Genesis 35

Bethel has never stood out to me before as much as it has this time... not that I could ever fully understand the plans of the lord... but it’s very interesting to me. In verse 5 where he set a terror on all the cities around them, it reminded me how other people who are not gods children in the world today are also so full of terror and name it anxiety. And again god commanded Jacob to be fruitful and multiply in verse 11 reminding him that “an assembly of nations” will come from him, and we will inherit the promised land as Israel’s descendants. When Christ is accepted into our hearts and He fills our Spirit, we are recognized as Him to our Father. We no longer belong to a country, a race, or an ethnicity but instead we are filled with Christ, a Hebrew born of God’s great promise. Although we should still pray for our leaders’ decisions so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life while we are still in this world, our eternal fate is sealed when we are saved no matter our bloodline. So, being dead to ourselves and alive through Christ, we are also a descendant of Israel just as Christ was a descendant of them all as it is traced back through His worldly family at the beginning of the New Testament. Just as Isaac “was gathered to his people” in verse 29, we will also be gathered to our people at the end of time, as the most important descendant of Israel has taken up residence in our hearts and minds and spirits.