Genesis 35:1-15 And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar to God… I. EVERY SPIRITUAL HISTORY HAS ITS SPECIAL PLACES, WHERE MEMORY LOVES TO LINGER, AND WHERE SPIRITUAL POWER PERTAINS. II. SPECIAL MERCIES DEMAND SPECIAL REMEMBRANCE. III. THE TEXT MAY BE APPLIED TO A DEVOUT REMEMBRANCE OF THE TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE. 1. Diligence in searching the Scriptures. 2. Fervour of private prayer and devotion. 3. Careful cultivation of the public means of grace. 4. Ardour of Christian zeal and work. The strong man grows stronger by exercise, so the robust Christian is always an active one. IV. BETHEL WAS THE SCENE OF "VOWS" WHICH HAD BEEN PARTIALLY NEGLECTED AND FORGOTTEN. Prosperity has turned more heads than Jacob's. V. "DWELL THERE." A picture of a man of activity and business retiring to spend the leisure of age amidst the contemplations of religion and the memories of its power. (G. Deane, B. Sc.) Parallel Verses KJV: And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. |
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