3/4 Through the Bible in devotions

Genesis 35 Standards

“And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand…” (v.4)

Not only was Jacob lax in selecting who his children ran with, (chapter 34), but he was also lax in allowing his servants and family members to retain their false gods. We need to set some standards for our family, and stick by them! Too many of God’s people are lax in their positional stand for God. Standards are like fences, they not only keep the children in the yard, but they also keep the dogs out! Once the fence is broken down, we are wolves’ bait! What we condone in our family, we will accept for ourselves, or already have! What we excuse with them, we condone. Jacob was not wise in allowing these “strange gods” to exist in his home, and, by the way, neither are we! When there is sin in the camp, we cannot expect much from God, and sin always leads to death and destruction. (James 1:15)

Notice too that the men turned in their earrings! There is a lesson here, it has to do with association. To whom do these “fads” associate us with? This is worldly, and the earring has become a symbol of “ownership” or, as it was in the Old Testament, servitude. Who do you serve? An earring in a mans ear today makes a statement, it states that he is partners with the world, and it becomes a symbol of the same crowd that follows the whims and wiles of everyone else, and all run headlong into destruction. We are speaking of separation. Why not, instead of an earring, wear something that exemplifies Chritianity instead of worldliness?

Our personal standards ought to be scriptural, moral, and ethical, and “of good report” anything less than this should be unacceptible. Standards are important. They are not always easy to maintain, but very much worth the effort. Why walk on the “edge”? We need to keep as far back from sin as we can, lest we fall into the pit, and that is what standards help us do. When we walk on the edge, we are one step away from perdition, but with standards, we have room to fall without going into the pit of destruction.