Genesis 35:5–8 (ESV)
God Blesses and Renames Jacob
5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which
is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And
Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.
We see the power of God and how He
protected Jacob, even though Jacob had not walked in the ways of the Lord. The people in the cities would have wanted to kill Jacob and his sons, because how they treated Shechem and his clan… they killed them! Jacob honored God by building
an altar. I do see a comparison between us today and Jacob. Jacob did evil, yet God forgives and protects. We sin against the Lord, yet Jesus came and died for us and took away our sins.
I pray: O Lord, I repent of my sins and want to do better. Forgive me, guide me, and protect me. Amen.