JESUS SAW HIMSELF IN GENESIS About Peniel To Know: ³So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacobıs hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak.ı But Jacob replied, I will not let you go unless you bless me.ı The man asked him, What is your name?ı Jacob,ı he answered. Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.ı Jacob said, Please tell me your name.ı But he replied, Why do you ask my name?ı Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.ı² (Gen. 32:24-30) At the ford of the river Jabbok, God met Jacob. This is one of the great chapters of the Bible. For the third time, Jacob is in direct communication with God. When Jacob left for his uncle Laban in order to find a wife, he was supremely confident of his own ability. He made elaborate plans to pacify Esau in order to return home safely. On the night before meeting Esau, Jacob met with God. On this night, God transformed an independent, self-confident man into a prince. In the night, God met with Jacob in the form of a man. A wrestling match ensued and continued until daybreak. Jacobıs will was invincible. Unless he was set free to will the will of God, the promise of God to Abraham would end in his grandson. When it was apparent that Jacobıs strength made him weak in faith, the wrestler touched the socket of Jacobıs hip so that his hip was wrenched forcing him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Jacob was being Jacob when he refused the manıs order to release him saying, ³I will not let you go unless you bless me.² God doesnıt bless our natural strength. Now that Jacob was infirmed, his name was changed to Israel. Israel has survived to this day. Israel gave the world its savior. The Christian Church is the true Israel of God. For many years our family spend one week each summer at the Peniel Bible Conference. As a mark of identification, the conference called its insight regarding being ³in Christ² the Peniel distinctive. In Christ, expresses a face to face relationship. 020110$-020110 <{{{{{{>< Other posts:
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• About Edom • About God's promise to Abraham • About justice • About change • About Peniel • About God's work in Jesus • About Jacob's ladder • About God's demonstration of love for us • About the mystery of the faith • About God in the flesh |