Good Is Not Always Right

Then he erected there an altar

and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

Genesis 33:20

Jacob has reconciled with Esau. He is supposed to be on his way home, for God’s command was to “return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives” (Genesis 31:3). Jacob stopped for a while in Succoth, and now he has made it to Shechem, where he has bought land and pitched his tent. Here he erects an altar and names it El-Elohe-Israel, or “God the God of Israel.”

We don’t know why Jacob chose to stop here and set up camp. Whatever his reason, we will soon see that he stopped too soon. Perhaps he thought that by erecting the altar he could compromise with God. Perhaps he thought he was making a wise decision, yet he does not consult his God.

Don’t we as the church, as individuals, sometimes just do what we want to and then expect God to bless it just because we say it is for Him and His kingdom? “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). How many “good” decisions made without seeking the counsel of God have brought bad consequences?

One of the hardest lessons in this journey through life is that what seems good is not always right. This is the privilege, the advantage; we have in following El Elyon, God Most High. Our God knows the beginning from the end, He knows the best path, and He will guide us if we will just listen. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” ( John 16:13).

The bright moment here is that God is no longer just the God of Abraham and Isaac, but Jacob now proclaims Him as his God, the God of Jacob. Jacob has learned a lot about the God of his fathers in the past years, but he still has a lot to learn.

Don’t we all?

Oh Father,

Let me not set up camp too soon. Help me to always be where You desire me to be; not my will, but Your will be done. Oh Father, I have so many times made decisions based on my own knowledge instead of waiting for Your answer and for Your guidance. Never have those choices produced good results. This journey of life is not always easy, it is not always fun, and I long for the day that I am finally home; but until that day, help me to not grow weary. Let me not lose my love of the journey, the wonder of seeking You, the moments of revelation, the discoveries of truth. Let me place my foundations not in this world but in the solid rock of my Savior and His Word. Oh Father, may I chase after You and pursue You with a passionate heart.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.