From Bethel to Penuel

Season 2 Episode 19 - In today's episode, we take a quick look at the life of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  I had not noticed until recently that, for the first 40 years of Jacob's life, Jehovah was never referred to as Jacob's God, but always as "the God of Abraham and Isaac."  Why is this significant?  What event caused this to change later in his life?  And what is the application for us?  Listen to the episode and find out!

"Reflect on This" is a once-weekly, short devotional podcast. In these devotionals, I share the things I am learning about living life with God-given purpose and meaning, through applying the Scriptures to life in practical and fulfilling ways.
 
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Resources that inspired some episodes:

"Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

"The Pleasure of His Company" by Dutch Sheets

"Fresh Air" by Chris Hodges

“Dream Small:  The Secret Power of the Ordinary Christian Life” by Seth Lewis
 
 Blog by Seth Lewis:  https://sethlewis.ie/

“The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman

"The Lies We Believe: Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life" by Dr. Chris Thurman

Featured ministries and resources:
 
“Agape Puppets” (ministry)
This is an amazing world-wide ministry that uses puppet shows to reach children (and their parents) for Christ, in cultures that are generally not very open to the Gospel.  To learn more, go to: https://theagapepuppets.org/ 

"Manufacture Good" (ministry)
 Manufacture Good is a Christian ministry that offers 3-month paid apprenticeships to unemployed young men.  These apprentices learn valuable woodworking and metalworking skills which lead to employment opportunities.  The sale of the high-quality furniture they produce supports the ministry.  You can shop their catalog of fine home and office products, order a standard or custom piece of furniture, and learn more about this amazing ministry, at: https://manufacturegood.org/.

"The World and Everything in It" (podcast)
This is a weekday 35-minute podcast that presents headline news, in-depth news articles, media reviews, and opinion pieces from a Christian world view.  Their stated mission is "biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires."
 
“Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage” (podcast) 
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"Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope" (podcast)
This is a 4-minute weekday podcast, where Joni shares stories of her life and biblical applications.  One of the world's longest living quadriplegics, God has used her courage, determination, faithfulness, and love to inspire and minister in amazing ways to people around the world.    
 
"e-Sword" (Bible study software)
This study tool includes many free public domain resources (and many other resources for purchase), including Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries, devotionals, and maps.
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Music credits:
Beauty by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all 

Transcript

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."