Genesis 35

Saturday, February 10, 2007, 10:45:07 AM

Cleaning House!Do you ever just get that urge to clean everything? Like all at once everything needs to be clean . . . your car, your closet, your kitchen? I do quite often in fact. Right now those urges often come during the midst of times when I have a lot of studying to do. There is something refreshing about having everything cleaned out. It's strange . . . I almost feel like I can focus better when my room is clean. It is like there are less distractions around. When things are a mess I tend to go study somewhere else. When I things are clean, I can focus solely on my task at hand . . . studying. It's no wonder that Jacob said to his household in Genesis 35:2 to clean get rid of all of their foreign Gods. These foreign gods were distracting them from the ONE TRUE GOD. They were losing their focus. He says, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes." Jacob is calling his household to clean not only house but to clean themselves. To rid themselves of the past symbols of foreign gods. He is asking them to take a dramatic step to move forward. They followed faithfully and "they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem". Whtat are you holding onto today that is keeping you from focusing on your one true God? What is your "foriegn God", your idol? This is what I'll be chewing on today!