My grands are on the move! The three month old is close to rolling over but that doesn’t stop her from being mobile. She turns herself in complete circles by kicking her legs and last week she opened the DVD player with her feet. The thirteen month old is walking more confidently and becoming more independent by the day. I talked with his mom on the phone earlier while she was preparing dinner and our conversation was sprinkled with “come back here please!” For one who very recently didn’t want her out of his sight, he’s quick to roam. There are just so many things to explore now that he’s independently mobile.
Jacob was on the run, and much like my one year old grandson, he was full of himself. His father, Isaac, sent him off to his mother’s homeland to choose a wife while in truth, he was escaping the wrath of his brother, Esau. Chosen by God before his birth to inherit the covenant promise made to Abraham, Jacob earned his name which translates as both grabber and deceiver. (Genesis 27:36) His head was surely full of imaginings as he stopped to rest for the night. What if he was followed? Would he be received by his mother’s people, and would he even want what he found there?
“As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven.
And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.”
Genesis 28:12, 16-17, 19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.28.12-19.NLT
Years later, Jacob returned home, following the same road. When he stopped for the night, he was not alone. His entire family and all of his worldly possessions accompanied him. This time, he was not dreaming as he wrestled a very real adversary in the night, one capable of leaving him with a limp and changing his name.
“As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him.
When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!”
So he named the place Mahanaim.”
Genesis 32:1-2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.32.1-2.NLT
Mahanaim, means “two camps.” Commentaries seem to agree that he gave it this name because it was the place where he split his party into two camps before meeting his brother, Esau, reasoning that if one party was attacked, the other might survive. The way I read it, the name is given in the narrative the moment the angels of God appear to him and before his decision to divide the family. At first glance, it’s as if he’s saying, “I thought Bethel was the house of God and the gateway to heaven, yet here is another place where God dwells. God has two camps.
Jacob still had a great deal to learn about omnipresent God! Throughout the Old Testament narrative, God reveals His presence most notably in tangible ways in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22), at Shiloh (I Samuel 3:21, Psalm 78:60), and in Jerusalem (II Chronicles5:14). He also speaks with Abraham (Genesis 18:1) and Moses (Exodus 33:11) face to face.
“Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.””
Genesis 32:30 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.32.30.NLT
Jesus spent the better part of three years with his disciples preparing them to carry the good news throughout the earth. As His time with them neared its end, He told them that His Father’s gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would be superior to His own presence with them.
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come.
If I do go away, then I will send him to you.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future.”
John 16:7, 13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.16.7-13.NLT
Hear! Hear!
Hearken! Listen! The King James Version uses this word literally hundreds of times in both the Old and New Testaments. Do a quick search in your favorite Bible app. All who encountered the voice of God either did or did not listen. They hearkened or they hearkened not. In Old English, the repetition of the words “hear, hear” was used to call attention to someone speaking or to communicate assent or strong agreement with what was being said.
“One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.
You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’
For the Kingdom of God is already among you.””
Luke 17:20-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.17.20-21.NLT
““And you will hear reports from some, saying,
‘Look, he has returned,’
‘The Messiah is over here,’ or ‘The Messiah is over there!’
Don’t believe it.
For there will be imposters falsely claiming to be God’s ‘Anointed One,’ and false prophets will arise to perform miracle signs to lead astray, if possible, those God has chosen to be his.
Remember this, for I prophesy it will happen!
So if someone says to you, ‘Look, the Anointed One has returned! He’s in the desert,’ don’t go chasing after him.
Or if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s here in our house,’ don’t believe it.
The appearing of the Son of Man will burst forth with the brightness of lightning shining from the eastern sky to the west.”
Matthew 24:23-27 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/mat.24.23-27.TPT
“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.””
Matthew 18:20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.18.20.NLT
God is here. Though His manifest presence came and went during Old Testament times, empowering the patriarchs, judges, prophets, and kings, and remained with Jesus in His humanity, God is as He was at Creation,(Genesis 1:2, John 1:1-2) without beginning or end. He is both beginning and end; ever-present. (Revelation 22:13)
“God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’””
Exodus 3:14 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/exo.3.14.MSG
“If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 NIV
“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
John 14:20 NIV
Christ in you, the hope of glory! (Colossians 1:27)
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