Back to Bethel, Put Away Foreign Gods
Good Morning!
I have been praying for the Lord’s leading on how to rededicate myself to Him as I journey back to Bethel to revisit a place of fear.
I have the strong impression that the words in Genesis 35:1-7 have a message that will equip me to deal with this audit and other fears that come up in my work responsibilities and life.
“The God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’ “ Genesis 35:1
#216 Back to Bethel Gen 35 Put Away Foreign gods
God has a purpose when He directs us back to a place of fear.
My first response was YOU WANT ME TO LIVE THERE? Yes! He wants us to live there in His power. He wants us to live in the memory and conviction of His past deliverance amid fear. He wants us to make an altar to the God who appeared to us in the time of our need. This empowers us to live there in full assurance of His present and future deliverance. It turns out that it is an honor to live there, because there is such an opportunity to honor Him there.
“So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments’…” Genesis 35:1
Put away foreign gods
The love of Christ constrains us to put away any limited perceptions of Who our God really is. We are empowered to put away the ineffective gods, the ‘power’ of our own imaginations, the agenda and the ‘power’ of our old thinking. What happens when we compare our God to our made up imaginations of what might happen?
If we are truly facing Who God really is, imaginations are immobilized.
We are challenged to reaffirm our trust in the Most High God.
He has proven faithful in every phase of life and He will continue faithful.
“To whom, then, can you liken God, what form compare to Him? The idol? A woodworker shaped it, and a smith overlaid it with gold, forging links of silver. As a gift, he chooses the mulberry—a wood that does not rot—then seeks a skillful woodworker to make a firm idol, that will not topple…
What are my idols, including the self made agendas, perceptions of how things should work out, and definitions of stability and security?
To whom, then, can you liken Me, to whom can I be compared? (Tenakh) Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.” (NASB) Isaiah 40:18-20, 25,26
It is this only true God who says to us:
My resources are inexhaustible.
My wisdom is far reaching and not easily fathomed.
I will give you strength when you are weary.
I will give you power when you lack strength.
Depend on me and I will lift you high above every obstacle on the wings of my Faithful promises and commitments.
At times you will make quick progress.
At times you will take one slow step at a time. But I will empower you will persevere in My strength.
Isaiah 40:28-31 paraphrased
I have been praying for the Lord’s leading on how to rededicate myself to Him as I journey back to Bethel to revisit a place of fear.
I have the strong impression that the words in Genesis 35:1-7 have a message that will equip me to deal with this audit and other fears that come up in my work responsibilities and life.
“The God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’ “ Genesis 35:1
#216 Back to Bethel Gen 35 Put Away Foreign gods
God has a purpose when He directs us back to a place of fear.
My first response was YOU WANT ME TO LIVE THERE? Yes! He wants us to live there in His power. He wants us to live in the memory and conviction of His past deliverance amid fear. He wants us to make an altar to the God who appeared to us in the time of our need. This empowers us to live there in full assurance of His present and future deliverance. It turns out that it is an honor to live there, because there is such an opportunity to honor Him there.
“So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments’…” Genesis 35:1
Put away foreign gods
The love of Christ constrains us to put away any limited perceptions of Who our God really is. We are empowered to put away the ineffective gods, the ‘power’ of our own imaginations, the agenda and the ‘power’ of our old thinking. What happens when we compare our God to our made up imaginations of what might happen?
If we are truly facing Who God really is, imaginations are immobilized.
We are challenged to reaffirm our trust in the Most High God.
He has proven faithful in every phase of life and He will continue faithful.
“To whom, then, can you liken God, what form compare to Him? The idol? A woodworker shaped it, and a smith overlaid it with gold, forging links of silver. As a gift, he chooses the mulberry—a wood that does not rot—then seeks a skillful woodworker to make a firm idol, that will not topple…
What are my idols, including the self made agendas, perceptions of how things should work out, and definitions of stability and security?
To whom, then, can you liken Me, to whom can I be compared? (Tenakh) Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.” (NASB) Isaiah 40:18-20, 25,26
It is this only true God who says to us:
My resources are inexhaustible.
My wisdom is far reaching and not easily fathomed.
I will give you strength when you are weary.
I will give you power when you lack strength.
Depend on me and I will lift you high above every obstacle on the wings of my Faithful promises and commitments.
At times you will make quick progress.
At times you will take one slow step at a time. But I will empower you will persevere in My strength.
Isaiah 40:28-31 paraphrased
