ on what Luz means. One takes it as separation, and ties that closely to what Bethel means.
Leslie M. GrantLuz means "separation" and Bethel means "the house of God". The two things go together. If anyone is to value the house of God at all, there must be separation from everything else. The house of God stands alone. Nothing else can come near it. It is perfect and pure. God wants every believer at that place.
Another reading takes Luz to mean a curve, and reads it as a comment on Jacob's own life.
An Outline of Sound WordsThe old name of the place was Luz, which means a curve. It showed what Jacob's life had been — far from straight. But now for Jacob it was Bethel, the dwelling place of God, and it had a very important place in Jacob's later history.
What Bethel Meant
The name goes back to Jacob's first night there. God Himself later took it up as His own.
Morrish Bible DictionaryBethel means "house of God". It was the name given to the place where God first appeared to Jacob in a dream. It led him to say, "Surely the LORD is in this place... This is none other than the house of God... and he called the name of that place Bethel." In this way God let Jacob understand that the house of God on earth — the gate of heaven — would be tied to him and his descendants. Later God acknowledged the place and the name, saying, "I am the God of Bethel."
He and All the People With Him
The verse notes that the whole household came with him. Jacob had already settled what could not come with them.
C. H. MackintoshJacob felt that he could not bring false gods and defiled clothes to Bethel. Such things might pass at Shechem, but at Bethel they would never do.
Higher Ground Than Before
Arriving at Bethel changed how Jacob spoke of God. Compare the altar he had built earlier near Shechem with the one he builds now.
W. W. FeredayHe called it "El-Bethel," which means "the God of the house of God." That was much higher ground than the altar he built near Shechem and called "El-eloheh Israel," that is, "God the God of Israel." Self was the centre of his thoughts when he used the earlier name; it expressed his trust that God would look after him. But at Bethel he rose to the thought of having to do with God in His own house. So everything about himself now had to suit the holy One who dwelt there.
Summary
- Called. God's word to Jacob was not "start somewhere new" but "go up to Bethel". The place he left becomes the place of recovery.
- Cleansed. Idols and defiled clothes could pass at Shechem. Jacob would not take them to Bethel.
- Company. Jacob does not arrive alone. The whole household must suit the place he is heading for.
- Canaan. Bethel stands in the land of promise. God first appeared to Jacob there, and later called Himself "the God of Bethel".
- Centred on God. The altar's name moves from God as my God to God as the God of His own house. That raises the standard for everything in Jacob's life.