Go Up to Bethel
Genesis 34:25-35:15
I. Simeon and Levi (vs. 25-31)
a. Following all the men of Shechem being circumcised, what do Levi and Simeon do after the third day?
b. When the rest of Jacob’s sons come upon the men who had been slain what do they do?
c. How thoroughly do the sons of Jacob plunder?
d. How does Jacob respond to what Simeon and Levi have done (not to mention what the rest of the sons do)?
e. Is Jacob’s concern merely for himself or for his entire family?
f. Did Simeon and Levi feel justified in their actions?
II. From Shechem to Bethel (Genesis 35: 1-6)
a. How does Jacob know where to go when leaves Shechem?
b. Is Bethel a place that is familiar to Jacob? (Genesis 28:10-22)
c. What does God instruct Jacob to do when he arrives at Bethel?
d. Knowing God is directing his path, and with his previous experience at Luz (Bethel), what does Jacob instruct everyone to do before they go?
e. How does God protect Jacob and his family from the cities enroute to Bethel?
III. Jacob Builds an Alter (vs. 7-15)
a. What does Jacob call the alter he builds for God? (the literal meaning is God of the House of God)
b. Why does verse 8 seem oddly placed in this passage? (see Genesis 24:59)
c. What does God reiterate to Jacob when He appears to him in Bethel?
d. What is clear from the following phrases, “God appeared to Jacob,” and “God went up from him?”
APPLICATION: When we truly walk with the Lord how vital is it to purge the things that are contrary to that relationship?
