cleaning house

1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household, . . . "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me. . . .” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had. . . . 9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” . . . 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Genesis 35:1-12

God sent Jacob and his family back to a spiritual marker where the patriarch had experienced a life-altering encounter through a dream (Genesis 28:10-22). God told Jacob to go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar. Jacob, moved by personal conviction, demanded preparation from his whole family: “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments” (35:2). In other words, he was saying, “We're going to Bethel all right, but we're not going like this. We're about to clean house.” He wanted a moral transformation to take place.

A volcano can suddenly erupt from within a seemingly rock-solid family—a mountain you thought couldn't be moved starts to shake. Eruptions can include the sudden exposure of an affair, a teen pregnancy, a DUI, or even finding out your child was caught cheating on a test.

This concept applies to the individual as well as to the family. All of us can be mountains that erupt. When eruptions come, we are wise to ask ourselves when the unnoticed tremors began. Like Jacob, we might start by looking for the cracks of compromise within the rock. As much as we're able, we need to insist on a thorough housecleaning and recommitment.

Our family actively prays together, views Jesus as the center of all things, and jealously guards what comes into our home . . . , but we haven't always been so deliberate. Every lasting fortification in the Moore extended family was prompted by a sudden eruption. Something unexpected happened that told us we needed to tighten up. Some of the occurrences may have seemed minor to someone else, but they were indications of trouble within our walls. Other occurrences were more serious. They all led to housecleaning and an urgent pursuit of purity. They also led to “Bethels” in our lives—where we encountered our God afresh.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait for an internal eruption before doing some spiritual housecleaning and looking for cracks in our spiritual purity. Let's pursue spiritual health that doesn't require a crisis to increase our holiness. —Beth Moore bethmoore.org

seeking: Father, what have you just revealed to me about my own lack of purity before you? What have I seen in your holy face?

responding: Have I ever examined my household in an urgent pursuit of purity? • What were the tremors, or warning signs, of the last eruption in my life?

Father, please reveal the areas of my “house” that need cleaning. Let there be fresh recommitment in every room and closet. Show me any cracks forming in the mountain even now. May my spiritual purity be as important to me as it is to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

following: Spiritual housecleaning prevents internal eruptions.

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