Back To Bethel

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. – Genesis 13:1.

ABRAM went up. He is now on the way back, thank God. Ashamed, rebuked, beaten, repentant, he starts back to Bethel. But the damage has been done. He has weakened his testimony and done irreparable damage to weak-kneed, worldly Lot, his nephew. For, mind you, he took Lot along into Egypt. The believer never backslides alone, he always craves company. When a Christian becomes bitter and callous and backslidden, he will always try to make others dissatisfied and critical too. That is the way new sects and denominations have their beginning. One damages not only his own soul when he gets out of fellowship, but he damages other weaker Christians about him. But God brought Abram back, and he comes again to Bethel. Here is the circumstance:

And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD. – Genesis 13:3-4.

How blessed this wonderful account really is! God invites him back into fellowship. Back to Bethel, the house of God.

Have I described your condition right now? Did you, too, once know the joy of the Lord, the blessing of fellowship and service in Him. Are you now cold, indifferent, sour and miserable. If you are, come back to Bethel, the place of the altar, which you made there at the first. You, too, may have gotten your eyes off the Lord as Abram had, and have gone down into Egypt. Maybe you aren’t happy. You may even imagine the Lord has cast you off, but He has not. He wants you to return. He says:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9.

Come now and return to Him. He will abundantly pardon you. You may again know the joy of the Lord, if you too, like Abram, will only come back to Bethel.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Studies in the Life of Abraham by M. R. De Haan (1891-1964)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.