2. Then Jacob said unto his household . . . Put away the
strange gods that are among you--Hebrew, "gods of the
stranger," of foreign nations. Jacob had brought, in his service, a
number of Mesopotamian retainers, who were addicted to superstitious
practices; and there is some reason to fear that the same high
testimony as to the religious superintendence of his household could
not have been borne of him as was done of Abraham
(Ge 18:19).
He might have been too negligent hitherto in winking at these evils in
his servants; or, perhaps, it was not till his arrival in Canaan, that
he had learnt, for the first time, that one nearer and dearer to him
was secretly infected with the same corruption
(Ge 31:34).
Be that as it may, he resolved on an immediate and thorough reformation
of his household; and in commanding them to put away the strange gods,
he added,
be clean, and change your garments--as if some defilement, from
contact with idolatry, should still remain about them. In the law of
Moses, many ceremonial purifications were ordained and observed by
persons who had contracted certain defilements, and without the
observance of which, they were reckoned unclean and unfit to join in
the social worship of God. These bodily purifications were purely
figurative; and as sacrifices were offered before the law, so also were
external purifications, as appears from the words of Jacob; hence it
would seem that types and symbols were used from the fall of man,
representing and teaching the two great doctrines of revealed
truth--namely, the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of our
nature.
JFB.
Outline
1 God sends Jacob to Bethel
2 Jacob puts away the strange gods from his household
6 He builds an altar at Bethel
8 Deborah dies
9 God blesses Jacob at Bethel
16 Rachel travails with Benjamin, and dies in the way to
Bethlehem
23 The sons of Jacob
27 Jacob comes to Isaac at Hebron
28 The age, death, and burial of Isaac.
Quick Reference Map
Map of the Jordan River
(Click to Enlarge)
Ancient Customs
strange gods
altar
change your garments
earrings
hid them under the oak
nurse
buried under an oak
name change
set up a pillar of stone
poured a drink offering
poured oil thereon
hard labour
midwife
buried
set a pillar upon her grave
concubine
handmaid
Ancient Topics
The terror of God
God Almighty
Israel
Allonbachuth
Ancient People
Jacob, Deborah, Rebekah, Rachael, Benjamin,
Reuben, Bilhah, Isaac, Esau
Jacob's 12 sons
Geography
Bethel
Shechem
Luz
land of Canaan
Elbethel
Padanaram
Ephrath
The tower of Edar
Mamre
Arbah
The Old Testament
Genesis Resources
Creation
Adam and Eve
The
Flood
The Tower of Babel
Abraham the First Hebrew
Isaac, Son of Promise
Jacob
and the 12 Tribes
Joseph
and Egypt