"This world is not my home, I'm just a passing thru.
My treasures are laid up some where beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door.
They're all expecting me and that's one thing I know, My
Savior pardoned me and now I onward go...
O Lord, You know I have no friend like You, If heaven's not
my home then Lord what will I do. The angels beckon me from
heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore."
A traditional Spiritual
As we have seen, God never intended for Jacob to finish his journey in Shechem. It was not that God did not have the power to sustain Jacob in Shechem for indeed He did. His power and might saw him through many an episode there. But the place where Jacob was to end had to be a holy place. In verse 5 of the chaper (Gen. 31) we learn that Jacob and his family journeyed. The discipline of God that gently brought Jacob to realize he must move on toward a more holy place happened in Shechem. It was not that Jacob stopped believing that God was the God of Israel in Shechem, for indeed he called it El-Elohe-Israel. God was his in Shechem, but in holy Belthel, He was God of His House. His kingdom embraces all aspects of life: spiritual as well as temporal. God was after a corporate house, not just the obedience of the one man Jacob. From all Jacob's family would Israel spring. Jacob AND his household had to see and participate in the Holy who was building a kingdom. The Holy One's work was not isolated, nor was it hit and miss.
In a Christmas scene, we see hundreds journeying to Bethlehem, the "house of bread". Each Jew was to go to the holy place as required by authority. Among them was Mary and Joseph. They journeyed while Mary was experiencing the advanced stages of pregnancy. They had an idea of the glory of God, but they were about to really see the fullness of God's glory. For there in humble surroundings His Son was made flesh. What a finish to a journey!
I remember visiting the church in Israel built at the place where Jesus was supposed to have been born. The place was in a cave in the rear of the church. As I approached the place, I realized that I would not be able to complete the journey, unless I bowed low to enter the opening. Ever God, it was as if he was telling me, the journey calls for humility; the journey calls for you to allow Me to guide you. At this time when we honor the birth of the Son and think of the glory of it all, it is a good time to make sure we are bowed low and trusting God for help in completing our journey both as an individual and as a part of His eternal family.
About Me
- Rebecca Pruet
- I am a retired VA employee who lives in Texas. I consider the characters of the Bible "family" as much as any I know or have known on earth. To be one of the Lord's beloved is the greatest thing I know. What good company!
Monday, December 9, 2013
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Inspiring as well as encouraging! Thanks friend!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless You and yours on the journey!
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