Taking Ground by Grace: Jacob at Shechem Text: Genesis 33:18-20
Introduction: The Geography of Faithfulness
We come now to a quiet moment in the life of Jacob, a moment that is easily overlooked, sandwiched as it is between the high drama of his reunion with Esau and the coming tragedy involving his daughter Dinah. After twenty years of exile, wrestling with Laban and then wrestling with God Himself, Jacob arrives back in the land of promise. And what he does here, in these three short verses, is not mere travelogue. It is a profound statement of faith, a lesson in covenantal geography, and a picture of how God's people are to take dominion in this world. It is a quiet display of postmillennial optimism before the term was ever invented.
Our age is one of spiritual dislocation. We think of faith as a purely internal, ethereal thing, a matter for the heart or the head, disconnected from dirt, real estate, and public worship. We have privatized our religion, content to have Jesus in our hearts so long as He doesn't show up in our city councils or on our property deeds. But the patriarchs knew nothing of such a disembodied faith. For them, the promise of God was tied to a particular place, to the land of Canaan. Their pilgrimage was not a random wandering; it was a slow, deliberate claiming of the inheritance God had sworn to them. Every well dug, every flock pastured, every altar built was an act of faith, a stake driven into the ground for the kingdom of God.
Jacob's actions at Shechem are a textbook example of this. He arrives, he buys, and he builds. He comes in peace, he purchases a piece of the future, and he erects a public testimony to the God who brought him there. This is not the action of a man just passing through. This is the action of a man who knows who he is, who his God is, and what that God has promised. He is settling in. He is taking ground. And in this, he is a pattern for us. We too are called to arrive in the world, to purchase our place in it, and to build altars to our God, not as fearful retreatists, but as confident heirs of all things.
The Text
Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.
Then he bought a portion of a field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred qesitah.
Then he set up there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
(Genesis 33:18-20 LSB)
Peaceful Arrival, Confident Presence (v. 18)
We begin with Jacob's arrival:
"Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city." (Genesis 33:18)
The first thing to notice is the word "safely." Some translations render it "in peace" (shalem). After all that has transpired, this is a monumental statement. He had fled Canaan with a murderous threat from his brother hanging over his head. He spent two decades under the thumb of a deceitful father-in-law. His departure from Laban was fraught with tension. His approach to Canaan was filled with terror at the prospect of meeting Esau. And just before that meeting, he wrestled with God and walked away with a permanent limp. Yet, he arrives "safely," in peace. This is not the result of Jacob's cleverness or strength. It is the result of God's covenant faithfulness. God promised to be with him and to bring him back (Gen. 28:15), and God has kept His word. Jacob's safety is a testimony to God's preserving grace.
He comes to Shechem, a significant place. This is where his grandfather Abraham first stopped in the land and first built an altar (Gen. 12:6-7). Jacob is not just picking a random spot; he is consciously walking in the footsteps of his forebears. He is re-establishing the covenant claim. He is saying, by his very presence, "This land belongs to my God and to the family He has chosen."
And notice where he camps: "before the city." He doesn't hide out in the wilderness. He doesn't try to be invisible. He sets up his camp in full view of the Canaanite city of Shechem. This is a posture of confident, peaceful presence. He is not looking for a fight, but neither is he cowering in fear. He is a public figure, the head of a great household, and he conducts himself as such. This is a crucial lesson for the church. We are not called to be a secret society, huddled in holy enclaves. We are to be a city on a hill, a lamp on a stand, camping "before the city," visible to all, living out our faith in the public square.
Purchasing the Future (v. 19)
Next, Jacob takes a remarkable step, one that goes beyond mere sojourning.
"Then he bought a portion of a field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred qesitah." (Genesis 33:19 LSB)
This is the second time a patriarch purchases land in Canaan. The first was Abraham's purchase of the cave of Machpelah as a burial plot (Gen. 23). Now Jacob buys a field. Why is this significant? Because the whole land was promised to him. God had given him the deed, signed in the heavens. Why would he pay for something he already owned by divine right? The answer is that this is how the kingdom of God advances. It advances not by violent conquest in this initial stage, but by righteous, patient, and lawful acquisition.
Jacob is not a revolutionary. He is a reformer. He is not seizing the land by force; he is purchasing it, piece by piece. This act of buying the land is an act of profound faith. He is paying good money for a small piece of a promise that will not be fully realized for another four hundred years. He is investing in the future. He is saying, "We are here to stay. This is not a temporary campsite; it is the down payment on an inheritance." He is taking dominion, not with a sword, but with a contract and a fair price. He honors the property rights of the current inhabitants, even as he holds the ultimate title from God.
This is a model for Christian cultural engagement. We are heirs of the world (Rom. 4:13). All things are ours in Christ. But we don't take it by acting like thugs. We take it by working, by saving, by building, by buying, by creating businesses, by establishing schools, by planting churches, all in an orderly and righteous fashion. Every time a Christian family buys a home, starts a business, or cultivates a garden, they are, in principle, doing what Jacob did at Shechem. They are lawfully purchasing a piece of the future in the confident expectation of God's promises.
Worship as Warfare (v. 20)
Having secured a place, Jacob's final act is the most important. He establishes public worship.
"Then he set up there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel." (Genesis 33:20 LSB)
An altar is a declaration of war. It is a public statement about who is God and who is not. In a land filled with altars to Baal and Asherah and Molech, Jacob builds an altar to the one true God. This is a theological and political act. He is planting a flag. He is establishing a beachhead for the kingdom of heaven right outside the gates of a pagan city. The altar is the center of his camp because God is the center of his life. Before he builds a house, he builds an altar. Worship is the foundation of culture.
And look at the name he gives it: "El-Elohe-Israel." This translates to "God, the God of Israel." This is a deeply personal and covenantal statement. The name "Israel," which means "He strives with God" or "God strives," was given to Jacob just before he met Esau. It was a name that memorialized his weakness and God's overwhelming grace. Now, Jacob takes his new name, his identity as a man who has wrestled with God and been preserved, and he attaches it to the name of God Himself. He is saying, "The mighty God, El, is the God of me, the forgiven supplanter, the blessed wrestler."
This act of naming is an act of dominion. He is defining this piece of ground. It is no longer just a field near Shechem. It is now "the place where the God of Israel is worshipped." He is consecrating it, setting it apart for a holy purpose. This is the essence of the dominion mandate. We are to take the raw stuff of creation and, through our work and worship, dedicate it to the glory of the triune God. We name things, we order them, and we offer them back to God in thanksgiving.
Conclusion: The Altar and the Cross
Jacob's actions here, arriving in peace, buying the land, and building an altar, are a beautiful picture of our own calling as Christians. We have been brought safely through the chaos of our sin and rebellion by the preserving grace of God. We have arrived in this world, which has been given to us as an inheritance in Jesus Christ.
Like Jacob, we are called to take ground. We do this not through carnal warfare but through faithful, patient, lawful work. We buy our homes, we start our businesses, we raise our families, and in all of it, we are purchasing the future, making a down payment on the new heavens and the new earth.
But most importantly, wherever we pitch our tents, we must build an altar. Our homes, our churches, and our lives must be centered on the public worship of the one true God. Jacob's altar was a place of sacrifice, looking forward to the one who would come. Our altar is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the ultimate declaration that El, the mighty God, is indeed the God of the new Israel, the church. He is the God who wrestled with sin and death on our behalf and was not overcome.
When we gather for worship, when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are doing what Jacob did. We are planting a flag in the midst of a pagan world. We are naming the place: "This is where Jesus is Lord." We are declaring that the God of Jacob is our God. And we do this in the sure and certain hope that the day is coming when the knowledge of the glory of this God, El-Elohe-Israel, will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.