Get up, go back to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar to Me, to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother, Esau. -Genesis 35:1, VOICE
He was no stranger to the power of God. He was no stranger to the Glory he saw at Bethel. Angels going up and down, up and down in a ladder. He made a vow, a tithe, a promise, an altar. And God wanted him back- back with his whole house.God desired to give him and his family peace–for He IS peace. However, Jacob had to make a choice. His family was in shambles, and he definitely needed help. There’s only one chance. It may not be pretty, it may not boast of pride, it may not even be the most soundly advanced one, but if it surely worked for his forefathers before, it HAS to work for him now:
Start. Over.
But they couldn’t start over willy-nilly. Nor it was something Jacob had to do himself. The whole family had to be involved- it wouldn’t mean “start over” if only HE was doing all the changes, wasn’t it? It looks easy at first glance, like bullet points:
- Get rid of your idols
- Purify yourselves
- Change your clothes
Okay, they got points two and three. But number one…number one!?!? I didn’t think so. It was their livelihood, their hope, their dependence! The gods have done justice to them before, why rid of them now? Could they mourn them, or at least kiss them farewells and good biddings? Could they place them somewhere and put them into good use like flowerpots or water pitchers, instead of smashing them or burying them in the ground? In their hearts, they wanted to start over, but this isn’t what they signed up for!
In the end, they did. And along the way to Bethel, they saw how everyone quivered in fear beside them; not even one fool would dare touch them! In their hearts, now they realized what his father meant with starting over, going back to the roots and getting another chance. Even if it cost them everything they knew.
And what will cost us to start over?