Neville Goddard on Genesis 35:1-3 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Genesis 35 in context

Scripture Focus

1And God said unto Jacob, 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.

2Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

3And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

Genesis 35:1-3

Biblical Context

God commands Jacob to return to Bethel, purify his camp by removing the foreign gods, change his garments, and rise to worship. This marks a turning point in his inner life toward true worship.

Neville's Inner Vision

Genesis 35:1-3 speaks not of a geographical trek alone, but of the inner ascent. God says Arise—lift the consciousness to Bethel, the place where awareness first spoke to you in distress. The command to return to Bethel is a command to return to your essential state, the I AM that is always present. The 'strange gods' are the misidentifications you carry—attachment to fear, limitation, or identity shaped by Esau's world. Jacob tells his household to purify and change garments; this is the inner discipline of cleansing thought forms and dressing the mind anew in the garment of spiritual consciousness. Going up to Bethel means dwelling in the state that already answered you in the day of trouble. The altar is your deliberate focus, your renewed act of attention, an acknowledgment that the I AM has been with you all along. The journey is not just outward travel but the inner alignment of desire with divine presence. Your present acts of worship become the proof that you have answered the inner giving of grace.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly, close your eyes, and imagine stepping into Bethel within. Assume you are already clean, the idols removed, and feel the altar flaring with the presence of the I AM.