Genesis 35:1-15

1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.

3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.

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.

9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.

10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.

11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.

12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. 

Context: Jacob's failure at Shechem in Genesis 34

Key Thoughts:

1. Failure does not cancel the hold God has on your life— but quitting does. 
2. Failure becomes formational when we stop hiding from it and start learning through it.
3. Pursuing God’s call is challenging—because it’s meant to cost you everything.
4. God is calling you out of your failure and bringing you into His promise— not because you earned it, but because He loves you. 

Failure is not fatal— what defines you is your response.

The DNA of how we should respond to failure:

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2.

3.

4.

The Different Grounds in Scripture

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2.

3.

4.

Ground #1 __________

Deuteronomy 32:8-9

8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

when he divided mankind,

he fixed the borders of the peoples

according to the number of the sons of God.

9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.

Key Thought:

Geography in the Bible is cosmic. It is either holy, belonging to Yahweh— or it is the domain of another god. (Dr. Michael Heiser)

Ground #2 __________

Matthew 13:58

58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Key Thought:

Faith is fertilizer to the ground of expectation. 

Ground #3 __________

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 

20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Colossians 1:27

27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 

14 who is the guaranteed of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Key Thought:

God has now made us the ground. We are not bound by geography but empowered by His Spirit wherever we are.

Ground #4 __________

1 Peter 2:5

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Key Thought:

The Church is the sweet spot of being where God called you, surrounded by faith and fellow believers.

Ephesians 6:10-13

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Key Thought:

To stand is to stand our ground and put on Christ. It is to embrace the victory He has already won for us.

Genesis 35:10

10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.

Key Thought:

Your errors don't erase God's call on your life.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Key Thought:

Obedience is the greatest form of worship.