BETHEL THEN OR BETHEL NOW?

“But do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” ~ Amos 5:5

REFERENCE:

Amos 5:4-7

Bethel had a rich history; Abraham pitched his tent there (Gen 12:8) and later called on the name of the Lord there (Gen 13:3-4). Years later, it got its spiritual significance and name (Bethel was formerly called Luz) when Jacob had a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending it. Jacob said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” He set up a stone as a pillar, poured oil on it, and named the place, Beth-El, ‘the house of God.’ It became a sacred site and the seat of Yahweh’s worship. People often went there to ask for the counsel of God.

Later, when a civil war split Israel in two, Jeroboam, who went with ten tribes, set up a golden calf for worship and corrupted Bethel. However, although God’s glory had departed from there, Israel still went to worship at Bethel. They only worshipped an experience but had no present encounters. That was why Amos called them back to repentance, that going to Bethel would not draw them closer to God, for it was only a shadow of its old self.

A place is ‘Bethel,’ not because it is erected for God or someone once found God there, it must be where God’s presence dwells and where He is the constant focus of worship done in spirit and truth. If these are missing, it is just a place of dead worship and ritualism; it will be like a body without spirit, a whitewashed tomb with bones inside.

Do you have a vibrant relationship with God, or are you following old rituals? Is your testimony about God dated in the past or do you refer to your service to God as ‘the good old days? Are you worshipping in the Bethel of then or the Bethel of now? Is your relationship with God dependent on your parents’ or pastor’s faith? The Jews often claimed sonship to Abraham, but John the Baptist rebuked them; “and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God can raise children to Abraham for these stones.”

Your body is the real Bethel of God (the house of God); let it remain a place where God’s glory dwells. Be intentional in keeping the fire of your relationship with God burning. Let your worship be fresh and daily, so your encounters will not become just a story. Protect your spirit from sinful pollution. Do not erect strange gods in your heart. Your experience with God will never replace fresh encounters with Him. Take your ‘Bethel then,’ and make it a ‘Bethel now.’

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

Matthew 3:7-9, I Corinthians 3:16, Acts 19:14-16 & Jeremiah 3:21-23

PRAYERS:

+ Lord, I pray for fresh encounters with You from today. May my testimony about you no longer be about things in my past.

+ I keep myself undefiled by the world. My Bethel will not be defiled by strange gods or worship.

+ I return to You, where I have strayed from you, and I ask that a fresh fire will fall on the altar of my Bethel, in Jesus’ name.