January 12
Genesis 32:1-35:37
God has called us out from the world, but are we willing to distance ourselves from it? Do we toy with the world, dabble in it here and there? We have all heard the worldly advice of not making a big deal about everything, that we must choose our battles. But is this what God says, or what the world says. The world is constantly luring and tempting. The world minimizes the harm and even glamorizes the abhorrent behavior, but, when God says something is a big deal, it is a big deal and should be dealt with this way. I remember the tobacco ads growing up. Who didn't want to be the cool guy like the Marlboro Man, or the sexy model like the Virginia Slims Girl. For many this was not a battle worth fighting and decades later we have seen these products devastate the world with lung cancer, heart disease, etc. I am absolutely shocked at how everyone has minimized marijuana. It is now legalized in certain states and our state seems to be moving in the same direction. People don't seem to want to set up a battle line for this mind altering substance. Some even explaining it away as being natural and becoming legal. Yet this drug is associated with lower IQ, short term and long term cognitive changes including the probability of permanently changing the actual structure of one's brain (according to the NIH). It causes altered behavior, loss of identity, altered reaction time, increased risk of stroke, poor school performance, addiction, etc. Yet, most prefer to not make a big deal about this substance, which has been normalized in our society. Most don't want to take up this battle. Some will ask how this relates to the Bible, since the word, marijuana, is not in Scripture. Mind altering substances were very much part of the pagan society in those days and surrounded the worship of the false deities. We should also never minimize the warning in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
Jacob knew what he was supposed to do, as he recants in Genesis 32:9, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you':". Jacob started his journey, but then stopped. Rather than going to Bethel, he decided to mingle with the world in Shechem, as we read in Genesis 33:18-19, "Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money." This seemingly small act of disobedience on Jacob's part seems harmless enough on the surface. But he toyed, he allowed this Canaan society to influence his family. He did not make a big deal about something which seemed harmless enough. Until we get to Genesis 34, when a curious Dinah, Jacob's daughter, made friends in the city and is soon raped by the prince. This then leads to an evil plot by Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, which results in their murdering all of the men of that city. This is the danger of not making a big deal when God clearly speaks about a subject. After this costly error we see Jacob do the right thing in Genesis 35:1-2, "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." Jacob knew it was time to separate themselves for God, to consecrate themselves, and to distance themselves from the worldly influences, as they probably adopted even the way they dressed in that pagan culture.
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits". Pastor Chuck Swindoll put it this way, "If you put on a pair of clean white gloves on a rainy day and then go out in the backyard to the flowerbed and pick up a glob of mud, trust me, the mud will never get "glovey". The gloves will definitely get muddy. Every time". We have to all decide, though God is calling us to Bethel, are we settling into Shechem. Do we want so badly to assimilate into the world with its practices that God has clearly spoken about? Do we really believe that this formula is harmless? As Christians, God has established the battle lines. If God considers something significant, then so should we. Yes, it is worth making a big deal about something which God has made a big deal about. We are called to be consecrated to God. If we continue to flirt with the things of the world, we do so at our own peril.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: