This semester I have been going through Beth Moore's Bible study called The Patriarchs and it has been such an incredible journey through Genesis. With each chapter, there are more stories of those who were the foundation of our world. They existed at time when God's Word in written form did not exist and Jesus was not walking the earth. Yet they had faith in God.
The passage I read the other day was Genesis 35:1-15 and the theme was about eruptions on the inside. Jacob's sons had killed every male in Shechem over the brutality their sister had experienced in chapter 34. They were angry and upset and did not take control of those emotions. Beth was pointing out how as Christians we can suddenly act out of character and not realize why we would do something like that. We can be going along in our walks with the Lord, feeling close to Him, being involved in our church body and then bam! We do something evil. Where does that come from? It is a crack of compromise in our foundation. Deep underneath the surface we have not let go of something we need to give to God. She says that if we've done something drastically uncharacteristic for a follower of Christ, we need to trace the cracks of compromise.
I personally felt convicted by this because I know I have acted out of character and have been shocked at my actions. Where did that come from, I will ask. That is not me at all! After reading this passage I knew there were parts of me I had not given over to the Lord or prayed about ever. These clefts I had let go unassessed were coming out in horrible ways and it was time to confess.
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalm 32:1-2
