Once again Israel’s young life had been turned upside down. After the attack upon his daughter and the slaughter of the Canaanite’s that were responsible, God called Israel to purify and start again. So it says that everyone got rid of their personal idols and they resettled in Bethel, the place where God and Jacob wrestled and God changed his life. As they traveled, The other locals were afraid and no one dared pursue them as a people. Once again, God prepared, protected and provided for his chosen people. When they arrived, they set up an alter and a memorial; and there they worshipped God.
When our lives get turned upside down, we should also follow the model. We need to purify our lives by simply evaluating and acknowledging what personal idols do we house. Then as we identify them, we, like Israel, must walk away from them and worship God and him only. Then, we need to go back to where we started and worship God as we did when we began our relationship with him. As we do, we will experience his peace and power in our lives. Our enemies will fear us, and we will see a shining pillar of his presence in our lives…Not a bad trade. Help me, Lord to exchange my idols for your peace and freedom.
God Bless You
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”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. 3 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.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel,[a] because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Walking With God 