Genesis 35:2 (New International Version)
2 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.
Jacob needed to move. God called him to go back to Bethel. Jacob gathered all the people and told them of his plan. He had them gather all their foreign gods, their idols, to him. They were then to purify themselves and put on clean clothes. Jacob buried the idols before getting a fresh start.
Somehow Jacob's family had taken their eyes off God. They brought idols in their homes in place of God. I don't see where their hearts were necessarily hardened, but there were definitely distractions in their lives. Jacob was ready for a change. He called everyone together to search their homes for idols and purify themselves. They needed to regroup and get focused on God.
There are times in my life when distractions and idols creep in. It is not a conscious decision I make nor can I point to a specific time when it happened. If is always a gradual process where I look around at some point and realize I need to do some spiritual housecleaning and get back on track with God. These are the times that I need to do like Jacob's family. I need to gather all the idols in my life and bury them. I need to purify myself and get re focused on God. When I wander away it is always a process that occurs over time. When I refocus on God it is a decision. It is a time I can point to when it happened. That is a reminder that no matter how far I stray form God it is always just one step to get back. God is faithful and longs to have that relationship with me. I need to be more faithful and keep form letting idols creep into my life in the first place. I am thankful that I can rely on God's grace and forgiveness to get me from where I am to where I need to be with Him.
Dear Lord,
You have given me the gift of eternal life and a relationship with You. I sometimes take ti for granted and take my eyes off of You. When I let idols into my life it harms my relationship with You. I pray You would convict me every time it happens. I pray I would hate those idols and the sin they bring just as much as You do. Give me the eyes to identify these idols early on and turn form them and back to You. Fill my mind and my heart with thought of You and a desire to follow You. Let this desire crowd out any others, leaving no room in my life for idols to dwell. Mold me into the person who wholeheartedly live for You. In Jesus' name.
Keep the SON in your eyes,
Ron
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