So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
Genesis 35:4-5
As Jacob went to worship God he told his family to get rid of all their foreign gods. That seems that he was aware of them but didn't do anything until now. Also the ring in the ear portion is interesting. There are other references in the Bible to ear rings being not a problem so it would seem that these ones were related to the worship of foreign gods - perhaps in design or in use.
It is a powerful picture though of these acts of consecration causing the terror of God to fall on those around them.
Lord Jesus, I choose to consecrate my life to you!
Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.
Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis 35:28-29 NIV
What caught my attention was the fact that both Esau and Jacob buried Isaac. It seemed that he was on his deathbed when he blessed Jacob and Esau but he was probably a long way from death at that point. Isaac was about 100 when Esau married his foreign wives which seems to be close to the time of Jacob's departure. Jacob was gone 20 years so there were still lots of years left to get to 180 years.
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