Jacob also charged everyone to purify themselves (35:2). We must not only put away the foreign gods, but also purify our whole being. In other words, our whole being, manner of life, and expression must be changed. This is not merely regeneration or a little change in life. Rather, it is a full transformation. Here in Genesis 35, Jacob was transformed.
In the Bible, purifying ourselves means to be purified from every pollution. Our whole being must be cleansed from anything that is pollution in the eyes of God. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul says, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Paul's concept in 2 Corinthians 6 and 7 was the same as Jacob's in Genesis 35. Because the Corinthians were the temple of God, Paul told them to purify themselves. There can be no agreement between the temple of God and idols (2 Cor. 6:16). Idols are idols, and the temple of God is the temple of God. Which side do you take? If idols, then go to your idols. If the temple of God, then come to the temple without any idols.
When you came into the church life, no one told you anything, but deep within something convinced you that certain things had to go for the sake of the proper church life. Every one of us had such a clearance upon coming into the church. At that time, we cleared away many, if not all, of the foreign gods, forsaking the things, the matters, and even the persons we trusted in for happiness, saying, "I don't like to keep these things anymore. All foreign idols must go." In the church life, not an inch of ground can be surrendered to foreign gods. Furthermore, when we came into the church life we were purified. At least, we aspired to be pure, saying, "For the sake of the church life, I want to be pure in my whole being, in my mind, emotion, and will." We had the same desire that Jacob had. On the day Jacob's people went up to Bethel, they purified themselves, and among them there were no foreign gods.
Many of us, including myself, realize that we are not very good. Perhaps even today you have said, "Oh, I am not so good. My thinking is still not very pure." However, compare your present manner of life with your past. Although you should not be proud of yourself, you should say, "Lord, thank You. I am not very pleased with myself, but as I compare the present with the past, I have to thank and praise You that I am quite different from what I was." Although in chapter thirty-five Jacob was not yet mature, he had undoubtedly changed from what he once was. In the next message we shall see how radically transformed Jacob actually was. God again changed his name from Jacob to Israel. God told him that he should no longer call himself Jacob but Israel.
I have known many of you for twelve years or more. I know that many of you are unhappy with yourselves today. When someone asks you how you are doing, according to custom, you say, "I'm fine." According to your inner sense, however, you are not so fine. Perhaps you have just repented, crying to the Lord; but when someone asks you how you are, you say that you are fine. Although you may say "fine" to a brother, you never say this to the Lord. We should neither be proud nor disappointed. Compare yourself with what you were twelve years ago. Has there not been a great change? Who changed us? We all must admit that we did not change ourselves; we were changed by being in Bethel, in the church life. If you deliberately stay away from the church life for a few weeks, your former ugliness will return, the fox tail will become visible, the serpent tongue will be exercised, and all the bugs will be active. But if you continue coming to the church, contacting the church again and again, the fox tail will be removed, the serpent tongue will be cut off, and the bugs will be poisoned. As long as you come to the church, the bugs will all be exterminated.
The church life is the most effective purification. Recently, I experienced a great deal of purification in the prayer meeting. As I was sitting in the meeting joining in the prayers, I was bathed and purified. I would not say that I was purified by the prayers, but I was purified by the church. The church is a large bathroom where we all are bathed and purified. If the church does not have this function, I am fearful that it will not long remain the church. As long as the church is the church, it will function this way. Often, when it is time to go to the church meeting, something within begins to purify us, telling us to cleanse ourselves. On our way to the meeting, we have frequently prayed, "Lord, I'm going to the meeting. Forgive me of this, cleanse me of that matter, and take that away from me." This is the purification for going up to Bethel. Let us all purify ourselves, for we must arise, go up to Bethel, and meet our God. We cannot meet Him in an old, polluted way. We must be purified. This purification is not a matter of our working, but of the working of the divine hand upon us. When we take care of His Bethel, His divine hand will purify us.