Jacob Sees the Face of God AGAIN

     Jacob has kept moving toward the one he had offended. He has placed his family in as much a place of safety as he can. Now, the moment arrives. He is face to face with Esau. How was he received by the offended? Esau, the potential murderer, had come to fully welcome his brother. Upon this reception Jacob wept. It is good at this point to see some tender feeling manifested in Jacob. The Father had definitely been working on his emotions and his guilt little by little. And, sure, Jacob was still Jacob, but definitely a softer, more gentle man. Jacob the natural man did every thing he could to humble himself before Esau even to the point of bowing seven times. How surprised do you think Jacob was when he got that hug?
     In Matthew 18, Jesus describes in detail how one of his followers should handle the difficulty of having offended someone. It is our natural inclination to avoid such an encounter fearing a terrible outcome. We, like Jacob, feel "I have seen thy face as though I have seen the face of God." Truly God is in these times--we are fearful of approaching the offended, but fearful of God in not doing so. It is a beautiful thing when the offended receives well and accepts our difficulties and fears in taking this action. Jacob and Esau were the issue of the same parents, both had come from their mother's body. As Christians, it is especially important for us to remember that we are all a part of the Body of Christ. We must examine our actions to see if they have led to offenses and handle them face to face as Jesus said knowing that the face of God is importantly present at these times. The body of Christ is not to be rendered asunder and left to languish according to God. The miracle of forgiveness with all its' inherent healing should, indeed must, be allowed to work.  

Bibledoor ajar supports Aloneness with God for true transformation

" We purchase books on how to get transformation. We invite speakers, invent programs and make noise as the prophets of Baal did to get God's attention. Perhaps at best we get a splash of what we are looking for, for a day or two. But on the following prayer meeting, we often look in vain for just one of the new converts who were at the altar last Sunday. Too often once again we are forced to say with Jeremiah: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jer. 8:20). Enduring transformation seldom occurs unless a man has a personal, private, protracted encounter with his God on a regular basis."

                          Reimar Schultze

God knew that Jacob needed a real breakthrough and understanding of the blessings he was being granted by his God in order to face his foremost enemy. Passivity, or especially his natural conniving, would not lead Jacob into the fullness of his inheritance. It is sometimes very difficult to realize how little we speak the truth, how devious and lying we can be to attempt a status in life, even a spiritual one, but these are the very attributes with which the Spirit of Truth has a problem. We all want to be more spiritually assertive in the face of our "enemies" and the enemies of the Kingdom, and we would do well if we could ponder the source of true spiritual ability. May we see what Jacob saw--a renewal of strength and truth that can come only by securing it supernaturally. The last thing Jacob needed was to approach Esau without joyful vigor received from God. Only this vigor would free him from the thoughts of being confined by the strength of Esau.

Jesus had many enemies within and without the religious community while He carried out His ministry. Yet, He resisted the "holy" men and confronted all enemies of God with a joyful vigor stemming from His undeniable relationship with God. Yes, meeting Esau was a challenge for Jacob, but it was a challenge on the road to a greater place. He was not being called to share the glory of Jacob with Esau, but rather the glory of his God. This is what Esau needed to witness. Indeed, this is what the world needs to witness as the enemy tries so hard to destroy our destiny. Try to envision the vertical and horizontal relationships that Jesus prayed for and so wanted the world to see. (The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as you loved me. John 17).