Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

24 January 2024

Reading From Genesis 35-37

“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 and to all who were with him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves 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 the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.”

–Genesis 35:1-4

     Jacob and his household are entering a new season of life by settling in Canaan.  As a way of preparing them for this, God leads them to consecrate themselves; to build an altar, get rid of their idols, purify themselves and change their clothes.  Worship and holiness are themes here.  To consecrate is to set something apart for sacred purposes.  God wants me to set myself apart to enjoy His Presence and participate in His joyful work.  To be in the world, but not of it.  Idolatry is the way of the world and means more than statues or relics or totems.  It goes deeper than that.  Idolatry is anything or anyone I place more importance on than God.[1]  My job is not my identity or provider, God is.  I love my wife, but she is not my greatest source of love, God is.  I find myself in Him.[2]  In Jesus I live and move and have my being.[3] 

     For Jacob and his family, it was a normal way of life in their culture to carry around little idols as good luck charms and portable objects of worship.  In our modern world, cell phones, careers, relationships, money, sex, drugs, food, music, art, houses, internet, anything can be fashioned into an idol to be worshipped.  Perhaps the very source of sin is the worship of self; the prideful choosing of my own way above His.[4]  The Creator is to be the focus of my worship, not any of His creation.[5]  Does God use my job to bring sense of purpose and provision?  Yes, but He is the source.[6]  Does my wife bring love to me?  Yes, but God is love[7] and He brought us together.  He is greater.  He is the greatest. 

  When I shift my focus from idols to Jesus, it takes the pressure off of those things to fill the void in my heart and life that only He can. This provides tremendous relief from worry and anxiety because earthly things fail continually, but God never does and never will. He is always dependable. God deserves my total faith, trust and devotion.[8]  He has taken me from the miry clay, set my feet upon the Rock of Christ Jesus and His Word, cleansed me from my sin[9] and given me new robes of white to wear.[10]  His children are called to focus their adoration on Him and worship Him in the beauty of holiness.[11]

“God, open my spiritual eyes to see what I may be idolizing.  Help me to focus on You alone and everything else in my life will fall into place.  Order my priorities according to the manner and principles laid out in the Scriptures.  Let my love for You increase every day.  Give me the strength I need to walk with You in purity and holiness.  Thank You Jesus, Amen.”

They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 37:23

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3

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[1] Exodus 20:3-5

[2] Philippians 3:9

[3] Acts 17:28

[4] Isaiah 55:8-9

[5] Romans 1:25

[6] Philippians 4:19

[7] I John 4:7-12

[8] Hebrews 2:2

[9] Psalm 40:2-4

[10] Revelation 19:8

[11] Psalm 96:9