Today's Scripture
Worship at Bethel- GENESIS 35:1-15
Today’s Reading Schedule: Genesis 35-37(CEB)- Click to read
God said to Jacob, “Get up, go to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother Esau.”
2 Jacob said to his household and to everyone who was with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you. Clean yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then let’s rise and go up to Bethel so that I can build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth at Shechem. 5 When they set out, God made all of the surrounding cities fearful so that they didn’t pursue Jacob’s sons. 6 Jacob and all of the people with him arrived in Luz, otherwise known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7 He built an altar there and named the place El-bethel, because God had revealed himself to him there when he ran away from his brother. 8 Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried at Bethel under the oak, and Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.
9 God appeared to Jacob again, while he was on his way back from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will be Jacob no longer. No, your name will be Israel.” And he named him Israel. 11 God said to him, “I am El Shaddai.[c] Be fertile and multiply. A nation, even a large group of nations, will come from you; kings will descend from your own children. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, I give to you; and I will give the land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God ascended, leaving him alone in the place where he spoke to him. 14 So Jacob set up a sacred pillar, a stone pillar, at the place God spoke to him. He poured an offering of wine on it and then poured oil over it. 15 Jacob named the place Bethel where God spoke to him.
RJ's Devotion
What Does the passage Mean to Me/US?
God calls Jacob to head toward Bethel and live at that land.
He tells his household to throw away all the foreign Gods, in Shechem, to go to Bethel and worship God.
Bethel was not only their final destination but also an established place for Jacob and his descendants to worship God.
Why did he tell his families to throw away the idols? God didn’t seem to ask him.
Jacob knew that for a worshiper, following God’s command, he needed to take away all distractions, especially spiritual distractions.
And I look at myself, how I say I am worshiping and preparing for this devotion, and still distracted by other things, while I should be in a manner of worship.
Do we prepare our hearts as we approach Bethel? Which means the ‘house of God?’
Prayer
Lord, where ever we come to you in a manner of worship, it is Bethel. Help us to rid all that distracts our heart from you and focus on your glory. So we see how you send us into this world to share your blessing. In Christ Name, we pray, AMEN
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