The Prophetic Word - Day 183: You must come to know the God of the House of God.

“Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭35‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

For many years I have used a lighted magnifying mirror to look at when I “fix” my face.

Many years ago I began to notice that when I would try a new face product, I ended up looking worse than I had before I started the new regime.

Now, when this phenomenon happened for about the third time, I began to wonder what was really going on.

When I realized the truth explaining my conundrum, I had to laugh at myself.

You see, an intervening variable (something that changed of which I was not aware) was actually the cause of this “looking-worse-after-treatment” phenomenon I was observing.

I finally realized that after a few days of trying a new product, I would always wipe all the dust off the mirror to get a “good look” at my progress.

What I wasn’t taking into account was the “soft focus” effect the dust layer was providing. In other words, I looked worse than what I was seeing. I was not aware of the fact that when I wiped off the dust, what I was seeing in the mirror, was now me without the “soft focus.” So, the comparison of the image I was seeing on the dustless mirror, was certainly not an improvement of what I had been seeing through the soft-focus effect of the dusty mirror.

Did you follow all of that?

Is this a lesson on makeup application?

Obviously, you know I am employing a metaphor. In this case, the dusty mirror is illustrative of how we can be deceived in terms of the state of our soul.

You see, life happens. And, all we go through, leaves a “residue” that can serve to obscure the areas of our lives desperately needing purification.

“Ephraim mixes himself with the [Gentile] nations [seeking favor with one country, then another]; Ephraim is a cake not turned [worthless; ready to be thrown away]. Strangers have devoured his strength, Yet he does not know it; Gray hairs are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here, God is speaking of the sad state of His people. They don’t know how bad off they are because they have become “mingled.” They were no longer comparing themselves to God’s standards. Rather, they have become like—and compare themselves with—the Godless nations with whom they fraternized.

“Ephraim” needed to return to the Lord and get the “dust” wiped off the mirror in which he assessed himself.

In our opening scripture we see that the Lord instructs Jacob to go back to Bethel, back to the place where he was first personally introduced to the God of his fathers. It was the place where the God of Abraham and Isaac had become the God of Jacob.

This time, Jacob would go back and come to know the God of the House of God. But first, he would lay aside all the accumulated “residue” of the ways of the heathen nations among whom he and his family had been living. Now, God would no longer be just an “experience.” God would become a Person Who is truly known.

You see, the same residue that obscures where we stand in terms of God’s will for us, also obscures God’s “face” from us so that we cannot see Him clearly.

Over the last several days we have looked at our spiritual journey through the lens of Jacob’s adventures with God.

In our brief journey with Jacob, we have watched as he went from an “operator,” to become the prince of God (Israel) through which the blessing would continue to flow that would bring the ultimate Blessing: the Lord Jesus Christ.

What we must garner from considering Jacob’s progression is that spiritual development is indeed a journey, a progressive journey through which we come to know God personally, and commit to Him completely.

Remember, if we are to become full grown sons of God, operating in His power, and pursued by His blessings, we must stay the course.

And, finally (for now), when we find ourselves falling away from our own steadfastness, we must be quick to lay aside the residue of the world and make a beeline back to Bethel.

Peace to you.

Jesus is Coming! Get ready for Him!

#ThePropheticWord