The Return to Canaan
Introduction
Jacob had made peace with both Laban and Esau and he was ready to make the final push into Canaan. On the morning after departing from Esau, the sun was probably shining brightly on Jacob and, as the saying goes, it was the first day of the rest of his life. The reality of facing Esau had weighed heavily upon Jacob but Esau’s forgiveness had set him free.
He entered Canaan, not at Bethel as God had implied, but to a place called Succoth. It appears that he planned to remain there, not as a sojourner but as a settler, because he built shelters for his herds and lived in a house rather than in his tents (Genesis 33:17).
For reasons unknown, Jacob moved his family from Succoth to Shechem. Genesis 33:18 makes us wonder about the circumstances under which that move was made. We are told only that Jacob came “safely” to the city of Shechem. It seems odd that the word “safely” was used unless for some reason, Jacob actually fled Succoth rather than leaving by his own choice.
In any case, moving to Shechem ended up being a tragic choice. Genesis 34 tells the sordid story of the abduction and rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite, and the revenge exacted by two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi.
After the tragedy at Shechem, God told Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar there. In preparation for their move to Bethel, Jacob told the members of his household to purify themselves and to change their garments. He also gathered up the foreign gods that were in their possession and buried them under the oak tree at Shechem (Genesis 35:1-4).
Think About This: It is very likely that Laban’s household gods were buried along with the other foreign gods in Jacob’s household as described in Genesis 35:4. Why hadn’t Jacob destroyed the gods until now? He apparently wasn’t concerned about purity until he was ready to enter Bethel.
The Narrative Shifts
At this point, the narrative in Genesis seems to shift from Jacob to his sons, although by no means does Jacob disappear from the pages of the Bible. In the following section, I have tried to identify the major events in Jacob’s life, both those we have already studied as well as those that occur after his departure from Shechem.
I used a combination of sources to determine the dates used in this section. It is difficult if not impossible to arrive at a consensus among scholars concerning the dates of these events, so please keep that in mind as you read.
Timeline of Jacob’s Life (All Dates are BCE)
1876
Abraham enters Canaan at the age of 75 (Genesis 12:4).
1851
Isaac is born in Beer-lahai-roi (Genesis 21:2-3).
1791
Jacob and Esau are born. Isaac was 60 years old when his sons were born (Genesis 25:24-26).
Unknown Date
Esau sells his birthright to his brother Jacob (Genesis 25:29-34).
1751
Esau, at the age of 40, marries two Canaanite women (Genesis 26:34-35).
1714
(1) Esau and Jacob are 77 years old. Jacob pretends to be Esau in order to steal Isaac’s firstborn blessing. (2) Esau threatens to kill Jacob. (3) Jacob flees to Paddan-aram. (4) Esau marries a daughter of Ishmael. (5) Jacob begins his first 7-year contract with Laban for Rachel (Genesis 27 – 29:18).
1707
Jacob is 84 years old. He has completed the 7-year contract for Rachel, but Laban tricks him into marrying his older daughter Leah, not Rachel. One week into his marriage with Leah, Jacob marries Rachel (Genesis 29:19-28).
1707 to 1694 (Thirteen Year Period)
(1)Jacob begins the second 7-year contract with Laban for Rachel. (2) All of Jacob’s children (except for Benjamin) are born during this period. (3) Jacob completes the second 7-year contract working for Laban.(4) Jacob agrees to work for Laban if he can have all of the spotted and speckled animals that are born to Laban’s herds. (5) God causes Jacob to prosper over the next 6 years by controlling the mating habits of the flocks. (6) God tells Jacob to leave Paddan-aram and return to Canaan; (7) Jacob is 97 years old at the end of this period (Genesis 29:29 – 31:3).
1694 to 1683 (Eleven Year Period)
(1) Jacob is 97 years old at the beginning of this period. He departs Paddan-aram and begins to travel toward Canaan; (2) Laban follows Jacob in order to secure the return of his household gods; he is unsuccessful and makes a covenant with Jacob; (3) Jacob wrestles with a “man” who is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, and ends up with a dislocated hip and a new name, Israel (Genesis 32:24-30); (4) Jacob meets with Esau for the first time in twenty years and they have a peaceful reunion (Genesis 33:1-16); (5) The entire family travels to Succoth where Jacob builds a house and shelters for his herds (Genesis 33:17); (6) The family travels to Shechem where Jacob buys land and erects an altar to God (Genesis 33:18-20); (7) Dinah is abducted and raped by the son of Hamor the Hivite; two of Jacob’s sons kill all of the men in the city. Afterwards, all of the sons spoil the city and take captive the remaining citizens of the town (Genesis 34:1-31); (8) God commands Jacob to leave Shechem and go to Bethel (Genesis 35:1). Once there, God blesses Jacob and reiterates that his name is now Israel (Genesis 35:9-15); (9) The family leaves Bethel to travel to Mamre (Hebron) where Isaac lives. As they are on their way, Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin and is buried along the road (Genesis 35:16-20); (10) Jacob and his family remain near Bethlehem for an unknown length of time. While there, Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, commits incest with his father’s concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:21-22); (11) The family travels to Mamre, about 20 miles from Bethlehem (Genesis 35:27). (12) Jacob is 108 years old at the end of this period.
1683 to 1671 (Twelve Year Period)
Jacob is 108 years old. He and his family live near Isaac for twelve years, until Isaac dies at the age of 180. Jacob is 120 years old at the end of this period (Genesis 35:28-29).
1663
Jacob and his entire household move to Egypt due to a famine. He reunites with Joseph who has been living in Egypt since his brothers sold him into slavery nearly 40 years earlier (Genesis 46:1-27).
1644
Jacob dies in Egypt at the age of 147. His body is embalmed and is taken by Joseph and the rest of the family to the cave at Machpelah (Genesis 49:33; 50:12-13).
Conclusion
So what are we to make of this man Jacob? I personally find him to be an unlikeable sort. He was arrogant, disobedient, self-serving, untrustworthy, prideful and a polygamist.
On the other hand, he had perseverance and he fought for what he wanted. He really wanted reconciliation with Esau and he depended on God for deliverance from his brother. When he wrestled with God, Jacob would not let go until he received God’s blessing, knowing that nothing else in life mattered if he didn’t have that.
When Jacob left his homeland after Esau threatened to kill him, he went to Paddan-aram and remained there for twenty years. Then God appeared to him (Genesis 31:3) and told him to go back to Canaan. Jacob obeyed God by immediately leaving Paddan-aram, but it took him another ten years to return to Bethel. Most commentators agree that Jacob was not in obedience to God because he did not go directly to Bethel. But note that in 31:3, God does not specify that he should go to Bethel; He only said Jacob needed to return to the land of his fathers. Succoth and Shechem were both in Canaan, so maybe Jacob thought that he was being obedient. Jacob probably lingered in Succoth and Shechem because the land was better for grazing his herds.
Think About This: God allowed Jacob to decide for himself whether he would be obedient or not; Jacob chose to go his own way and had to reap the consequences of that disobedience. God allows Christians today to do the same thing. We’re always better off when we remain within the will of God.
Bad things happened to the family while they were in Shechem, and maybe it was those events that caused Jacob to listen for God’s voice again. Afterwards, God specifically commanded Jacob to go to Bethel (Genesis 35:1).
Think About This: When Jacob left Bethel thirty years earlier, he had promised to tithe 10% of all that God would give him. Remember, at that point, Jacob had no possessions. It’s easy to promise to give away 10% of all you own when you don’t own anything. But when he returned to Canaan, Jacob was a wealthy man. Maybe he delayed his return so he would not have to comply with that old tithing vow. But he need not have worried; God did not mention the tithe; He only instructed Jacob to build an altar there.
When he came to Bethel, Jacob built an altar to God as he had done thirty years earlier, and he called the place El-bethel because that is where God first revealed Himself to him (Genesis 35:7). Through this act of worship, fulfillment of his vow, and renaming the site, Jacob reconfirmed his allegiance to God. (MacArthur). God also affirmed His commitment to Jacob by reappearing to him and reiterating the change of his name. God repeats the covenant promises He had given to Abraham.
Had Jacob grown spiritually during his thirty year sojourn? “Jacob’s renewal at Bethel necessitated several actions on his part. First, he came to the point where he stopped going his own sinful way and once again obeyed that which he knew to be the will of God. There cannot be renewal without obedience. Second, there cannot be renewal without separation. Jacob put away those foreign gods which he so long tolerated and which were so offensive to God. Finally, Jacob’s renewal involved reconciliation with those who had been injured and offended by his sins. There was much needless heartache and sorrow in Jacob’s life because of his waywardness. Sin is never worth the price.” (Deffinbaugh)
In our upcoming lesson, we will begin to look at the lives of Jacob’s sons.
Think About It, Talk About It
When Jacob returned to Canaan, why might he have gone first to Succoth and then to Shechem before he moved on to Bethel? Why do you think many commentators believe God wanted Jacob to go directly to Bethel, even though Genesis 31:3 does not specifically state that?
Why did moving his family to Shechem turn out to be such a bad mistake for Jacob? In Genesis 35:1, when God specifically told Jacob to go to Bethel. what kind of preparations did Jacob make before going there? Why?
Jacob often decided to go his own way, and sometimes those decisions produced very grave consequences. Why do you think God didn’t stop Jacob from making those mistakes? Is that how God deals with us as well? What should we learn from that?
Sources
Deffinbaugh, Bob: The Way Back from the series From Paradise to Patriarchs (www.bible.org)
Deffinbaugh, Bob: One Step Forward and Three Backward, (www.bible.org)
Dinah, Biblical Figure, (Britannica, www.britannica.com)
Eames, Christopher: When Was the Age of the Patriarchs? (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, www.armstronginstitute.org)
Hughes, R. Kent: Preaching the Word-Genesis (Crossway Books)
Jacob and Joseph Timeline, (www.biblestudy.org)
Lessons on Spiritual Transformation from Jacob’s Transformation, (www.inspiredscripture.com)
Life of Jacob Timeline, (www.fullbibletimeline.com)
MacArthur, John: The MacArthur Bible Commentary, (Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee (Thomas Nelson, Inc.