Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I happen to be writing this edition on the 7th anniversary of the day my wife and I moved into the town where we presently live. We had come about 700 miles to move here, and with the help of my brother and his wife we did it all ourselves. Packing, loading the truck, driving here, unloading, unpacking and setting up a new home in a new place. So, I have a question for us to consider today: what makes a place you live ‘home’? Is it the familiar pictures on the wall and furniture in the house? Is it friendly neighbors, is it finding all the necessities of life quickly including a church? Or is it a sense that God Himself has led you to live there? Do you have the sense that where you live currently is God’s assignment for you? We do and it’s very comforting!
Come with me, back to join Jacob and his family who are trying to find ‘home’. In the last few days, we’ve been traveling several hundred miles with Jacob and his large family. Yesterday we saw that Jacob received from God a new name, “Israel” and the next day Jacob met with his estranged brother Esau. Because Esau came with 400 men and Jacob remembered how badly he had treated Esau 20 years before, Jacob assumed their meeting could end in disaster. Instead, Genesis 33 tells us the remarkable story of their reconciliation in peace, and Jacob continued his journey south toward his family homeland.
I left you yesterday watching Jacob bury family idols and preparing to return to the place he had named Bethel, ‘the house of God’ for it is where Jacob had his life changing encounter with God 20 years before. Why was Jacob going to Bethel? This is his explanation: “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.’ So, Jacob said to his household, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you and purify yourself and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.’ So, they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had…and Jacob buried them under the oak tree at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them, so no one pursued them.” (Gen. 35:1-5)
I wonder what you see happening here my friends. For once in his lifetime Jacob is giving God honoring leadership to his wives and sons and calling them to rid themselves of any foreign idols, they may have with them. While this excites me, that finally Jacob is standing up and leading his family well, it deeply saddens me that obviously Jacob knew his wives and sons had idols in their possession and evidently Jacob had done nothing about that before! Oh my, is there an important lesson for us there? I see two very significant things:
First... Do we procrastinate sometimes when God is calling us to clean house to remove from our lives or our home or families those things which are detrimental to our holiness, our walk with God, our claim to be a Christian?
Do we shy away from helping our family or friends by asking them about those things which are obviously not God honoring or helpful to building up their character or reputation or holiness? Can we learn a lesson here my friends?
Second… Do you recall God’s advice to us through the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthian Christians about having discord spiritually in the home?
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 say: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between God and idols?” (2 Cor.6:14-16) Spiritual harmony in a significant love relationship like marriage and family is essential, even in close friendships, or even in business partnerships. Why?
Because, as these verses clearly say, moral disagreement, spiritual disagreement will eventually divide people on almost every important issue in life. Jacob’s family was divided spiritually and if you know the story of his family, that evidenced itself many times. But as Jacob prepared to take his family back to his place of encounter with God, Jacob cleaned house, Jacob brought them to unity spiritually and it made a big difference.
As Jacob and the sons who helped him with this idol burial finished that important task, can you imagine Jacob’s excited anticipation of returning to Bethel, the place God had assured Jacob that he and his family would be the recipients of the Covenant of Land and People that God had made with Abraham?
The record says: “Jacob and all the people with him came to Bethel in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place ‘El Bethel’, because it was there that God revealed Himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother…God appeared to Jacob again and blessed him. God said ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob, your name will be Israel. So, God named Jacob Israel.
And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty (El Shaddai) be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The LAND I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this LAND to your descendants after you.’
Then God went up from Jacob at the place where He had talked with him.” (Gen. 35:6-13)
Now just pause and catch your breath as you contemplate what we just witnessed. While Jacob does not describe a cloud encompassing him as God spoke with him, can you see that last phrase is exactly what Moses experienced 8 times up on Mount Sinai with God! God had come down to speak with Jacob, as He came to speak with Moses many years later! Do you also see God used His same name, “El Shaddai” that He had when speaking with Abraham in Genesis 17 when God initiated His Covenant with Abraham and which God now repeated here to Jacob?
Do you see God again confirms this new name “Israel” upon Jacob and can you see therefore, that his descendants would be known as “the Children of Israel”? Finally, my friends, do you see how God very clearly specified that Jacob and his descendants would inherit the Covenant Land God had promised to Abraham and then to Isaac?
I notice the very next thing Jacob did, is what he had done 20 years before when God had met him in this place. Gen. 35:14 tells us Jacob found a large rock and stood it up as a memorial stone and poured an offering to God on that stone. Once more Jacob announced to his family that this sacred place would be called “Bethel”, because twice now Jacob has had life changing encounters in this place!
I think we should pause here and just watch as the family gathers around Jacob trying to understand the dramatic significance of what just happened here. Do you see the contrast between the hand carved, lifeless idols they had discarded yesterday and buried in the ground symbolizing their death and now a powerful encounter with the Almighty God here at Bethel?
May I ask, do you sense Jesus calling you to come to Him in a fresh, new way, free from anything that would disrupt your encounter with Him or distract you from what God wants to say to you today?
Here’s a song to help us consider that. As you listen to the powerful words being sung, I’m sure you’ll be amazed at how many different instruments are played by one man as he accompanies his wife who is singing. The humble simplicity of this couple and their obvious love for God stirs my heart.
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 35:6-15.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.