The Sons of Isaac(104)
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“What can we do with these?” Jacob had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had not realized Rachel had left the group. Now here she stood with the hated idols gathered up in her mantle. She was holding them out and pleading with him to rid her of them. “I have not trusted in Elohim,” she said. “I can’t go to your Bethel and face Him with these.”
“Father,” Joseph said, “we must bury them under the great tree and then we will be ready to go to Bethel.”
That was what they finally did. Each person brought out the strange gods, charms, stones of divination, and even the earrings and jewelry they had purchased at fairs from temple craftsmen. They piled them all up in a heap and then stood back and watched as Leah’s sons dug a pit and shoveled them in. Some of them had precious jewels, and Rachel’s idols had been crafted by Terah in Ur and were family treasures. Once the ground was level and the grass again placed over the spot, they felt somehow lighter, less burdened. They had done all they could think to do and were now ready to go up to Bethel.
That night Rachel wept, thinking that now she would never have another son. The fertility idols were gone and Elohim never seemed to listen to her prayers. When Jacob came, he found her crying. “I had so hoped to have another child,” she said.
Jacob had been deeply touched by her sacrifice of the idols. He knew what it had cost her to give them up. She had never heard the voice of Elohim and she had wanted only one thing, to have children, and that had been denied her except for Joseph.
With a great feeling of tenderness for her, he stayed with her, and it was from that night she counted her pregnancy.
* * *
They could not leave immediately. There were too many decisions to make, too much to do. The flocks were not ready to travel with the young lambs, and the barley they had planted must be harvested. However, the day finally came when they were ready to go. Each one looked around at the valley that had seemed so peaceful until they had arrived, and they regretted having to leave.
Jacob stopped by the well and lowered a jar for water. “We will never find sweeter water,” he said reluctantly. As he drank he thought of the great mystery of a well. They would leave the valley and never return, but the well would be here giving water to multitudes of people he would never see. To dig a well was a great and good thing. Perhaps it was the only bit of lasting good they had done during their stay.
He watched as the women watered the animals for the last time, then filled their water jars and skins in preparation for the journey to Bethel. They were silent with bitter memories of all that had happened here. Sadly, each one turned and joined the column that was already headed out on the southern trail that would lead them to Bethel. They hoped to find peace at Bethel, but they would never again think of themselves as deserving Abraham’s blessing.
From Shechem to Bethel is not a great distance, but Jacob’s company was large and cumbersome. To add to the many other complications, Rachel was nauseated because of her pregnancy. She would often be faint and dizzy, begging them to stop for a few days so she could rest. Others insisted on moving slowly because they were fearful of what they might encounter in the cities they had to pass along the ridge. To their dismay, the news of Shechem’s tragedy had gone on before them, and the people in the villages were afraid of them.
When they had to stop near a well for water, they found the women and children backing away, then running from them shrieking in terror. When Jacob and his sons approached men sitting at the town gate, the men would stand up, push back their stools, and hurry inside. The gates would be forcefully closed and locked. No more friendly advances were made to them, as had been made at Shechem. It was obvious that everyone wanted them to pass by as quickly as possible.
When they finally came near the city of Luz, Jacob sent gifts to their king and finally messengers explaining that they wished only to camp close by and to worship their God.
It was evening when he received word from the elders in the city of Luz that he and his family would be welcome. They could use the well and graze their herds on the open hillside.
He did not know whether the welcome was extended because of the gifts or out of fear, but he was determined not to let anything spoil his return.
“Tomorrow we will come to Bethel,” he announced with great excitement. “It is the very doorway to the house of our God.” He seemed not to notice that most of them were frightened.
“How are we to come to this place?” one of them asked. “Is it with tears and weeping?”
“No, no,” Jacob said. “We will come with singing and dancing and celebration, for all the promises made to me when I fled from home have been abundantly kept. Most of all, we will come with thanksgiving and praise to the God who has been faithful.”