Genesis 35:9

Genesis 35:9 says, And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.  Jacob was following God's guidance and God once again appeared to Jacob and blessed him.  As followers of Christ, we don't really have to wait for God to appear to us, since the Holy Spirit indwells us, but we must still follow God's guidance to be blessed by Him in everyday life.  Verse ten states, And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.  When Jacob wrestled with the angel, his name was changed to Israel, but he had still been called Jacob by everyone.  God once again told Jacob that his name would be Israel.  Verse eleven declares, And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;  God left no doubt as to Who He was, just as He will leave no doubt with us today.  God reaffirmed His promise made to Abraham, then Isaac, and now Jacob, now Israel, to make them into a great nation.  God does not forget His promises, no matter how long it takes for them to be fulfilled.  Verse twelve adds, And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.  God's promise was an on going promise, just as His promise of everlasting life is today.  It is our responsibility as Christians to share the gospel with others so that they may claim that promise as well.  This is how we are to be fruitful and multiply.  Verse thirteen states, And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.   God did not stay with Jacob continually as the Holy Spirit does with us today.  Verse fourteen says, And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.  Jacob still identifies himself as Jacob, though I don't think this was in disobedience to God.  He dedicated the place where God talked with him.  Wherever we are today as followers of Christ should be dedicated to God, since He is with us continually.  Verse fifteen adds, And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. Jacob named the place Bethel.  Verse sixteen states, And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.  They did not stay at Bethel, just as we cannot stay at the particular place where we first meet Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We as his followers have a commission to go into all the world to share the gospel.  Verse seventeen declares, And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.  When they got to Ephrath,  Rachel was in hard labor.  She was now having her second child.  Verse eighteen adds, And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.  Rachel died giving birth to her second son, who was named Benjamin.  What should have been a day of celebration for Jacob also became a day of mourning, but God was still with Jacob just as He had been since entering into a personal relationship with Jacob.  God is with us today in all the highs and lows, if we have that personal relationship with Him.  Verse nineteen states, And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.  As already stated, Rachel died and was buried at Bethlehem.  Verse twenty adds, And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.  Jacob marked her grave with a pillar.  Rachel was the one that Jacob loved the most and worked the hardest for, and now she was gone, but Jacob still had things to do.  We cannot allow grief at the loss of someone we love to allow us to stop doing what God has called us to do.