There’s something about a fresh start that feels powerful.

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A new year.  A new routine.  Or another moment when you finally say, “Enough.  I’m doing things differently.”  Those moments don’t usually come out of nowhere.  They often come after a season where things have gotten cluttered, distracted, or maybe even a little compromised.

But whatever gets you to that place, the feeling of starting something new is very powerful.  That’s exactly where Jacob finds himself in Genesis 35:1–4.

1 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.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

Genesis 35:1-4, New International Version

Jacob had been through a lot.  Some was the Lord’s path for him.  Most was Jacob’s own poor decisions coming back to him.  But now, God tells Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar to God” (verse 1).

Bethel wasn’t just a random location.  It was “Beth-El,” the “House of God.”  Bethel was a place of encounter for Jacob.  It was where Jacob had previously met the Lord in a powerful way, made a commitment, and had his faith become personal.

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Bethel was hallowed ground, a sacred space.  It was full of emotion, memory, identity, and spiritual significance for the patriarch.

But between that first meeting at Bethel and now, life had gotten messy.

So, before they can return to Bethel, Jacob does something significant.  He gathers his household and says, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes” (verse 2).

In other words, we’re not going back to that place of encounter carrying all this baggage.

And the people respond!  They hand over their idols, their symbols of divided loyalty, and Jacob buries them.  Only then do they move forward.

You and I might not carry small carved statues in our pockets, but let’s not kid ourselves. We still have idols.  They just look more socially acceptable.  Success.  Control.  Comfort. Image.  Approval. Greed.  Even good things like family, ministry, and work can quietly take a place in our hearts that belongs to Jesus alone.

And here’s the problem: you can’t fully return to a place of deep connection with the Lord while still clinging to things that compete with Him.

Jacob didn’t say, “Let’s just try to focus more on God.”  He said, “Let’s get rid of what’s pulling us away.”  That’s a much harder conversation.

If you want a real, tangible encounter with the Lord, prepare as Jacob did in today’s passage.

1. Take inventory.  Ask yourself honestly: What has my attention, affection, or trust more than God right now?  Don’t over-spiritualize it.  Just be real.

2. Name it specifically.  Vague convictions rarely lead to real change.  Identify the actual thing: a habit, a priority, a mindset, a dependency.

3. Take one concrete step to remove or reduce it.  If it’s a distraction, set boundaries.  If it’s approval, stop feeding the source that drives it. If it’s control, then intentionally surrender a situation in prayer daily.

4. Mark the moment.  Jacob buried the idols.  Do something symbolic to mark your decision: write it down, pray it out loud, or even physically discard something tied to that struggle.

The goal here isn’t just removal; it’s return.  The Lord didn’t call Jacob to empty his life; He called him back to a place of encounter.

That’s the invitation for us too.  Not just “do better.”  Not just “clean things up.”  But come back.  Come back to a place where God is central again.  Come back to where worship is real again.  Come back to where your life is aligned again.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do isn’t add something new.  It’s letting something go.

So, what needs to be buried before you go back to Bethel?

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