Are you familiar with the story of Jacob after he tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing instead of the first born brother, Esau. Esau made threats to kill Jacob, so Rebekah helped Jacob escape to Haran.

One night while sleeping, Jacob had a dream in which he saw angels and heard the voice of God.

Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place–and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16-17

After Jacob has this vision and encounter with God he names the place Bethel, which means “house of God”.

In the chaotic fallout of his actions with his family, Jacob found himself running away from home hoping to find a new life and a future in the home land of Rebekah and Abraham. But while running away, he had an encounter with God.

In the ancient world, God’s presence was not assumed to be everywhere; rather, the places where God is present are viewed as holy places. (This is what made the tabernacle such a revolutionary concept in the Old Testament. The God of Abraham was not limited to a specific location, but moved with the nomadic people wandering in the wilderness.)

Bethel is established as an important place in the history of Israel. God was present there and spoke the words of a covenant promise to Jacob. It was a promise to redeem and restore Jacob and his offspring in the promised land as the chosen people of God. It is a place that God dwells; a house of God. Beth-El

Fast-forward 800 years or so and Bethel is significant again. The Kingdom of Israel divides after King Solomon’s death. Jerusalem, which had already been made the official center of worship via the construction of the temple , was located in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

The people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel would have to go into the Southern Kingdom to properly worship. While we cannot be sure what the Northerners thought about making that journey into the other Kingdom, the book of 1 Kings chapter 12 tells us that Jeroboam, King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel did not want to be dependent upon the Southern Kingdom. He definitely did not want his people traveling south to worship.

 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.  If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” 1 Kings 12:26-27

Jeroboam decided that he needed places of worship in his kingdom. Obviously, nothing would be quite as good as the Temple in Jerusalem, but he knew he needed a holy place; a place where God has been present. Bethel seemed to be the obvious choice.

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here is your God, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 1 Kings 12:28-30

From day one, Jeroboam’s decision to have worship in Bethel was viewed with heavy criticism. He is remembered as the King of Israel who lead the people into sin.

Years later the altars in Bethel and Dan are torn down as part of a renewed allegiance to God. It is celebrated as an end to idolatry and a return to faith.

So why is Jacob’s worship of God in Bethel a great moment in the history of God’s covenant people, yet Jeroboam’s worship at Bethel is remembered as one of the worst decisions in the history of Israel?

The answer is that true worship was, and is, completely dependent upon God’s presence.

Bethel with God being present there = Holy Ground

Bethel with idols filling in for God = a grievous sin

There are many lessons we can learn from this, but the big one for us today is that religious activity apart from God and God’s presence is idolatry and sin. Religious activity that has a focus or motivation other than God is actually harmful. It leads people away from God. Even if, as with Jeroboam’s prescribed worship, the activity is performed using God’s name.

Religious activity in response to God’s presence, God’s activity, or God’s voice is worship

Religious activity performed for the sake of religious activity is idolatry and sin.

Bethel wasn’t Holy because it was a special place. Bethel was Holy because God was there.

My concern is that the temptation for the modern church is to focus on Bethel, the house of the Lord, rather than the God who dwells there.

Church music (whether it is hymns, praise songs, or chants performed by monks) is just music if we aren’t worshipping God through it.

Church buildings (whether they are massive cathedrals, tiny country church buildings, or modern sanctuaries that double as gymnasiums) are simply buildings if it is not worship of God that gathers the church together in them.

Discipleship gatherings (whether they are Sunday School classes, small groups in homes, or unstructured conversations at a coffee shop) are simply religious activities if they are not motivated as a response to God’s presence and activity in the life of the church

Worship at Bethel with God is a Holy moment. Worship at Bethel without God is idolatry and sin.

We Christians have to be careful not to become too focused on the Bethels in our lives and lose focus on the God who dwells there. We must be honest with ourselves as to whether our preferences for what is familiar or comfortable is driving our religious activity.

We may even be returning to our own Bethels; places where we encountered God in the past. “God spoke to me in this type of church service or this building or this song. So all my religious activity needs to be just like that.”

The task of the Christian is to follow God; to spend time in prayer seeking God; to let God lead us one step at a time. Sometimes God will lead us to familiar places; Other times God will lead us to places unlike anything we’ve experienced before.

In this season of disruption and change, the Church must be diligent to not get caught up longing to be where God used to be, but to seek God and the places where God is present at this moment. Bethel, without God’s presence, is just another place on the map. Its God that is worthy of our worship. Not the things that God inhabits. Let us all do our very best to seek God in this moment. May we be drawn near to God as we seek the living God in our midst.

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