Genesis 35:1 says, "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother." God told him to go up to Bethel. Bethel was a place that particularly touched Jacob's heart because he dreamed and God appeared to him there. We have mentioned earlier that Bethel means the house of God; it signifies the authority of Christ, that Christ is ruling over His house. It also signifies the corporate life, which is the Body of Christ. In this house there should not be any defilement, sin, or anything that is contrary to God's will. This is why Jacob told his household and those who were with him to "put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments" when they went up to Bethel (v. 2). In other words, they had to leave behind everything that was related to the idols before they could go up to Bethel. In Shechem Jacob buried the strange gods and all their earrings under the oak (v. 4). The meaning of Shechem is "strength of the shoulder." In other words, Christ deals with our idols and our sins, and Christ deals with all the things which we cannot deal with. The oak of Shechem speaks of the riches of Isaac; it shows us that everything contrary to us is dealt with there. In Shechem Christ has enough power to deal with all these things. His shoulder is broad enough to bear all these responsibilities. Bethel is the house of God. There should only be clean conduct and clean living in the house of God, and all the unclean things should be dealt with before one can go up to Bethel. God demands not only that we have a clean living individually, but that we also have a clean living corporately. Bethel cannot tolerate any unclean things. The Body of Christ is Christ, and only Christ can remain in His Body; everything else must be left behind in Shechem.
Verse 5 says, "And they journeyed." After Jacob trusted in the power of the Lord and removed all the things that did not glorify Him, he set out on his journey.
Verses 6 and 7 say, "So Jacob came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El-bethel; because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother." At that time, Jacob took another step forward. In Shechem he called the place "El-Elohe-Israel." Here he called it "El-bethel." In Shechem he called God the God of Israel, while here he called God the God of Bethel. He advanced from the individual experience to the corporate experience. In Shechem he knew God as the God of Israel. When he reached Bethel, he knew God as the God of His house. When he reached Bethel, he realized that the vessel God is after is a house, a corporate vessel. God was not only his God, but the God of His house. He was brought to a broadened place.
Thank and praise the Lord that God is not heaping up piles of isolated stones; He is building a house that expresses Him. There must be the corporate testimony before God's goal can be reached. Individuals cannot satisfy God's heart. Even many individuals working for the Lord will not satisfy God's heart. There is the need of a corporate vessel to fulfill God's purpose and satisfy His heart. Our God is the God of Bethel, the God of the church.
Here God appeared to Jacob once more. This appearance of God in Bethel was different from His previous appearance in Bethel. The previous time God had appeared in a dream. This time He appeared directly. Let us read verses 9 and 10: "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and he called his name Israel." At Peniel God began to change his name from Jacob to Israel. At Bethel the changing of his name was actually carried out. What began at Peniel was completed in the house of God. At Peniel God dealt with Jacob's natural life. God worked in him and gave him a mortal blow. After Peniel only a mere vestige of his natural life remained; it was no longer as strong as it once was. When he reached Bethel, that which began with his enlightening at Peniel was perfected in the house of God. Having our natural life touched individually is the starting point of Israel, while knowing the Body of Christ in the house of God is the perfection of Israel. The beginning of the experience of Peniel is the enlightening and the stripping of the natural life, while the completion of the experience of Peniel is Bethel, the house of God.
God said to Jacob, "I am God Almighty" (v. 11). Jacob heard what he did not hear at Peniel. At Peniel Jacob asked God for His name, and God would not tell him. God told him His name here. "I am God Almighty!" This was one of the names God revealed to Abraham when He appeared to him (17:1). God said this to Jacob to show him not only his own impotence, but God's omnipotence. Not only do we have to know our poverty, but we have to know His riches. "Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land" (35:11-12). This shows that God had secured a new vessel in Jacob. Now there was a people who could fulfill God's purpose on earth. After God spoke this, He went up from him (v. 13). When Jacob met God previously, he erected a stone to be a pillar, poured oil on it, and called the name of the place the house of God. At that time, he was afraid and felt that the place was very dreadful. After Jacob met God this time, he set up a pillar of stone and poured oil as well as a drink offering on it (v. 14). A drink offering is an offering of wine; in the Bible it signifies joy. Now Jacob was no longer fearful but joyful. Previously, he felt dreadful when he met God. Now he was joyful when he met God. This shows us that when we are saved, there is a certain taste in our praise of the Lord, and when our flesh is dealt with, there is another taste in our praise of the Lord. The taste of praise which comes after the flesh is dealt with is something which one can never experience prior to being dealt with.