Genesis 33:18-20 (NIV)

After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

This paragraph marks a major turning point. Just when it seems that Jacob may never grow up, he does two important things right. He erects a proper altar instead of a pagan pillar and he embraces his new name.

Shechem is where Abraham built his first altar (see Gen. 12:7). Now Jacob builds one (or maybe even rebuilds Abraham’s original one). Previously, Jacob had only built pillars (see Gen. 28:18 and 31:51-52). Pillars are a pagan practice that God hates (see Deut. 16:22). Rebuilding Abraham’s first altar (or building a new one where the old one was) is huge. Jacob appreciates the family covenant and embraces it. He then labels the altar in a significant way.

El-Elohe-Israel means, “God, the God of Israel.” This is nothing short of declaring the covenantal blessing for himself. The God of Abraham and Isaac is now the God of Israel. He lays claim to the birthright and the blessing.

He has found his destiny.

Any Christian serious enough to read these devotionals is serious enough to have a magnificent destiny. Unfortunately, most Christians can’t picture themselves in that role. Imagining yourself changing the world is frightening. We all know that God transformed Simon the fisherman into Peter the apostle, but we think of that as an extreme case. “That’s nice, but it’s not me.”

Don’t be so sure. God has this curious habit of using people in amazing ways. If He only used the obvious candidates for great things, it wouldn’t glorify Him all that much, would it?

No. Instead, He uses flawed people like Jacob, and Simon, and you, and me to do things we could never imagine. He delights in spectacular twists and turns. He is anything but boring.

We should seek our destiny. But before we can even start seeking what God has in store for us, we need to jettison the attitude that our destiny is on the couch. The first step is facing the truth. Are you really willing to be used of God for His purposes?

Don’t forget, staying on the couch avoids a lot of suffering. Serving the Lord isn’t safe. Getting ready to seek God’s calling means getting ready for the unexpected – good and bad. This is a big prayer request.

Are you up for it? Ask Him to prepare you to be called.

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies