SEEING GOD FACE TO FACE.

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*SEEING GOD FACE TO FACE.*

*Scripture Treasure.*

Gen 32:24-32

*And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.*

*And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.*

*And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.*

*And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.*

*And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.*

*And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.*

*And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.*

*And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.*

*Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.*

*Insight and Highlight.*

When the miraculous, such as an encounter beyond any human comprehension comes into your life you have seen nothing and no one, but God.

*Scripture Commentaries.*

Jacob saw God whom God said no one had never seen Him.

In Exd 33:20, He said to Moses "*......Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.*

1 John 4:12, 1 Tim 6:16 all tell us that no one has ever seen God and speaks about the invisibility, immortality and His dwelling in unapproachable light.

John 1:18 tells us that *No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.*

John 4:24 says *God is a Spirit:....."*

So how did Jacob claim in Gen 31:30 *"... I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.* when God had said no one could see Him yet lived?

There are people, though in the flesh, who can be in the image and character of God.

How this is so, can only be explained by God. They are so because they seek Him, know His character through their closeness with Him.

In Numb 12, while God did not say Moses was God, God said when Moses spoke, he spoke as if He had spoken. He said when Moses spoke, he must be revered and accorded respect because of his intimacy with Him. He had a unique role and position with Him not common to everyone, Numb 12:5. There is none faithful as Moses was before God, Numb 12:7.

He is accorded as the only mortal to

behold "the back parts" of God. This is understood as seeing the "form of God" (Exodus 33:20-23), and this was a unique privilege, not common to anybody. He was privileged to have direct communication/revelation with Him, saw His form so he was not worthy of anyone's rebuke.

In Numb 12:8, He said about Moses *With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold:*

He further said that anyone who spoke to Moses must be careful not to speak to him anyhow and must be afraid to speak to him anyhow. He said to Aaron and Mariam *".....wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?* Numb 12:1-10

In Gen 18, the Lord appeared to Abraham at the *".....plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;*

However, when he *".....lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,*

He saw men whom he referred to as *".....My Lord,..."* offering them *"..... a little water,....."* to wash their feet and rest themselves under the tree..."*

*"......morsel of bread,.....to comfort their hearts;....."*

He made *".....ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth."*

He *".....ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it."*, Gen 18:1-8.

Abraham's treat to these men signified the presence of divine beings in mortal bodies who could eat flesh.

Abraham as a friend of God knew God does not eat flesh, Ps 50:10-12 but here are men who are in the image and character of God manifested as the Lord God.

When you experience a supernatural, an extraordinary act of God that is beyond any human understanding you can say or it is permissible to say 'I have seen God'.

There is no better way God manifests Himself to us other than doing the extraordinary or how can we explain a miracle of someone who has been dead for four days stinking already, or a blind man made to see, or a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years that suddenly stopped and we refuse to say 'we have not seen God'?

John tells us we are able to see God through Jesus.

John's revelation of Jesus and God's endorsement of Moses do teach us that we can actually see God through people who are truly close and in sincere fellowship with Him.

Nicodemus said *"..... for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."* John 3:2.

Jacob's encounter with the Man was recorded as an encounter/wrestling with God.

Hosea 12:3 says *He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God*

Jacob's encounter was too heavenly for him not to conclude he had seen God.

God is true to His word that no one can see Him yet live but He has chosen to allow us to see Him in visions, through the works of His hands and these are often symbolic of His majesty, rather than seeing His actual, invisible essence. 

*Remorse corner.*

Though we can not see God, we can see Him through the works of His hands, Psalm 8, 19:1, 104, 143.

*Call to Word action.*

Though people did not see God in His unveiled essence but people claimed to see Him in symbolic divine visions or appearances (Isaiah 6:1, Ezk 1)

*The Christian clarion duty.*

God allows us to see Him when He appears in a form or manifestation that we can perceive or see Him without perishing.

*Prayer.*

Lord, let me see You at work in my life in Jesus name.

Good morning all and have a blessed day today.

God bless you.

Shalom.