Hosanna Restoration Church

Jacob said, “Destroy your idols,” so they gave them to him. He did not destroy them. He buried them! There is a big difference between destroying and burying. Something that is buried can be dug up. Note also, that he did not bury them in the middle of nowhere, but rather near a tree. What, did they want to be sure they could find them later?

Have you ever felt the way that Jacob may have felt? He was the leader of this family and God told him to go to Bethel. He knew the voice and knew he better listen, but maybe the family was not totally sold on his plan. Can’t you just see them pouting and mad and grudgingly bringing their idols and earrings? So perhaps burying them by a tree was a way to make the family feel better. Hey, I am a dad and I know that the whole clan does not always fall in love with my ideas!

Whether they were happy or not, they did all go to church! Actually they went to Bethel. The first time God spoke to Jacob at Bethel Jacob built an altar to the awesome God of his father, this time God spoke to Jacob and changed his name and told him to become a great nation and Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him.

There is difference between going to the altar and being a pillar for God. There is also a difference between destroying our idols and simply burying them! Besides, no one can destroy your idols for you! One the next things we read is about his son sleeping with his brother’s mother who was of course his father’s concubine!

You see we can bury idols if we want, but if there is no change of heart there is no change of life. We don’t have to have statues in order have idols. We can have idols of unforgiveness and bitterness. We can have idols of lust, alcohol, or drugs. Idols of rebellion can take on a lot of forms and if we just bury them when they come up, they will more than likely fight their way back to the surface. I see burying them as doing it with an attitude like we know it is best, but we really don’t want to give them up. On the other hand, when we burn them it is like we want them gone for good. Even then, the enemy will tempt us to turn those demons loose but when we have made that decision and determined not to go back it makes a difference.

Each person has to make their own stand. We encourage one another. We challenge one another. In the end it is always the choice of each individual as to whom they will serve. I do know that it makes it much easier to serve the Lord if we will burn the idols when he reveals them to us and not just bury them somewhere so that we can find them again. Even then, we have to fight the good fight of faith in the full armor of God in order stand against the wiles of the devil. Lord, reveal the things that we have buried and need to burn.