Jim Gallagher

Genesis 35:1, 2
“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.’ And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.'”

Jacob again hears the voice of God. This time he is being called to return to a place called Bethel, meaning “House of God.” This was the site of Jacob’s first encounter with the Lord. There he had been the recipient of the great and precious promises that revealed the plans and purposes God had for his life. Decades have since passed, and Jacob has grown from a lonely bachelor, to a large and prosperous family. Jacob returns to the place where he had made…