Return to Bethel
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” ~ Genesis 35:1
This chapter is so powerful because it is about returning to the place of God’s promise. Jacob had wandered, experienced trials, and even suffered loss, but God called him back to Bethel, the place where He first revealed Himself in a special way. It was a call to return to the foundation of God’s presence and promises.
As I read this about this point in Jacob’s life, I can’t help but remember my own wandering time, when I lived life far from God’s promises. I knew that God loved me and that He always answered when I called on Him but I wasn’t daily committing my life to Him. Instead, I was living a life of fear, trying to escape and losing sight of the purpose He gave me life for in the first place. Eventually, I reached a point where I realized I needed to get back to the basics. God was calling me to return to the quiet place of prayer and worship, the place where I first experienced Him so personally. He reminded me that I needed to be planted in His house if I wanted to flourish, and that I needed people around me who would help me stand strong instead of constantly falling short. Just like Jacob, I needed to return to my own Bethel, that place of surrender where I could once again trust Him with every area of my life and renew my faith in His sacrificial love and salvation.
This is a reminder to all of us today because we all face times where distractions, struggles, or busyness can pull us away from intimacy with God. Yet, He never stops calling us back. His call isn’t to condemn, it’s to restore. Returning to our Bethel means going back to those moments of deep faith, remembering His faithfulness, and rebuilding the altar of worship in our hearts.
Here are some ways to get back on purpose if it feels far away right now:
- Set aside intentional time this week to be alone with God, even if it is just a few minutes each day.
- Remember the times when God has been faithful in your life and write them down in a journal.
- Create a quiet meeting place in your home where you can consistently meet with God in prayer and worship.
- Remove distractions or “foreign gods” as Jacob did, whether they are habits, fears, or things that take your focus off the Lord.
- Make a fresh commitment to serve God faithfully with the gifts and resources He has entrusted to you.
Today I want to encourage you to return to your Bethel. God is calling you back to His presence, to the place of His promises, and to the altar of worship. He has not forgotten you, and He is ready to meet you again in a fresh and powerful way. When you take those steps toward Him, He will renew your strength, fill you with joy, and give you the sense of purpose that only He can bring.
Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 35
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.
3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem.
5 As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.
6 Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan.
7 Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.
8 Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).
9 Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,
10 saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.
11 Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!
12 And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.”
13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.
15 And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.
16 Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.
17 After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!”
18 Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
20 Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.
21 Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder.
22 While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.
These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.
27 So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners.
28 Isaac lived for 180 years.
29 Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
Journal Prompts:
- Where is my personal Bethel, the place or season where I first encountered God deeply?
- What distractions do I need to set aside in order to return to God’s presence wholeheartedly?
- How has God shown His faithfulness in the past, and how can I trust Him again in my current season?
- What altar of worship do I need to rebuild in my daily life?
The Daily Dose 