Evangelist D. L. Moody once explained idolatry this way: “You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you make most of is your God. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.”

In Genesis 35 God appeared to Jacob, instructing him to return to Bethel to fulfill a vow he had made back when he initially fled from home (Gen. 28:20–22). Clearly, God had not given up on Jacob, despite his many mistakes. In Genesis 34, we read how Jacob acted in fear and apathy in response to the crime against his daughter. He also did not restrain the excessive violence of his sons. Yet even when Jacob failed, God was faithful.

Here, God gives Jacob a command to “get rid of all the foreign gods you have with you” (v. 2). These gods may have included the ones Rachel had stolen from her father or gods that the sons had taken as spoils from their slaughter of the people of Shechem (see Gen. 34:27–28). God requires exclusive worship. This is true today as well. The Bible frequently warns believers to “flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14). This includes anything we put in the place of God in our lives, whether a literal god, a relationship, a job, or politics. Our primary allegiance should be to God alone.

God also strongly affirmed his commitment to Jacob, including Jacob’s name change to Israel (v. 10). He also proclaimed, “A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants” (v. 11). God would keep His promises to Abraham through Israel. This also includes the promise of the coming future King who would free us from our slavery to sin (Rom. 6:15–18).

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