Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." — Genesis 35:1
Things fell apart for Jacob. His daughter went out to find some female friends. The most eligible bachelor in the area found her, and turned her into a piece of property. Her brothers were, of course, enraged, so they cooked up a scheme to kill him and all the men in the city, claiming all their women and children for themselves. It doesn’t take a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out that Jacob and family quickly became Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the other inhabitants of the land.
When wisdom is absent, problems have a way of escalating until they are entirely out of control. Simeon and Levi, Jacob’s violent sons, seem to have a short memory. They have forgotten the stories of how God delivered their great-grandmother back to her husband not once, but twice, without a shot being fired.
Enter God. God is pragmatic. He knows what He’s dealing with. In this case, He knew that the fuse was short, the match was near, and this whole thing could explode. So He gave the direction of wisdom: "Start over somewhere else."
I don’t know what your situation is, but whatever it is, God has the solution for you. It might mean moving and starting over. It might not. His solution will involve the practical things you can do (Jacob and his family moved), and the supernatural things that only God can do (the terror of the Lord fell upon the surrounding people as Jacob set out).
No problem is too complicated for God to solve.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
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