Genesis 35:1-5 "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob."
There is a glorious message in God’s words to Jacob. The name Bethel means “house of God.” God told Jacob to get up and come to His house. This was not an invitation but a command that God expected Jacob to follow.
As the people of God, we should also get up and come to the house of God every day. I am not talking about going to the place where the church meets to worship on Sunday. The scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are called by God to rise above the cares of this world and dwell with Him every day.
In order to do this, we must put away our strange gods. Whatever it is that takes our attention from Him and His way needs to be put aside. Rather than having the attitude of laboring to “get ahead” in this world, we should labor for the glory of God and trust Him for the rest. We must lay aside the garment (filthy rags – Isaiah 64:6) of our self-righteousness and put on Christ (Romans 13:14).
In the close of the previous chapter, Jacob was concerned about the safety of his household because his sons had avenged the defilement of their sister. He was afraid that they would come under attack and be enslaved or destroyed. Know that when God tells us to get up and come up to His house that He will make the way for us to do just that. The people that Jacob was concerned about might not have feared Jacob, but the terror of the God who had called him was upon them. Whatever your adversary may be, rest assured dear ones, that God is able to cause His terror to make you a safe path to Bethel!