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Re-cap of the sermon from May 3, 2009:
1. God’s instructions to Jacob in 35:1 are, in effect, a rebuke - a call for him to complete the vows he made earlier at Bethel when he was leaving the land (28:20-22). God was admonishing him because he had unfinished business which was keeping him from full obedience.
2. Jacob’s return to Bethel was unwisely delayed by 7-10 years, time which he spent in Succoth in Shechem - an action which put his family in jeopardy.
3. Part of the reason for the delay was the fact that there was idolatry in Jacob’s family. Along with the household idols which Rachel brought back from Paddam Aram were the false gods of the area of Shechem,
4. We must be careful about divided allegiance. God’s Spirit jealously desires to have our full devotion. (James 4:4-6).
5. A. W. Pink wisely said: “The moral is evident: spiritual neglect and trifling with temptation can issue only in evil and disaster. Let us not neglect God’s house, nor delay to keep His commandments.”
