¹⁷ But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

¹⁵ so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

Approaching God with Care

5 ^[a]As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.

⁶ I am the God of your father^[a]—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Jacob’s Return to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

² So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. ³ We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

⁴ So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. ⁵ As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.

⁶ Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. ⁷ Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

⁸ Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).

⁹ Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him, ¹⁰ saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.”^[a] So God renamed him Israel.

¹¹ Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! ¹² And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” ¹³ Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.

¹⁴ The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

²² and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!”

²² And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.