{"id":685,"date":"2024-12-14T17:33:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T23:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/?p=685"},"modified":"2025-01-18T17:14:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T23:14:41","slug":"8-wrestling-with-the-face-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/2024\/12\/14\/8-wrestling-with-the-face-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"8 – Wrestling with the Face of God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_heading title=”Wrestling with the Face of God” _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ title_font=”Georgia|700|on||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”42px”][\/et_pb_heading][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/h4you.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/83C29101-56C3-478F-981E-1ADAEC291A4D.png” _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”83C29101-56C3-478F-981E-1ADAEC291A4D” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_margin=”-40px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

By Terance Clark \u00a0 \u00a0 December 14, 2024 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a08 Minute Read<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

Week 8 <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This Weeks Passage: Genesis 32:4 – 36:43<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Parasha Name: Vayishlach (Definition – And He Sent)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The scriptures testify, “be sure your sin will find you out”.\u00a0 I’ve learned something in life, not because the scripture says it, but because I’ve experienced it.\u00a0 There will always be a price for the wrongs committed.\u00a0 Always!\u00a0 Many times we don’t even realize that what we are experiencing over here is the result of what we did over there.<\/span><\/p>\n

This week Jacob finally has to confront his brother Esau after twenty-two years.\u00a0 Dig in with me, because this story is one of the best in scripture and there are some mysteriously hidden phrases that crack open the meaning behind the meaning and allows us to see what God was not only doing with Jacob, but what He does with us.\u00a0 This story is not just about reconciliation, that is a secondary piece, this story is about not just discovering, but accepting who God has made you to be and choosing to accept his purpose for your life.\u00a0 Okay, I’m way ahead of myself.\u00a0 Let’s look at the story.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

“This story is not just about reconciliation, <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

that is a secondary piece.”<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

A Mysterious Encounter<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jacob finally heads home and sends a message to his brother that he is coming, hence the name “And he sent”.\u00a0 The messenger returns to let him know that Esau is coming with four-hundred of his men.\u00a0 Scripture says that Jacob was afraid and distressed.\u00a0 You think!\u00a0 After all these years his brother hadn’t forgot that his last words were I am going to kill him.\u00a0 There is a lot to unpack here as Jacob has no idea what this means, so he prepares for every scenario possible just in case.\u00a0 He divides the camp in two and prepares gifts to give his brother.\u00a0 He separates the family and then he positions himself on the other side of the river.\u00a0 Jewish legend says Jacob had planned to make a run for it except he got into a fight.\u00a0 The bible says he wrestled with a man until daybreak, but there is more to the story, there has to be.\u00a0 The prophet Hosea said it was an angel that he wrestled, but Jacob himself said it was God (32:30).\u00a0 How do we make sense of it and why did it happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

This encounter might be the most baffling and mystifying in scripture because there is little information given.\u00a0 We don’t know the location or the person or why.\u00a0 This encounter happens deep in the night and it seems to take the entire night, but there are some key words and phrases that Jacob uses that sheds some light and the outcome which was a new name given to him is a clear ending.\u00a0 So, let’s try to understand the deep meaning behind the secrecy and the message that you and I can take away from the encounter.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

When We Wrestle with the Faces of God<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s work our way backward from the end to see the story differently.\u00a0 When Esau arrives none of the things Jacob feared occurred.\u00a0 Esau runs to him, throws his arms around him, and kisses him and weeps.\u00a0 Okay, didn’t see that coming.\u00a0 Jacob bows down seven times prostrating himself before Esau, then each member of his family does the same.\u00a0 Five times Jacob calls Esau “my lord”, twice he calls himself Esau’s servant (four times in the previous chapter).\u00a0 But Jacob lavishes all these gifts upon his brother and his brother refuses the gifts saying “I have plenty”.\u00a0 The key is in Jacobs response.\u00a0 Jacob says to Esau, If I have found favor in your eyes accept this gift, for to see your face is like seeing the face of God.\u00a0 This should ring the first bell for us and there is more.\u00a0 He then says to Esau, please accept and in most translations it say “my present” but the true translation is “my blessing” for God has been gracious to me and I have everything.\u00a0 Jacob is giving the blessing that he took back to Esau.\u00a0 Wow, I didn’t see that coming.\u00a0 There are a number of play on words in this passage.\u00a0 More than we can cover in this short message, so I will try to sum up the best part for us.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

“Once we stop striving with ourselves, <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

we will find others will stop striving with us as well.”<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” custom_margin=”-25px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

The Hebrew word Panim means face. Unfortunately the translations fail to convey the real message Jacob was making.\u00a0 Verse 20 in the second part should read “for he thought, I will wipe his face with the gift that goes ahead of my face; afterward , when I see his face perhaps he will lift up my face”.\u00a0 There is a lot of talk about face after Jacobs encounter with the face of God.\u00a0 Remember, he names the place “Peniel – face of God” because he saw God face to face and his life was spared.\u00a0 This encounter caused God to change his name to Israel which means “wrestled with God and men and has overcome”.<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe the scripture is vague about the man Jacob wrestled with because he wrestled with more than one man.\u00a0 It was God, but he had the face of Jacob and the face of Esau and the face of God and who knows maybe the faces of others as well.\u00a0 God has a way of making us look at the faces of those we need to see, while recognizing what we really need to see within our own face.\u00a0 The problem was Jacob didn’t know who he was, he had always wanted to be his older brother Esau and so he spent a lot of time trying to take the things that Esau had or would receive.\u00a0 It’s hard trying to be someone else, and Jacob spent a lot of time wrestling with his problem, but on that night he finally came face to face with the real issue and recognized that he no longer needed to be someone else.\u00a0 He finally accepted who he was and he also accepted the real blessing that had been given to him.\u00a0 Once he did that he realized he had everything he needed.\u00a0 Once we stop striving with ourselves we will find others will stop striving with us as well.\u00a0 Jacob could truly give his brother back the blessing he stole and yet keep the true blessing God had given him, which was much bigger than wealth and power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” inline_fonts=”Georgia” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

What Do You Need to be Happy<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

How about you?\u00a0 Do you know who you are, or are you seeking after what others possess?\u00a0 Striving to be seen or known, or are you looking for respect, wealth or power in all the wrong places.\u00a0 The depths to this story reach far beyond my coverage, but if we can take one thing away we should learn that Jacob was never at peace until he stopped pursuing things that he didn’t need.\u00a0 God always provides us with what we need and it will always be enough and when we fail to recognize it only a wrestling match with His face will help us!<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Terance Clark \u00a0 \u00a0 December 14, 2024 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a08 Minute ReadWeek 8 This Weeks Passage: Genesis 32:4 – 36:43 Parasha Name: Vayishlach (Definition – And He Sent) The scriptures testify, “be sure your sin will find you out”.\u00a0 I’ve learned something in life, not because the scripture says it, but because I’ve experienced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":703,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions\/703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}