Back To Bethel Series

There is an old West African proverb which says, “The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants.” (Janet Weiss, Leesburg, Florida, heard in a conversation by her father, a missionary to the Maninka tribe; www.PreachingToday.com)

That’s the way it is with those who try to live for the Lord and the pleasures of this world at the same time. They are trying to walk two roads, which can only lead to disaster in the end.

That’s what happened to Jacob. God had called him back to Bethel, but he chose to settle just 15 miles north in Shechem at the crossroads of trade where he could get rich. Sure, he built an altar there, but his attempt to live for the world and for the Lord at the same time tore his family apart. Jacob’s daughter fell in love with a man who violated her. His sons became murderers and thieves, and He was disgraced.

Adrian Rogers once said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you're willing to pay.”

Some of you have been there, haven’t you? You’ve walked away from God only to find it costing you more than you ever thought it would.

Even so, God in his grace wants you back for Himself. He calls you to come home to Him and provides a way back. You say, “Phil, I’ve made a mess of my life. How can I find my way back to God? How can I find my way back to joy in His presence again?” Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 35, Genesis 35, where Jacob found a way back to God and shows us the way back, as well.

Genesis 35:1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” (ESV)

Even though Jacob had messed up so badly, God was not done with him yet. God in his grace calls him back to the place where they first met face to face, and Jacob listens to that call.

Genesis 35:2-3 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” (ESV)

Jacob makes plans to go back to Bethel to meet with God, but first, he has to get rid of all the idols they have picked up along the way.

Genesis 35:4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. (ESV)

Evidently, the rings in their ears were magic charms. You see, they had stopped trusting in God and had begun to put their trust in magic charms and other things, which didn’t do them much good, did it? So Jacob buried all their idols and charms, declaring that they were going to trust in God and God alone.

Genesis 35:5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. (ESV)

The Lord protected them like no other god could.

Genesis 35:6-7 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel [i.e., the God of Bethel], because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. (ESV)

Jacob heard God calling him, “Come back to Me.” He got rid of all their idols, and he returned to the place where he first met God.

Now, that’s what you must do if you want to find your way back to God. That’s what you must do if you want to find your way back to joy in His presence. First, listen to God calling you back to Him.

No matter how bad you’ve messed up, God desires you to be with Him forever. As Josh McDowell once put it: “God is passionate about being in relationship with you.” That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for your sins and rise again. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins, so you could be in relationship with a Holy God. So now, in His grace, God is calling you to come back to Him.