Someone’s Gonna Die

Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” Joshua 6:26

Our Father is in the demolition business; that is to say He takes pleasure in tearing down the corrupt walls in our lives. It’s one of the countless miracles God lovingly executes for His children. There are likely scores of individuals reading this who can testify how the Lord appeared with His divine wrecking ball after having made petitions to Him to raze an obstacle or eradicate an addiction. In that light, it stands to reason that it would be foolishness to rebuild that which the Lord has demolished, but yet we often do.

In the text today, God through Joshua gives us a warning, “Do this foolish thing and someone’s gonna die,” (paraphrase mine). And in case anyone thought God was kidding, He would later give us an example in First Kings through a man named Hiel.

In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun. 1 Kings 16:34

Hiel dismissed God’s warning and as a result paid a hefty price. At this point let no man say this is a case of a loving God acting harshly, but rather [say] this is a case of an intelligent man acting recklessly. When we set out to rebuild that which the Lord has destroyed, someone or something is going to die.

It’s my own testimony (without exposing all the minutiae), that a long successful career was killed. Additionally, I have known many others who have lost family (both figuratively and literally) and in some cases, their own lives—all because they restored the walls that God had removed. I suspect that you can either relate or know someone who can.

God’s position is deadly serious—when He acts to eliminate a barrier, we would be best served to not re-establish it. Experience is without any doubt the best teacher, but our Father in Heaven would remind us that it doesn’t have to be our experience.

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A Change We Can Live With

Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Genesis 35:1-2I cannot help but stroll back to yesterday’s blog where we scrutinized Jacob’s dreadful performance regarding his daughter’s assault and his handling of the horrific deeds perpetrated by two sons. Now we learn in today’s Bible passage that Jacob tolerated idols in his house! How could this possibly happen? This is what occurs when as parents (like Jacob) we are indifferent to the seemingly innocuous proceedings going on around us.

God’s Grace

Jacob knew he messed up. He knew he should not have moved his family to Heathenville, he knew he should have taken charge of the Dinah incident, and he knew he should have reeled-in his boys prior to their becoming mass-murders. Jacob also knew God’s grace when he saw it, for when God told him, “Arise, ” and go back to Bethel, he understood the wonderful implication—God forgives me. God fundamentally is saying to Jacob, “Go back to the place you last felt My presence.” It has always been His message to us as well.

Jacob is so bowled over by God’s mercy; so appreciative; so grateful, as a devotional response he removes every trace of evil from his home. His family had to be thankful too, for there is not one objection to Jacob’s request. If you don’t think that’s noteworthy, just imagine the mayhem that would ensue if we as parents suddenly decided to remove all the ‘idolized’ things from our dwelling places.

God is in the House

So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel… Genesis 35:6-7a

While it was true there was gratefulness and jubilation galore, there was also reckonable spiritual growth. We would recall that when Jacob first arrived at Luz he renamed the place ‘Bethel’; i.e. he changed the name from ‘separated’ to ‘House of God’–a wise and notable deed at the time. However, Jacob recognizes now that it is not the house, but the God in the house and renames the place appropriately El Bethel, or ‘The God of the House of God.”

That is huge spiritual development and the application for us is similarly gargantuan! It’s not the church; it’s the God of the church and it’s not the Bible; it’s the God of the Bible and it is not the ministry, but it is the God in the ministry. Oh how we need to remember that.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

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