The word, “God,” did not appear even once in chapter 34, but it appears eleven times in chapter 35—plus, words related to God also appear nine times, such as Bethel (“house of God”). Jacob and his household acted like godless people in chapter 34, but they returned to him in chapter 35. Spiritual revival came to him and his household.

The revival began when Jacob heard the words of God (1) and obeyed them. The revival and obedience also came after a period of crisis, as we read in chapter 34. We see this pattern is repeated throughout the Scriptures. For example, spiritual revival came to Israel after a long period of spiritual darkness during the time of judges, giving way to the time of Samuel (cf. Judges 21:25, 1Sam. 7:3-6).

They say the darkest time is right before dawn. We may see the signs of spiritual darkness in our society, schools, country, around the world, and even in our own lives. In which case, we should follow the example of Jacob, that is, to repent of our sins of disobedience and obey God’s words. Then there will be a time of spiritual revival, personally and collectively.