Putting One Foot Forward: Trusting God's Call

Genesis 35 finds Jacob at a crossroads after the wreckage of Genesis 34. Jacob has to keep going, even with family drama, failure, fear, and more trouble still ahead. God meets him with a simple command: “Get up.” God does not merely tell Jacob to stand up or move locations. God calls Jacob to step into the plans He still has for him.

The command to get up carries the sense of getting up to worship, getting up to go where God calls, and getting up to attend to what God is doing. Jacob is not a finished product, but God still calls him. God does not wait until Jacob has every fault cleaned up, every fear settled, or every question answered. God calls flawed people up into His purposes.

Jacob responds by telling his household to get rid of their foreign gods, purify themselves, and change their clothes. The foreign gods and earrings likely came from the plunder of Shechem, and they represented baggage that could not go with them to Bethel. Psalm 24 puts the same thing plainly: those who ascend the mountain of the Lord come with clean hands and a pure heart. Christ makes purification possible, but the call still stands to lay aside what keeps a heart divided and put on the new self.

God also protects Jacob’s family as they travel. The terror of God falls on the surrounding cities, and nobody pursues Jacob’s sons. God’s protection does not mean every road will be easy or safe, but God guards His people enough for them to accomplish what He has called them to do. Jacob names the altar El-Bethel, the God of Bethel, because the point is not merely the place but the God who meets, protects, and keeps His promises.

God then reaffirms Jacob’s name, Israel, and reveals Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty. Jacob the deceiver and grasper receives a new name and a new direction. God’s word over Jacob reaches beyond his present mess: nations and kings will come from him, and ultimately the true King, Jesus, will come through this family.

Genesis 35 still carries sorrow, death, sin, and loss. Yet Bethlehem and the Tower of the Flock point ahead to a Savior Jacob could not have imagined, the Lamb of God born near shepherds tending sacrificial sheep. God works through more than His people can see. God’s goodness gives strength for the next step, even when the whole picture remains hidden.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Get up into God’s calling God’s call to “get up” is more than a command to change circumstances. God calls people to step into His plans while they are still flawed, uncertain, and tired. Jacob’s life shows that unfinished people are not disqualified from obedient movement. [04:40]
• 2. Leave behind what divides the heart Jacob’s household cannot carry foreign gods into a renewed encounter with God at Bethel. Purification involves naming and laying aside the things that compete for trust, worship, and allegiance. Christ cleanses His people, and that cleansing opens the way for a life that increasingly fits the presence of God. [10:02]
• 3. Trust protection for God’s purposes God puts terror on the surrounding cities so Jacob’s family can continue toward Bethel. God’s protection is not a promise of an easy road, but it is a promise that opposition cannot finally cancel His will. Fear often asks what might happen, while faith remembers who sends His people forward. [15:29]
• 4. Believe what El Shaddai says God renames Jacob and speaks promises larger than Jacob’s past or present circumstances. Human affirmation can give courage, but God Almighty’s word gives a person a truer identity and a steadier future. Israel can keep moving because God’s promise, not Jacob’s performance, defines the direction of his life. [19:31]
• 5. God works beyond present sight Jacob’s painful journey passes through places that will later point toward Bethlehem, shepherds, sacrifice, and Jesus. God is often arranging things that cannot be understood in the moment. The next faithful step matters because God’s larger work reaches farther than present circumstances can reveal.
  
  ## [25:07]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:18] - Life at a Crossroads
• [03:15] - Jacob After Genesis 34
• [04:40] - God’s Command to Get Up
• [09:49] - Purify Yourselves for Bethel
• [11:43] - Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
• [15:29] - Trusting God’s Protection
• [18:08] - El-Bethel, the God of Bethel
• [19:31] - Israel’s New Name and Promise
• [23:06] - God Works Through Life’s Ups and Downs
• [25:07] - Bethlehem and the Tower of the Flock
• [28:17] - The Lamb of God and the Next Step

Bible Reading

Genesis 35:1–15

Verse 1: God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” [04:40]

Verse 2: So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.” [10:02]

Verse 3: “We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.” [10:02]

Verse 4: Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. [10:02]

Verse 5: When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. [15:29]

Verse 6: Jacob and all who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. [18:08]

Verse 7: Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. [18:08]

Verse 9: God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. [19:31]

Verse 10: God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. [19:31]

Verse 11: God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you, and kings will descend from you.” [19:31]

Verse 12: “The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. And I will give the land to your descendants after you.” [19:31]

Verse 13: Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken to him. [19:31]

Verse 14: Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. [19:31]

Verse 15: Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. [19:31]

Observation questions

1. What does God specifically tell Jacob to do in verse 1, and what does Jacob tell his household to do before they leave for Bethel? [10:02]
2. What items does Jacob’s household hand over, and where does Jacob put them? What do these details suggest about the seriousness of leaving their old baggage behind?
3. What danger might Jacob’s family have faced from the surrounding cities after the events of Genesis 34, and what does verse 5 say God did? [15:29]
4. What names are emphasized in this passage—Bethel, El-Bethel, Israel, and God Almighty—and what events are connected with each name? [19:31]

Interpretation questions

1. God tells Jacob to “get up” after a season marked by family failure, fear, and conflict. What does this reveal about the kind of people God calls into His purposes? [04:40]
2. Why would getting rid of foreign gods, purifying themselves, and changing clothes be an important response before going to worship at Bethel? How can divided worship show up in a believer’s life today? [11:43]
3. Verse 5 shows that God protected Jacob’s family from pursuit, but Jacob’s life still included sorrow and hardship. How should believers understand God’s protection without assuming that obedience always leads to an easy path? [15:29]
4. God calls Jacob “Israel” and speaks promises that reach far beyond Jacob’s past as a deceiver and grasper. How does God’s word give Jacob a truer direction than his past failures could give him? [19:31]

Application questions

1. Is there an area of life where you feel stuck at a crossroads—perhaps after a disappointment, conflict, loss, or major change? What might it look like for you to take the next faithful step rather than staying where you are? [04:40]
2. Jacob did not wait until his life and family were completely cleaned up before responding to God’s call. Where are you tempted to think, “I need to fix myself first, and then I can obey God”? What simple act of obedience may be in front of you now? [08:00]
3. The foreign gods and earrings represented things that could not travel with Jacob’s household to Bethel. What habits, sources of security, patterns of thought, or hidden compromises may be competing for your trust and worship? What would it look like to lay one of them aside this week? [14:43]
4. Jacob remembered that God had answered him in his day of distress and had been with him wherever he went. What past moment of God’s faithfulness can you remember when present fears start asking, “What if?” [18:47]
5. Fear often focuses on the people, problems, or outcomes that might stand in the way. What specific “what if” has been making it hard for you to move forward in something God is calling you to do? How can the promise of God’s care reshape that fear? [17:20]
6. God Almighty spoke a new name and a future over Jacob that was greater than his old identity. Which words from God’s promises in Scripture do you need to believe more deeply about who you are and how you can keep going? [22:29]
7. Jacob could not see how God was working through Bethlehem, the Tower of the Flock, sacrifice, and the coming of Jesus. Where in your life do you need patience to keep taking the next step while trusting that God may be working beyond what you can presently see? [28:06]