Walk in Purity (Genesis 35:2)

Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.
—Genesis 35:2

In order to understand the significance of this verse, we need to understand the story that led up to it. This is Jacob coming back home. In Genesis 33, he stops short of where God had told him to go. He stops short of Bethel and settles instead in a place called Shechem. It is a picture of spiritual compromise in Jacob’s life—stopping short of doing what God had clearly told him to do.

Genesis 35:2 shows us God’s unfailing love in our failures.

What follows in Shechem is disastrous. We see the devastating effects of sin and compromise. By the time we reach Genesis 35, Jacob and his family have experienced massive consequences for their disobedience. Then God comes to Jacob and says, in effect, “I am calling you to go to Bethel.”

Jacob responds by turning to his family and saying, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves, and change your garments.” Along the way, they had picked up foreign gods and begun to worship them. Now Jacob calls his family to repentance and renewal.

The picture here is that God gives Jacob another chance. And not just a second chance—by this point, God has given Jacob far more than that. This is the beauty of God’s grace: he gives second, third, fourth, fifth—even hundredth chances. We are continually prone to sin, to compromise, and to stop short of what God calls us to do. And God, in his mercy, comes to us again and says, “Go all the way. Do all that I am calling you to do.”

In those moments, each of us needs a Genesis 35:2 kind of response—one that says, by God’s grace, “Yes. I will leave behind the areas where I am compromising, and I will move forward in purity and obedience.”

Genesis 35:2 challenges us to rise above compromise through repentance.

So let me ask you this: Is there any area of your life where you are compromising right now—where you are stopping short of doing all that God has called you to do? Maybe you are compromising by doing something God has clearly told you not to do. Or maybe you are compromising by failing to do something God has called you to do.

Take a moment to examine your heart. Ask God to show you any evidence of compromise. And by his grace, rise in repentance, turn from that compromise, and move forward with God under the leadership of his Spirit—doing all that he has called you to do.

Oh God, we pray that even now, as we are praying, you would open our eyes to areas of compromise in our lives. Show us where we are stopping short of what you are calling us to do—or not do. We praise you for your Spirit’s conviction of sin and compromise, and for your Spirit’s promise to help us obey and to empower us to do all you are calling us to do.

This verse challenges us to resist the temptation to compromise.

So, God, help us to repent even now—to turn from sin and compromise, to walk with you, and to resist temptation today and tomorrow by the power of your Holy Spirit within us.

We pray this over every area of our lives—our thoughts, desires, words, actions, and relationships. And as we pray each day for unreached people, we also ask your forgiveness for how we, as your church, have collectively fallen short in getting the gospel to all the nations, even when we have the resources to do so.

A Prayer for the Budega Jangam People

God, today we intercede for the Budega Jangam people of India—approximately 348,000 Hindu men, women, and children with little to no access to the gospel. We pray that you would send obedient laborers to go to the Budega Jangam people until they are reached with the good news of Jesus.

We pray for everyone currently working to spread the gospel among them in India. Give them perseverance, faithfulness, and resolve to go all the way. And help us, God, to do all you are calling us to do for the spread of the gospel among all the nations.

We pray all of this according to your Word in Genesis 35:2, with gratitude for your grace—Lord Jesus, thank you for the second, third, fourth, fifth, and countless chances you give us to turn from sin and experience the life you created us to live.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.