Genesis 35:2-3 Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, “Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes, we’re going to Bethel. I’m going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I’ve gone since.”

A prince sexually assaulted Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. This made her brothers more than just angry. They took matters into their own hands by persuading the prince’s men to undergo circumcision.

On the third day, when the men were in a lot of pain, Jacob’s sons invaded the city, killed all the men, and freed their sister. Dinah’s brothers took the law into their own hands. They did not ask God for advice and the consequences were catastrophic.

God gave an order: They had to return to Bethel. It was the exact same place where Jacob had slept with his head on a rock and dreamt of angels climbing up and down the ladder. It was there that God had promised that He would never leave Jacob’s side.

In a way, God simply reaffirmed His promise to Jacob. He showed that He had always been with them. But even more: He showed them His mercy by not making them pay for their wrong decisions and actions.

This is the heart of God: a Father so rich in mercy that He refuses to let our failures define us. Instead of meting out the punishment we’ve earned, He uses the bridge of grace to call us back. Even when we make wrong choices. Even when we do things of our own accord that are wrong, God always brings us back to where it all began; where Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

We will make mistakes. We will make decisions on our own, and the consequences will be bad, not only for ourselves, but also for others. Fortunately, God does not give us what we deserve. He waits for each of us with open arms.

So, let’s do what Jacob and his family did. Let us see what little idols have quietly made their way into our lives. Let us go and bury them under a tree. Let us go back to God to receive His grace.

Prayer
Father, I realise that there are things in my life that stand between me and You. Help me to see them, unpack them, and bury them. Then I am back with You …

Questions
What should you bury under the tree today?
Where is God calling you to go back to?
What needs to become new in your life so that you can live close to God again?

Now do this
Take honest inventory of your life today and ask God to show you which “idols” may have quietly come back into your life.
Choose to go back by doing something practical that shows you want to live close to God again, such as prayer, confession, or being in silence with Him.
Start again at Bethel by thanking God for His grace and living as someone who knows He always gives a new beginning.