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.” (Genesis 35:2, 3)
It’s great to have milestones of progress in life.
Memories can point us to different locations that hold a special meaning for us. When it comes to walking by faith, those milestones tend to revolve around close encounters of the divine kind.
It’s intriguing seeing how Jacob gets his family ready for the return to Bethel. As it was a place that meant so much to him for the encounter he had with the Lord who had subsequently proved Himself faithful. Marking this return meant his family had to do away with anything that wasn’t pure and not in line with the God who was faithful.
These days, encounters with God don’t have to be in a specific location. Being the walking Bethel ourselves individually and collectively, the need for purity is not just a one-off event. It’s not something we do before entering a building at a particular time on a particular day. Purity becomes a state of of being when we realise we can have a close encounter at any time.
Let us then get rid of any other gods to be able to embrace meeting with the faithful God.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 