Today I want to share with you a vitally important principle, based on chapter 28 of Dutch Sheets’ book entitled “The Pleasure of His Company.” This principle is illustrated beautifully in the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham.
You see, Jacob had a basic problem. To Jacob, God was his father’s God, instead of his God.
How do we know this? In reading the book of Genesis, we see that for the first 40 years of his life, Jehovah was never referred to as Jacob’s God — always as the “the God of Abraham and Isaac”. This begins to change in Genesis 28, when he encounters God at Bethel (which means “house of God”). He makes a deal with God in verses 20-21 – basically, if you protect and provide for me, the Lord will be my God. But, sadly, 6 times over the next 20 years, the Lord is still referred to as the God of Jacob’s father, but never as the God of Jacob. As Sheets says, “A second-hand, generation-removed God might get you to heaven, but He won’t get you through much on earth.”
About 2 decades later, we read in Genesis chapter 32 that Jacob has a second encounter with God, at Penuel [pen-oo-ale'] (which means “the face of God”). Jacob’s experience at Penuel was the culmination of his plan to appease the anger of his brother Esau, as he was on his way back home. He sent a series of gifts ahead, including his servants and eventually even his own family.
Sheets observes, “It must have been a painful sight as he watched them cross the stream called Jabbok, wondering if he would ever see them again (Genesis 32:22). Jabbok means ‘pouring out,’ and what an irony… that this was the place where all of Jacob’s accomplishments and wealth - his ‘house of God’ blessings - were poured from him.”
In Genesis 32:24, we see that Jacob was then left alone, and spent the night wrestling with God. Jacob’s thigh becomes dislocated. “In Scripture, a person’s thigh represents his or her strength. Not only have Jacob’s possessions and family been ‘poured out,’ God has now removed his strength.”
Jacob says he won’t let go until God blesses him. God provides an unexpected response in the form of a question: “What is your name?” In Jacob’s response to God’s question, he suddenly realizes and has to acknowledge his true nature. This is so beautifully stated in the Amplified Bible’s rendering of Jacob’s response:
Genesis 32:27b (AMP) And [in shock of realization, whispering] he said, “Jacob [which means supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler]!”
Did you catch that? God asks Jacob to state his name. As Jacob does so, he is so shocked by the realization that his whole life has been an illustration of what his name means that he can only whisper his reply to God.
Sheets writes,
“Jacob was pursuing one thing; God was after something altogether different. Jacob was seeking another blessing—protection; God was seeking Jacob. ‘It isn’t your possessions, servants, or family I want, Jacob. [The Lord gave all of that back.] It’s your old nature I’m after. You can con everyone else, but you can’t con Me. I want you to realize, once and for all, that your strength is not what I need from you. I need for you to acknowledge your weakness—who you really are. Only then can I pour it out from you, delivering you from yourself. I want a far deeper relationship with you, one accessing your heart, not some ‘deal’ we cut involving temporal, earthly benefits. And since I’m God, by the way, I could kill you, but I’d rather just conquer your heart. Then we can run together and I can use you to help me save the world’ …
“On the heels of this experience, there’s one more scene too powerful to leave out. Jacob built an altar and gave it a name. In his day, altars were often monuments, a way of commemorating important events. In a sense they gave permanence to them. The name he gave the altar, El-Elohe-Israel (Genesis 33:20), was a magnificent statement. The phrase means ‘God, the God of Israel.’ Remember, Israel was not yet a nation; it was Jacob’s new name given Him at Penuel. He was referring to himself. The monument was his declaration: ‘I’ve made my choice. Yahweh is not just my father’s God—He’s mine.’”
It should be noted that Penuel comes from the Hebrew root word panah, which means “face?” It also means “presence.” This is symbolic of God’s dealings with all of us on our journey from Bethel to Penuel – from knowing God for what He can give us, to experiencing the depth of His love in a face-to-face relationship with Him, where we experience and cherish His presence!
Sheets concludes with this admonition, and it is my challenge to you today:
“A Bethel—‘house of God’—relationship won’t sustain you in the tough places of life. Just as important, it won’t fulfill the portion of your heart created by God for the purpose of knowing and enjoying Him. You were made for Penuel — a face-to-face relationship with your Maker. Being a part of God’s household, having a church home, or being in a family where God is served and honored is important and wonderful, but not enough. Sooner or later, you’ll need to graduate from His house [Bethel] to His face [Penuel]; from knowing Him as someone else’s God to experiencing Him as your own. Only then will the promise of His company in heaven become the pleasure of His company here on earth. Don’t wait another day—find your Penuel.”
Today, I encourage you to “Reflect on This."