Move On Genesis 35:9-22

“Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eden” (Gen. 35:21, NASB).

When God calls us to go somewhere we are sure to meet difficulties on the way to the place that God is calling us to. On our journey to our destination we suffer loss of some things or someone that we love dearly. Difficulties and loss are simply a part of life that everyone will sooner or later have to face. What are we supposed to do when we suffer loss? Will we hold on to that which we have lost? In this article I will use the story of Rachel’s death and Israel’s response to his loss to say that there are times that we need to move on. Instead of becoming stagnated, we must bury that which is dead and move on to go to the place that God is calling us to.

The scripture passage for this article is an account of Jacob’s travel from Paddan-aram to Ephrath, also known as Bethlehem. As Jacob and his household travel they arrive at a place called Bethel. In Bethel God changes Jacob’s name to Israel (35:10). After God speaks to Israel in Bethel, Israel sets out to go to Ephrath, also called Bethlehem (35:16). As they journey toward Ephrath, Rachel begins to have severe labor pains. She has given birth to Joseph, and she is pregnant with a second child that she names Ben-oni and Israel calls Benjamin (v. 17). “It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin” (v. 18). How does Israel respond to Rachel’s death? Before we answer this question, we need to recall Jacob’s relationship to Rachel.

Rachel comes into Jacob’s life when he leaves Canaan to escape the wrath of his brother Esau. Jacob’s father Isaac sends him to Paddan-aram (28:1-5). Jacob arrives at the house of Laban and agrees that Laban will give his younger daughter to Jacob as a wife in exchange for seven years of labor (29:18). After completing the years of his labor, Laban refuses to give Jacob Rachel to be his wife. Instead he cites cultural norms and insists that Jacob marry the older daughter Leah. Jacob must work an additional seven years for Rachel (29:16-30). After working for Laban twenty years (31:38, 41) Jacob takes his household back to Canaan. When we read the story of Jacob’s life in Paddan-aram we learn that Jacob’s greatest love is for Rachel. Initially, Rachel is unable to give Jacob a child until Jacob is older. Then Rachel gives birth to a son named Joseph. Joseph becomes his father’s favorite son. The story of Jacob’s time in Paddan-aram is recorded in Genesis 28-31. Jacob meets Esau and they reach a peaceful agreement and Jacob settles in the city of Shechem (33-34). This brings us to our text.

God calls Jacob to leave Shechem. “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau” (Gen. 35:1, NASB). God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. On the journey to Ephrath Rachel dies. Now, we can see that Israel loves Rachel. Jacob has invested a lot of time and labor so that he can marry Rachel. Jacob waits a long time before Rachel is able is able to give him a son. Now, Rachel is pregnant with a second child. Can you imagine how Israel is feeling at this time? He must be a happy man. He must be thinking, all of my time and labor is bearing fruit. God is taking me to a safe place, and I am going to receive the blessings of the covenant that God first made with my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. Feeling good about his situation, Jacob is met with a crisis. It is like sticking a pin in a balloon filled with air for a party. You blow up the balloon only to have someone stick a pin in it causing the air to escape leaving you with a flat and useless balloon. The balloon is flat, but the party must go on. A pin is stuck in Israel’s prized balloon, but the party must go own. Rachel is dead, but Jacob cannot allow the death of Rachel to stop the journey that God gives him.

Israel’s story gives us a blueprint, a model, of how we must deal with setbacks and loss in our life. When we suffer loss we must go through the grieving process, but while we grieve we must continue on life’s journey. For example, suppose you have a job and a family member dies. How will you handle this? What will you do? Do you quit your job? No, because you must work in order to support yourself and the loved ones remaining in your life. If the place that you work can afford it you may be given about three days to grieve and have a funeral for the one that you have lost. If you are a student, the school will not change its schedule. Depending on the school polices and the teachers involved you may be allowed extra time to complete an assignment, but in one way or another you must get yourself back on schedule with your classes. You must bury that which is dead and continue on your journey.

Another example is the fracture in a relationship. For example, a friend does something that is wrong. They may have betrayed your trust. One example is that a young woman learns that her boyfriend or husband has a relationship with another woman. What does the young woman do? The way that she resolves this crisis is important because her decision will have an effect on the rest of her life. I believe that the most important thing that we can do in hurtful situations in life is to forgive the one that has hurt us. Whether we find a way to mend the relationship or dissolve the relationship, we must forgive the offending party. Forgiving someone sets us free from the destructive forces that cause pain. Sometimes people continue with the relationship, but they fail to forgive. On the other hand we may choose to dissolve the relationship. Regardless of the decision that we make it is best to forgive so that we are free to continue on our journey.

God forgives us our sins. Before God creates the world He has a plan to deal with our sins. His plan is summed up in this: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NASB). God loves the world and all that is in it. God will deal with sin and all the effects that sin has on His creation. So, God forgives sin so that He can continue with His plans for the world that He created. “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NASB). Having made provisions for sin God is free to bury that which is dead. He is free to move on. John in the book of Revelation tells about God’s destination. John writes: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea” (Rev. 21:1, NASB).

You and I are on a journey. We are on our way to a place that God tells us to go. We cannot allow that which dies prevent us from continuing our journey. We must bury that which is dead and move on.