Let us come before His presence... We are coming before The King, and we should give Him His place "in the midst of us".
Esther 6:8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: {Let…: Heb. Let them bring the royal apparel} {which the king…: Heb. wherewith the king clotheth himself} 9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. {bring…: Heb. cause him to ride} When we talk of 'the man whom the king delighteth to honour', that 'man' is Christ, but The LORD desires that 'the man' would be us also ... the King's most noble princes – spiritual Israel, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: {in: or, among} 'Israel' was the name the LORD gave to Jacob. 'Jacob' means 'supplanter' (one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another) , but when he had a change of name – and nature, and thus Jacob 'the Supplanter' became Israel 'the prince of God'... and the prince is the son of the king. It is another way of saying Christ in you, the hope of glory. By accepting Christ we undergo a change of nature, but it is not something that we are capable of doing. Only The LORD can change the nature, and it is a battle ... because we will fight Him every step of the way ... do we not? Just like Jacob did. Only by wrestling with 'a man' did Jacob 'come before His presence'. We simply cannot come before, see, hear or feel His presence without being changed first. Changed to be more like Him. Here is the story in Genesis 32: 22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. {Jabbok: Heb.emptying} 23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. {sent them: Heb. caused to pass} 24 ¶ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. {breaking … Heb. ascending of the morning} Note that Jacob passed over the ford Jabbok, which means 'emptying'. A necessary preparation for any encounter with God. We have to empty ourselves of any of the baggage that we haul around with us. In that well-known hymn, 'Just as I am', we are not singing to God to take us warts and all, but as we are without all that clobber, stripped back to the barest we are, so that we are as God created us, just as 'I am that I am' needs us to be to come into His presence. Jacob was left alone. We each of us must also be alone when we wrestle with 'a man' over who is to have control over this vessel. Is it to be ourselves...or God? 25 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. The hollow of his thigh, his 'loins', represents his power, his right to himself... 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 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. {Israel: that is, A prince of God} 29 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. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. {Peniel: that is, The face of God} His life was preserved because He saw God face to face. Peniel means 'the face of God', and the peni part comes from the same Hebrew word that is often translated as 'presence'. The el at the end is one of the names for God, and you can see that in many Hebrew names – Daniel; Ezekiel and so on. But we can see now the connection. By coming face to face with God we are coming before the very presence of God and our lives are preserved. We are delivered, rescued... saved! We have been drawn out of our death into the life of Christ. |
MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS…Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Archives
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GEORGE and GILL STEWART |