A Wrong Turn
Today's Verse:
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. ~Genesis 33:17
Have you ever come to a stop sign or a red light and made a wrong turn? I am referring to making a turn in a direction that does not bring you to your intended destination. This morning, we are looking at an incident in the life of Jacob where he made a wrong turn, even though he had the right directions. Let us see this morning a vital lesson concerning making a wrong turn.
We see a sovereign command.
God commanded Jacob to leave Padanaram and to return to the land of his fathers (Genesis 31:3,13). Years before, he left his homeland because of a conflict and rift between him and his brother Esau. Jacob left for his safety. Jacob lived away from home for 20 years. God wanted him to build his family back in the land of his fathers. Don’t build your family in the world and allow the culture to dictate your family’s decisions. Build your faith upon the faith of our spiritual forefathers. It was time for Jacob to leave the world and lead his family to live for God.
We see a sibling confrontation.
However, going back home meant that he had to face his brother Esau. The last thing Jacob remembered about Esau was the angry look on his face and the fact that Esau wanted to kill him. Jacob was extremely anxious and unsettled about going home. Jacob wound up in a wrestling match with the Lord and was disabled in his hip. God had to break him physically to get his attention. With much anxiety, Jacob and Esau met each other for the first time in twenty years. Instead of an angry, hateful Esau, he met an Esau that was happy to be reunited to him. Jacob needed to realize that going back also meant he had to face his past head on. In coming back to God, we must remember that this might entail a painful confrontation with our past sins and failures. Face them head on, confess those sins to God, and make reconciliation with those who you may have hurt.
We see a spiritual contradiction.
Jacob was well received by Esau, but he refused to go back to his homeland. Instead. Jacob journeyed to Succoth and then to Shechem. Jacob pitched his tent and settled his roots in an area of his choosing and not God’s. He still had apprehension about going all the way back home. So, he winds up in the area of Shechem, erects an altar there, and leads his family to build their lives in a location that was not God’s will for them. Jacob exercised partial obedience which is still disobedience. Jacob tried to justify his choice by establishing an altar there. He made a wrong turn. He had the right directions, but he made a wrong turn! He tried to sanctify his wrong choice through an altar, prayers, and worship, but all of this did not change the fact that he was disobedient. We must remember a wrong turn that is intentional is always disobedience.
We see the sorrowful consequences.
The time in Shechem was nothing short of disastrous for Jacob and his family. First, his only daughter Dinah ventured too far out in her association with the girls of Shechem. She wound up being taken advantage of by a young man named Shechem. Her brothers Simeon and Levi took matters into their hands and killed off all the males in that city. Jacob and his family ruined their testimonies and eventually left with the permanent scars of this stay in their minds, bodies, and hearts. When you read everything that occurred in Genesis 34, Jacob and his family reaped horrific consequences for their disobedience. Everyone pays the price when disobedience occurs. A wrong turn can result in a disastrous aftermath.
However, you can make a correction. Make a turnabout, correct your direction, and go back to what is supposed to be the will of God for your life. Let God order your steps in His Word, and let no iniquity have dominion over you. Be careful of making a wrong turn.
Have an obedient-inspired God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Nahum-Habakkuk
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