"Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously." ( Genesis 28:18,19)
God never ceases to amaze. You would think when He wants to reveal himself, He would choose the top spots of the earth and the most hallowed places of all. But often and again, He manifests himself in places that could make you blush. He came as a baby in a manger not as a king in a palace. He met Saul on the treacherous road to Damascus, not in a sanctified synagogue. Jesus, God in the flesh, was often accused of blessing the publicans and sinners with His presence.
In our text today, Jacob renamed the place where he had seen the vision. The name used to Luz but He named it Bethel. Luz means "crooked," "twisted", or "deviant" while Bethel means " house of God." Up until the night before, it was a twisted place, but after the appearance of God, it became the house of God. God showed up in a crooked place to speak to the cheat.
One could only speculate on how the city got its original name. May be it was a land where the people are crooked or a place where depraved things have taken place. May be it was a place dedicated for some special use but had since been made to deviate from the original intention for it to crookedness. That didn't matter to God, He met Jacob there and the place was never the same again.
Never let the long standing characteristics of a thing lead you to believe that that is its end. Never give up on any issue because it has always produced unwanted fruits. God is a God of transformation. He can change anything and use it for His purpose. A marriage headed for the rocks previously, can be turned around to becoming the house of God. That business which has previously been unprofitable, with a visitation from God, can suddenly become a fruitful business. That child whose ways have deviated from the Lord can become a dedicated priest of God for His glory. Even our twisted experiences and mistakes can be turned around and used for God's purpose.
Wherever you are now, present the situations of your life to Him. what has been doesn't have to continue the way it is. You can have a new beginning. You can start afresh. You can rededicate life to Him afresh. In the crooked places of your life, God can emerge. Pour the oil of prayer upon the hurting place of your life. Commit your past into his hand. From the twisted, a glorious edifice for God could emerge. Forget the past. Restart from today. Lay a fresh foundation.
Decision of the Day
I understand that God can appear in the twisted to bring about His purpose. The part of my life that appears to have headed in the wrong direction can be reconsecrated to Him. I choose to dedicate to him all my experiences good and bad, mistakes and misses. No matter how it has been previously, I can give it a new name. I can lay a new foundation.
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