After spending some time alone thinking about the tragic events of the day, Jacob heard God speak to him and was told to leave Shechem and go to Bethel.  Jacob needed a way to escape the repercussions of his sons’ crimes and it seemed that the Lord was providing an escape route.  The Lord caused mass terror to fall upon the outlying cities and because the people were filled with such trepidation, Jacob and everyone with him were able to escape safely to Bethel.  Before they left though, Jacob demanded that everyone leave all of their foreign gods behind, which included their jewelry and their clothes.  He had his servants bury everything, and everyone including the captured Shechemites were ordered to put on new clothing before they could leave.  He wanted everyone to be cleansed of any af...

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