GENESIS CHAPTER 35
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Verse 1, In the preceding chapters we see that Jacob failed to
  keep his word and did not join his brother Esau as he had told
  him.
  He had not returned to his brethren as the Lord had told him.
  In the last chapter, the experiences there caused Jacob to
  leave Shechem.

  Now the Lord tells him, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell
  there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto
  thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother."
     Bethel = "house of God"
       1) Gill says that it was 28 miles from Shechem
       2) a place in south country of Judah, not far from
         Beersheba and Ziklag

  Pink says that these words from the Lord are reproof, because
  he had not gone to Bethel before this.
  Bethel was the place that Jacob had the dream of the ladder
  reaching to heaven and angels descending and ascending on it.
  READ Gen 28:10-22

Verse 2, Pink says that this verse is further proof that the
  Lord was rebuking Jacob. His household had images of other gods
  with them which Jacob knew of and now Jacob commands his
  household to purge out the images.

  When things are not going right there is only one thing to do,
  worship the Lord in truth and put away the false ways.

  Pink points out that it was only Rachel that had taken the
  idols and they were hidden, but now Jacob has to tell his
  "household, and to all that [were] with him."
    Ga 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Verse 3, Jacob is ready to obey the Lord. He has had enough of
  trouble. Perhaps Jacob felt as though there was a cloud hanging
  over him. He knew that the same Lord that had answered him in
  his distress before, had now commanded him to go to Bethel, and
  to Bethel he was going.

Verse 4, They were ready to give up all there idols and they also
  gave unto Jacob all their earrings.

  There seems to be a connection with ear-rings and idolatry.
    ear-rings: They picked up some more in Egypt
      Ex 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden
        earrings, which [are] in the ears of your wives, of your
        sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] unto me. 3
        And all the people brake off the golden earrings which
        [were] in their ears, and brought [them] unto Aaron. 4
        And he received [them] at their hand, and fashioned it
        with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf:
        and they said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which
        brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
      Ho 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim,
        wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked
        herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went
        after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

  The fact that his household was so willing to give up their
  idols shows that the hand of the Lord was in this.

  Jacob hid them:
    hid = to hide, conceal, bury
    The fact that Jacob buried these things and left them by
    Shechem, shows that we cannot convert the things of Satan
    into the things of God.
    He hid or buried them out of sight as though they were dead
    and his household was dead to them.

Verse 5, Instead of the people of the land coming upon Jacob with
  vengeance for his actions, they were in fear of him. It was
  Jacob who had feared the people of this land, see Gen 34:30,
  but now instead of the people gathering themselves together
  against Jacob, as Jacob had feared, now that he is in obedience
  to the Lord the people of the land are in fear of him.
  This shows the sovereignty of God in even the heart of men that
  are not his people. The people's hearts were in the hand of the
  Lord as the rivers of water that he turned where he wanted. (Pr
  21:1).

Verses 6-7, He came to Bethel which was first called Luz and built
  an altar there.

  Luz = "almond tree"
    1) the early name of Bethel and probably the name of the town
      in close proximity to the actual location of the altar and
      pillar of Jacob

  Elbethel: that is, The God of Bethel

  Pink says, that Jacob had to return to the place where he had
  departed from the Lord. He had not built an altar in all the
  days that he sojourned in Padan-Aram.
  He returned to the place where God had appeared to him when he
  had fled from his brother Esau.

  Compare Gen 13:1-4, as it was also with Abraham, when he had
  gone to Egypt in unbelief.

Verse 8, Deborah, was Rebekah's, that is Jacob's mother's nurse,
  not Rachel's.
  She was with him the whole time that he was in Pana-Aram, yet
  there is no mention of her till this time that he has returned
  to the Lord.
  Pink says that this demonstrates that those years with Laban
  and those years in Succoth and Shechem were lost years, just
  hay, wood and stubble.
    Compare:
      Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by
        dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do were
        drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down,
        after they were compassed about seven days.
    As a nation, Israel wasted 40 years in the wilderness. There
    is no mention of any act of faith, as a nation, in between
    these events.

Verse 9, Notice that the Lord appeared to him AGAIN when HE CAME
  OUT of Padanaram, and then did he bless Jacob.

Verses 10-12, The Lord had already changed his name to Israel in
  Gen 32:28, but we are picking up where we left of there. What
  was in between was wasted, so to speak, though a great lesson
  had been learned.

  Compare Gen 28:13-19. It was at Bethel that the Lord had
  promised him the land and that his seed would bless all nations
  (Messiah).

Verses 13-15, Jacob is fully restored to communion with his God,
  which is evidenced by his actions in these verses.

Verses 16-18, Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob's
  12th son.

  Ephrath or Ephratah = "ash-heap: place of fruitfulness"
    1) a place near Bethel where Rachel died and was buried
    2) another name for Bethlehem

  Rachel called him Benoni: that is, The son of my sorrow
  Jacob called him Benjamin: that is, The son of the right hand

  It was "but a little way to come to Ephrath."
  Bethlehem means "house of bread or (food)"
  Pink points out that this short distance from restoral to
  communion with the Lord to nourishment.

Verses 19-20, Rachel is buried in the way from Bethel to
  Bethlehem.
  Bethlehem = "house of bread (food)"
    1) a city in Judah, birthplace of David

  Jesus is the "bread of life"

  Rachel is buried - Jacob's love and link to Padanaram was now
  severed. The idols were buried under an oak, Deborah, Jacob's
  link to the life before regeneration, was buried, and now his
  love in this world and link to Padanaram was now buried also.

  The scene is death, yet Jacob is restored to communion: Why?
    Ga 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh
      with the affections and lusts.
      {affections: or, passions}
    Lu 14:26 If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father,
      and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
      sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my
      disciple.
    Lu 9:23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come
      after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
      daily, and follow me.

  There is a comparison to Jacob (Israel) and the future Israel.
  They have departed from the Lord and have become a stink to
  other nations, but they will return in their distress and these
  nations will fear them, as the cities feared Jacob.

Verses 21-29
  Edar = Migdal-eder = "tower of the flock"

  Reuben lies with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel
  heard [it] (NOT JACOB). The new man heard of it.

  Isaac lives 180 years and dies and is gather unto his people.
  Jacob and Esau bury him together.