COMING HOME

"God said to Jacob, 'Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.' " (Genesis 35:1 HCSB)

There's no place like home.

NBC News related the story last year about Prince, Myrna Carillo's dog, who wandered off for five long years. Myrna married, had two boys and moved four times during that period. According to the report "Prince showed up on her doorstep... Myrna immediately recognized the furry dog, and more impressively, the dog recognized her. Prince is already bonding with Myrna's sons, and is reacquainting himself with his rediscovered family."

There is no place like home!

Jacob and his family were headed back home--back to Bethel--back to the "house of God" for so the name of the place signified. Jacob is older, wiser, and carries more than a few scars from his years of wandering. But, God has called him to come home.

You may recall that Bethel was the place where Jacob had his first dramatic encounter with God. His first night away from home, he saw a stairway to heaven--angels ascending and descending--and God appeared to him, spoke to him and gave assurance of covenant blessing, "Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15 HCSB) Jacob made some promises to be faithful to the God who would be faithful to him.

Decades passed. The vision faded and vows were forgotten. Jacob didn't mean to--he just got so busy making a living that he forgot about making a life. He got a job, got married--twice--fathered a gaggle of kids. Gradually, subtly, he had wandered away from God. That is usually how it happens, isn't it? I've witnessed it scores of times. Someone relates to me this moving experience with God. They make effusive promises of serving Him. Then they miss a Sunday--or two--attendance gets sporadic. Out of concern you talk to them. "Oh, I really miss church! It's been crazy. My schedule... (INSERT EXCUSE HERE) but I'm coming back soon." Most are still gone. It can happen to me--to any of us. The downgrade is so gradual that you don't realize how fast you are going until the brakes give way and you run off the road!

Jacob may have lost sight of God, but God never lost sight of him! The loving Father would not leave his prodigal son alone. He unleashed the hounds of heaven to track him down--the dogs of discipline bringing him to his knees. The Lord virtually seized him by the collar, reminding Jacob of who He was and to whom Jacob belonged. That was recorded in Genesis 32. A golden opportunity to get out of the pig pen and rebuild the altar at Bethel presented itself. A fresh start looked so hopeful. He's back in the neighborhood. He intends to get all the way home. He's limping that direction.

But sinful habits are stubborn things. Surely almost home is close enough. Jacob hunkers down among the heathen in Canaan. It was a disaster! His family suffered most for their father's failed spiritual leadership. They plunged into violence and vileness--lives marked by immorality and idolatry. That is often the case.

Still God was faithful. Jacob may have broken his promises--and become a broken man accordingly--but God cannot break His. It had been a while since it is recorded that Jacob had spoken to the Lord, so God shatters the silence with a summons, "It's time to come home--back to Bethel--back to the house of God, the place of faded vision and forgotten vows!"

You don't make the trip with a load of junk! The baggage of a sinful past must be buried. "So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, 'Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.' " (Genesis 35:2 HCSB) This is repentance.

" 'We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.' Jacob built an altar there and called the place God of Bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother." (Genesis 35:3, 7 HCSB) That is revival.

Isn't it time to return back to the house of God? Isn't it time to remove the idols and soiled garments and restore your spiritual leadership in the family? Isn't it time to rebuild the personal altar so long neglected? Isn't it time to revive the vision and renew the vows?

"I’ve wandered far away from God,
Now I’m coming home;
The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
Lord, I’m coming home.
I’ve wasted many precious years,
Now I’m coming home;
I now repent with bitter tears,
Lord, I’m coming home.
I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord,
Now I’m coming home;
I’ll trust Thy love, believe Thy word,
Lord, I’m coming home.
My soul is sick, my heart is sore,
Now I’m coming home;
My strength renew, my home restore,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home." (William J. Kirkpatrick).

There's no place like home!