To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Tag: House of God

Seeing God in life’s situations, for God sees you

Genesis 31:4-13 gives account of what Jacob told his wives, Rachel and Leah, after God asked him to leave his uncle and father-in-law, Laban’s house and return to the land of his family to his relatives.

He called Rachel and Leah to the field where he was looking after the flock and told them, “I have noticed that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me.”

He then told them, how hard he had worked for their father, and yet Laban had cheated him by changing his wages, not once but ten times, but God had not allowed Laban to do him any harm. He said, that God had taken what was their fathers and had given it to Jacob, because whatever was agreed upon between Jacob and Laban is what God made to happen, in Jacob’s favor. If the speckled animals of Laban was to be Jacob’s wages, then the whole flock began to produce speckled young and if Laban changed his mind and said, the striped animals will be your wages, the the whole flock produce striped young.

This he said was revealed to Jacob, in a dream, by the angel of God, who called to Jacob and when Jacob responded, “Yes, here I am.”, the angel of God told him to “Look up, and see that the male goats were mating with only the females that were streaked, speckled and spotted”, the produce of which were streaked, speckled or spotted, hence belonging to Jacob and not Laban. Why?, because God had seen how Laban had unfairly treated Jacob.

The angel of God is a theophany of the pre-incarnate Christ, for the angel of God identifies himself as the God who appeared to Jacob in Bethel (meaning House of God), the place where Jacob anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to him. Jacob then told his wives, that God had told him to get ready right away and leave the country that they were in and return to the land of his birth. 

Lessons we can learn from Jacob’s conversation with Rachel and Leah are:
1. God was with him.
2. God did not allow any harm to come to him.
3. God took what was justly his and gave it to him by divinely intervening.
4. God saw his mistreatment.
5. God called him by name and waited for him to respond.
6. God asked him to “Look up and see”

Points to ponder:
God is with his people and will not allow any harm to come to them. God is Just and will restore unto those who have been unfairly treated, for God watches over the affairs of man. God calls his people by name and wants us to respond to him. God wants us to “Look up” and focus on his miracles and provisions, even when life situations may make us downcast. When God calls you, will you respond as Jacob did – “Yes, Here am I.”?

Genesis 31:4-13 (KJV)
And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,
And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.
And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.
11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

Jesus in the OT :: Haggai

The book of Haggai gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

Haggai is probably an abbreviated form of Haggiah which means “Festival of Yahweh”. THe backdrop in this books is that the temple of God is not complete because people’s personal affairs have interfered with God’s business.

The prophet Haggai brings God’s message to first bring priority to the House of God over their personal pursuits. God describes his House as being laid waste (Haggai 1:4,9) and warns through Haggai, that if the people don’t start focusing on God’s house over their own, the fruit of their labor would be futile akin to putting wages in a bags (pockets) with holes in them ( Haggai 1:6).

But as we seek to see Jesus in the book of Haggai, the key verses that surfaces are Haggai 2:7 & 9 which reads
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

Desire of all nations will come (refers to the coming of Jesus Christ – Matthew 1:21) and I will fill this house with glory (Jesus in the temple cleansing it to reveal the glory of God – Matthew 21:12);
The glory of this latter house will be greater than the former, saith the Lord of hosts and In this place will I give peace (the Prince of peace – Isaiah 9:6 & 7) saith the Lord.

In Haggai, Jesus is the desire of all nations. He is not only the cleanser of the temple (our bodies are the temple of the Holy God – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) to restore God’s glory, but He is the in fact the very glory of God within the temple (our bodies that are jars of clay – 2 Cor 4:7). He is the Prince of Peace.

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