DAILY?READINGS: Exodus 32; Psalms 81-82; Acts 19:21-41
And he went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning … and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 13:3-4
God gave Abram wonderful promises, but when famine came he went down to Egypt (Gen. 12:10). Any road that leads “down” usually spells disaster. In Egypt there was no altar, no worship or fellowship with God. God rescued Abram, but he had to go back to the beginning—to the place of fellowship at Bethel. If we’re not moving forward, we need to stop, take stock and return to where we know we should be. When Abram sought the Lord, God got him moving forward again. He’ll do the same for us if we call out to Him. —Deborah Manera
O God of Bethel, by whose hand Thy people still are fed,
Who through this weary pilgrimage, hast all our fathers led. —P. Doddridge