In addition to putting away the foreign gods and purifying themselves, they changed their garments (35:2). According to the Bible, to change garments means to change your manner of life. Ephesians 4:22-24 reveals that the old manner of life was the life of the fallen humanity and that the new manner of life is of the church. The church is the regenerated, new creation, and humanity is the fallen, old creation. When we were unsaved, we lived a manner of life that was of the fallen, old creation. Now, after having been saved and regenerated and having been brought into the church life, we must have a new manner of life. We must put off the old man and put on the new man. To put off the old man is to put off the old garments, the old manner of life, and to put on the new man is to put on the new manner of life, the church.
After putting away the foreign gods and purifying ourselves, we must change our garments, changing our manner of life. We should no longer express ourselves in an old way, but express ourselves as the church, as the new man in the new manner of life. We were the old, fallen creation, but now we are the new, regenerated creation. Many of our relatives, friends, colleagues, and neighbors can testify that after we came into the church life, our manner of life drastically changed. The church has changed and continues to change our manner of life. This is for Bethel.
Verse 4 says, "And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem" (Heb.). Not only were the idols buried, but also the earrings. Earrings are self-beautifying items. These were dealt with in the same way as the idols. Many people's earrings, ornaments, are equal to idols in the eyes of God. When those in Jacob's household were putting away the foreign gods, they also put away their earrings. This indicates that to their conscience their earrings were as abominable as their foreign gods. After touching the church, many sisters had the same conviction and put off this kind of abominable ornament. This is not something related to morality but to the house of God.
God did not charge Jacob to make such a clearance. Still less did He say, "Jacob, you must tell your household and everyone with you to make a clearance and to purify themselves." Why, then, did Jacob charge everyone in this way? Because the house of God is not an individual matter. It is not only Jacob. The house of God must be the house of Jacob becoming the house of Israel. Eventually, all the descendants of Jacob became the house of God, Bethel. The real Bethel was not the tabernacle; it was the children of Israel. Likewise, we must see that today we are the church. We must be purified not only because we are going to Bethel, but because we are to be Bethel. We must put away all foreign gods and abominable ornaments, purify ourselves, and change our garments. Putting away the foreign gods also means putting away all foreign trusts. We must be cleansed in our whole being, inwardly and outwardly, from every pollution, and we must change our manner of life. This is all for the church life.