Genesis 35 – Jacob Returns to Bethel: Christ Revealed in the Journey
Genesis 35 – Jacob Returns to Bethel: Christ Revealed in the Journey
Have you ever needed a completely fresh start after a season of failure, pain, or utter chaos?
Right after the tragic mess at Shechem, God called Jacob to pack up, clean house, and go back to where his journey first began. Genesis 35 is a pivotal chapter of spiritual cleansing, renewed promises, and bitter loss. Yet under every altar built and every pillar set up, God carved out profound prophetic pictures of Jesus Christ.
Human strength fails and idol altars crumble, but Jesus brings us back to the Father's house.
Chapter Summary & Context
In Genesis 35:1, God instructed Jacob to go up to Bethel and build an altar. Genesis 35:2 records Jacob telling his household to put away all foreign idols, purify themselves, and change their clothes.
Genesis 35:9–10 shows God appearing to Jacob again, confirming his new name, Israel, and repeating the covenant promises made to Abraham. Tragic loss follows: Genesis 35:19 records the death of Rachel while giving birth to Benjamin near Bethlehem, and Genesis 35:29 closes with the death of Isaac, who is buried by Esau and Jacob.
How This Points to Christ
1. Buried Under the Oak vs. Buried in the Tomb
Before Jacob could go up to Bethel ("the House of God"), Genesis 35:4 says he buried all foreign gods and earrings under the oak tree near Shechem. Clean clothes and discarded idols were required to approach a holy God.
This act of burying the old life directly prefigures the gospel. In Romans 6:4, Paul explains that we are buried with Christ through baptism into death so we can walk in newness of life. Jesus took our spiritual idols and sins into His own tomb. Just as Jacob buried the gods of paganism under a tree, Christ bore our curse on a tree (Galatians 3:13) and buried our sin forever.
2. Ben-Oni to Benjamin: The Son of Sorrow Turned Son of Right Hand
When Rachel was dying in childbirth, Genesis 35:18 records that with her last breath she named her son Ben-Oni, which means "Son of My Sorrow." But his father Jacob immediately renamed him Benjamin, meaning "Son of the Right Hand."
This dual naming is one of the most stunning Christological pictures in all of Genesis:
The Son of Sorrow: Jesus came first as the "Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), bearing the labor pains of human sin on the cross.
The Son of the Right Hand: After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father in power and glory (Hebrews 1:3).
Jesus is both Ben-Oni and Benjamin in one Person—the suffering Savior who became the exalted King!
3. The Tower of Eder and the Shepherds of Bethlehem
In Genesis 35:21, after burying Rachel near Bethlehem, Jacob pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder (the "Tower of the Flock").
Centuries later, Jewish tradition recorded that the lambs designated for Passover sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple were raised in the fields surrounding Migdal Eder near Bethlehem. When the angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds in Bethlehem (Luke 2), Christ—the true Passover Lamb—was born in the exact same fields where Jacob once wept and pitched his tent!
Key Scriptural Connections
Genesis 3:15 – The labor pains and death of Rachel during childbirth point back to the consequence of sin in Eden, while the child born points forward to the Seed who overcomes death.
Genesis 12:7 – Abraham built his first altar near Bethel, and in Genesis 35:7, Jacob built an altar at the same place, showing God's unshakeable covenant line leading to Christ.
Genesis 28:12–13 – Jacob first saw the ladder to heaven at Bethel, which Jesus directly claims to fulfill in John 1:51 as the only bridge between heaven and earth.
Micah 4:8 – Micah prophesied that kingdom authority would come to "Migdal Eder" (the tower of the flock), pointing directly to the Messiah’s arrival in Bethlehem.
Matthew 2:16–18 – Matthew quotes the weeping near Rachel’s tomb in Bethlehem when Herod tried to murder the infant King Jesus.
Romans 6:4 – The burying of idols under the tree in Genesis 35:4 connects to our old self being buried with Christ to rise in new spiritual life.
Hebrews 1:3 – Jesus fulfilled the meaning of Benjamin by sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high after purifying us from sin.
FAQ & Takeaway
Why did God tell Jacob to change his clothes and bury his idols?
God requires holiness to enter His presence. Jacob’s household had to shed their pagan influences, symbolizing the spiritual cleansing that only Christ's blood provides.
What is the significance of Rachel dying near Bethlehem?
Rachel's death ties this family line permanently to Bethlehem. It sets the geographical stage for the birth of King David and, ultimately, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Why does God repeat Jacob's name change to Israel in verse 10?
Jacob frequently slid back into his old scheming nature. God repeated his new name to remind him that his identity rested on divine grace, not his personal weakness.
Closing Call to Action
How does seeing Jesus as both the "Son of Sorrow" and "Son of the Right Hand" give you comfort in your current struggles? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, share this post, and subscribe to Among His Verses for more deep studies!
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