Returning to Bethel

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Seek me and live Amos five four. Dear Lord, we thank you for this powerful call to seek you and find life. You remind us that true life begins when our hearts turn completely toward you. Draw us closer each day and help us to desire your presence above all else. When the world pulls us in many directions, quiet our hearts and refocus our eyes on you. Teach us to seek you in every moment, in the stillness and the busyness of our days. In your presence, may we find wisdom to choose what is right, strength to endure what is hard, and peace that only you can give. Remind us that worldly success fades, but the life found in you lasts forever. Guide our steps to walk faithfully in your will, open our hearts to recognize your hand in all things. Help us to seek you first, trusting that in you we find life in its fullness. Amen. Thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to the Chosen People Remain Here for a dramatic story inspired by the Bible. Be sure to follow this podcast so you never miss an episode. Thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to the Chosen People Remain Here. For a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, be sure to leave a review and share your journey of faith today. 00:01:46 Speaker 2: Previously on the Chosen People. 00:01:49 Speaker 3: Go to the land. I have given you the place where I met you. Before return Israel to Bethel. 00:01:58 Speaker 2: Jacob led his kara in the direction of Bethel, but paranoia nagged at him. 00:02:04 Speaker 4: You have enough to dwell in Bethel, isolated from other clans and trade. 00:02:10 Speaker 3: What if we. 00:02:11 Speaker 4: Fall on hard times. 00:02:13 Speaker 2: God had clearly told Jacob to go to Bethel, but Jacob wondered if he could delay his obedience a little longer. Tell me, Dinah, how has your family adjusted to being this close to the city. I can imagine it being quite a shock. 00:02:27 Speaker 4: My father enjoys the business connections. 00:02:30 Speaker 3: He plans to gain more wealth through trading until we settle near Bethel. 00:02:34 Speaker 2: I've watched you, Dinah. I've watched you come it God. I've watched you drop water from the well and dance under the lanterns. 00:02:44 Speaker 5: Each moment I don't have you as painful. I shall be rid of that pain today. 00:02:51 Speaker 2: But please, Sahm, ignore Dinah's please for mercy. He seized her against the jagged's walls and violated her. 00:03:03 Speaker 5: What are you going to do about what happened to Dinah? 00:03:06 Speaker 4: What can I do? Shechem is the son of the most powerful men in the region. 00:03:10 Speaker 2: We shouldn't even be here. 00:03:12 Speaker 5: God told you to settle in Bethel. 00:03:15 Speaker 4: I know, but I thought we could be here for a while to regroup. 00:03:19 Speaker 2: I thought it would be good. 00:03:20 Speaker 5: For us, good for you. But you've left the rest of us vulnerable to the city. Your daughter was raped, Jacob. 00:03:29 Speaker 2: We Hebrews aren't perfect. 00:03:31 Speaker 6: Follow my father around for a day and you'll realize that we aren't perfectly upright men. 00:03:37 Speaker 2: But we do have honor. 00:03:40 Speaker 6: That's something that seems so foreign to you Canaanites. 00:03:45 Speaker 2: And your price, and I will pay it. 00:03:48 Speaker 6: The price is a life. 00:03:51 Speaker 2: Simeon and Levi returned with Dinah, blood still wet on their faces and tunics. Jacob was waiting for them, his face a storm of fury and fear. 00:04:01 Speaker 4: Foolish boys, What have you done? 00:04:04 Speaker 2: What you should have done? Jacob stood alone, fists clenched, teeth grinding. A storm of emotions wared within him. Shame at his son's greater sense of honor, terror at the prospect of the city's vengeance, guilt for bringing his family into this place of doom instead of leading them straight to Bethel. He was a man caught between the duty of a father and the fear of a leader, and in that moment, the weight of both threatened to crush in. In that stillness, as dawn's light crept over the horizon, its warmth brushed Jacob's chest, stirring something deep within him. He drew in a long, trembling breath, his heart heavy with the weight of his son's actions and the unknown consequences they would bring. He turned inward, seeking solace in the familiar comfort of prayer, not as a patriarch, but as a child, seeking the tender guidance. 00:05:11 Speaker 3: Of a father. 00:05:12 Speaker 5: God, God knows, diye. 00:05:18 Speaker 3: Help me. 00:05:19 Speaker 2: The warmth of the morning sun began to melt away the icy grip of his anxiety, and in that sacred moment, Jacob felt the presence of the Almighty once more, like an old friend returned. The voice of the Lord was not a thunderous roar from the heavens, but a quiet command, intimate and unyielding. 00:05:40 Speaker 3: Arise Israel back to Bethel, Make an altar there and worship me as you once did before. 00:05:49 Speaker 2: Jacob nodded, stealing himself with the resolve that had carried him through countless trials. His journey had never been a straight path. It twisted with moments of triumph and transformation, only to loop back into valleys of failure and despair. Yet, like his forefathers, Jacob chose to press onward, ever, seeking the will of the Almighty. He returned to his camp, his steps heavier now with purpose. He called together his family, his sons, his servants, and the people who had come to rely on him for guidance. 00:06:26 Speaker 5: Cleanse yourselves, change your garments, wash, throw away any ardles you may have, and purify your hearts. A great danger threatens us, but we will arise to Bethel to seek God, who has always answered me wherever I go. 00:06:42 Speaker 2: The people obeyed, bringing forth their foreign gods, the idols that had crept into their lives, and even the rings from their ears. Jacob gathered them all and buried them beneath the Terebinth tree near Shechem, a final act of severance from the old life that had clung to them. Their journey was a hurried one, driven by the fear of retribution that lingered in their hearts. Yet as they left the region behind, Jacob marveled at the absence of pursuit. He sent scouts to the surrounding cities, and they returned with word of chaos. 00:07:17 Speaker 6: Lord Jacob, the city of Shechem is in disarray, men vying for power, wildfires. 00:07:24 Speaker 3: And all sorts of terrors. 00:07:26 Speaker 4: Do you knowledge? 00:07:27 Speaker 5: Does anyone plan to pursue us? 00:07:29 Speaker 6: Doubtful, my lord. Every city and village is in complete disaster. They'll take months, if not years, to recover. 00:07:37 Speaker 2: God has moved on. 00:07:38 Speaker 5: O behalf pres on. We can move without fear. 00:07:42 Speaker 2: And so Jacob led his family through the Negev, across jagged, arid landscapes and uprolling verdant hills. The journey was long and hard, but with each step they drew closer to the place where Heaven had once touched the earth before Jacob's eyes. Finally, they arrived at the base of a great hill overlooking the land of Canaan, and there stood Bethel, the sacred place where Jacob had first encountered the Almighty. The wind picked up as they ascended, whistling against Jacob's weathered cheeks. The sun cast a crimson glow across the sky. Painting the clouds with fiery hues. Jacob felt the pull of that place, as if it beckoned him to return to remember. His family followed close behind, their steps echoing the journey he had once taken alone. God did not part the heavens this time, nor did he send angels to descend on a ladder from the sky. Instead, he spoke softly in the recesses of Jacob's heart, reminding him of who he was and who he would become. 00:08:55 Speaker 3: I am the Lord God Almighty, Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings will come from among you. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you. And I will give the land to your of spring after you. 00:09:22 Speaker 2: Jacob stood at the summit and gazed upon the lash vibrant land below. He was where his father Isaac had stood, where Abraham before him had once walked or filled him. Or that a man as flawed and broken as he could be chosen by the creator of all. He knew he was not done failing. His journey was far from over. Yet, in the face of all his imperfections, God blessed him bless his family, the people of Israel, and Jacob knew with a certainty that settled into his bones that the Lord would not abandon them, no matter what trials awaited them. He turned to his family, gesturing toward the stones he had stagged so long ago as a monument. 00:10:09 Speaker 4: Each of you gather a stone and add it to this monument. We will build an altar here and make a sacrifice unto our God. It will be called El Bethel. 00:10:21 Speaker 2: As Jacob limped forward, his hand instinctively rubbing the old wound on his hip, still sore from that night he wrestled with God, he came upon a mound of dirt. He closed his eyes, and a single tear slipped down his weathered cheek, falling on to the earth that held profound memories. In that moment, God spoke to him once more. 00:10:44 Speaker 3: No longer shall your name be Jacob. From this day forward, Israel shall be your name. I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply in this land. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and king shall come from your old body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you. And I will give the land to your offspring after you. 00:11:16 Speaker 2: Jacob. Now Israel set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken to him. He poured out a drink, offering upon it, followed by oil, sanctifying the spot as holy. As he worked, his mind drifted to the long path he had walked to arrive at this moment. The wrong turns, the missteps, the half measures, all of it led him here, and through it all God had been with him before and behind, cleaning up his messes and paving the way forward. He looked back at his sons, the future of the people who would bear his new name. He thought about the path ahead of them, the countless mistakes they inevitably make on their way to becoming a great nation. He knew he could not shield them from the trials and tribulations that awaited them, just as he had not been shielded, But he did not pray for their path to be perfect. Instead, he prayed for them to have the strength to endure, to wrestle as he had, to be bruised and broken, but to rise in the end, sharing in the victory of their God. Such was the path of Isaac and Abraham before him, and such would be the path of Israel, a nation of broken people chosen by God for greatness. This prayed or comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Slabager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris bag You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review,