Retreat 11/6/25

by Pastor Martin Storey

Genesis 35:1-15
Then 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.” 2 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. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 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. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,[a] because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.[b] 9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,[c] God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,[d] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.[e]” So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]


A certain place was changed and transformed because of God's presence.

1. The invitation
- God initiates, "go up to bethel and settle there"
- He's longing for us to come back to His presence
- it would change us, a divine exchange

2. The cost
- God appears to Jacob to go up to bethel and build an altar there
- the people who have tolerated certain things have to get rid of those foreign gods
- things we have tolerated in our lives need to change, need to go
1.get rid of foreign gods
2.to purify ourselves (gradual drifting, a coldness that comes in, that creeps in, we need a freshness)
3.to change their clothes (renew our hunger for God, have an expectation of God encounter)

3. The Protection
God would look after our things when we look after the things of God. Set our hearts to pursue God, step closer to Him

4. The blessing
- Genesis 35:11-15
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty[f]; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.[g]


5 things happen when we come close to God:
1. God appears to Jacob again
2. God blessed him
3. God told him who he was (your coming after God has turned my head after you)
4. God give him a personal revelation of Himself (I am El Shaddai)
5. He makes him a promise (be fruitful and increase in numbers... I give also to you and your descendants after you. It was no longer Jacob's grandfather's or father's shadow, because he came to Bethel)