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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – Jacob The Angel Wrestler Part #5

Posted on April 19, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

Jacob safely arrives in Shechem Gen. 33:18 which is in the land of Canaan, ‘The Promised Land.’ There he erects an altar and calls it, “El-elohe-Israel,” ‘To the God of the God of Israel.’ Now Jehovah, Elohim, El Shaddai is no longer just the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, He is the God of Jacob! He is the personal God of Israel, the ‘Prince with God!’ Since the Peniel River experience where he met God face to face and God changed his name from Jacob to Israel and he found favor in the eyes of the LORD and in the eyes of Esau, Gen. 33:4. Remember it wasn’t the gift that softened Esau’s heart, although it may have helped, it was the all-night prayer meeting on the Jabbok River that changed the Isaac brothers for life. Now Jacob becomes an altar builder like his ancestors before him and builds one in Gen. 33:20. Notice in v.18 he pitched his tent and in v.20 he built an altar, sound familiar? Just like his grandfather, everywhere Abraham had a tent, God had an altar! Prayer, Worship, Sacrifice, the necessary components of an altar to the God of Israel, “I love it!” No longer is he dependent on man, but on God. Shechem is the same place Abraham stopped on his way to the ‘Promised Land’ in Gen. 12:6 and he also built an altar there. The word Shechem means neck, shoulders, place of burden and comes into play quite a bit in the Older Testament. It is a good place to rest after the long, hot journey through the desert but Jacob camped and settled there, ouch!

He pitched his tent, he built his altar, he bought some property, and he unknowingly sold his daughter! Be careful about camping outside the city gates, your children will be infected, not affected, infected like Lot’s. You may have the power and strength to resist the temptation but they may not, and his sons Levi and Simeon slew all the men of Shechem and took their sister Dinah out of Shechem’s house. However, the point of this chapter is prayer and that God obviously became very personal to Jacob on the bank of that river and he began to build altars to ‘El-Elohe-Israel.’ El means strength or might, especially the Almighty, All Powerful One; Elohe is the singular form of Elohim which is the personal name for God; and Israel is two words, El being the name for Almighty God again and the first part meaning to prevail or to have power as a prince. So, Jacob built an altar and prayed to, “El-The Almighty One, Elohe-The God of, Isra/el, The Prince with God or God’s Prince” or “To the God, The Almighty God of Israel.”

“Then God said to Jacob, Arise, go to Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto you when you fled from the face of Esau, your brother.” Gen. 35:1. That’s where he started when he fled to Paddanaram over 20 years earlier. He makes a full circle, back to Bethel, and back to the ‘House of God.’ God always brings us back to the starting place, back to the point, place or person we ran from. Jacob tells his family and his household to put away their foreign gods, their earrings, change their clothes, and purify themselves for they are going to worship the true God in Bethel. There Jacob builds a second altar ‘El-Bethel’ or “To the God of the house of God.” God was a personal God to Jacob since the river of Peniel and remember an altar must have three things, ‘Sacrifice – Worship – Prayer.’ What a time of communion and reunion this must have been for Jacob and Jehovah! This is actually the first recorded ‘Revival’ we have in the Scriptures and it has all the earmarks of a revival; it is preceded by gross iniquity, it’s initiated by a word from God, there’s a forsaking of all that is displeasing to God, followed by obedience to God’s will and word, God’s past blessings are remembered, it’s accompanied by a new revelation of God’s character, God’s promises are renewed, a higher spiritual life is sought and given, and many commit their lives to the LORD’s service and are protected and provided for.

Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse dies and is buried and they mourn for her, Gen. 35:8. She must have been with Jacob, although no mention is ever made of his mother. His name is officially changed to Israel, by God in v.10 and God speaks to him and blesses him as El Shaddai in v.11 and confirms the Abrahamic covenant which God also gave to his father Isaac, “Be fruitful and multiply, a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee and kings shall come out of thy loins, and the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him…” Just like He did from Abraham. Then Israel sets up a pillar/altar and pours oil and wine on it and called the place, “Bethel – God’s House” and since our Lord called God’s house ‘The House of Prayer’ we have those three elements of an altar: Sacrifice, v.14; Worship, v.2-3; Prayer, 7. 7, 13-14; What an experience, God is fine tuning this heel-catcher, this conniver, this sly businessman; Oh, he could make the speckled bear striped and the striped bear speckled and turn two shekels into four like magic, but could he get his children to follow his God, or his wives to stop fighting like cocks?

Deborah dies in v.8, Rachel dies giving birth in v.19, Isaac dies in v.29, there is a lot of mourning and prayer in this chapter. Jacob sets up a pillar on Rachel’s grave v.20 and mourns, the heartache he must have felt, when it rains it pours. Two of his sons kill all the males in Shechem and Dinah his daughter is raped in Gen. 34, and Reuben commits adultery with Bilhah one of his concubines, Wow! How much can a frail human being take? What could have prepared him for all of this? Paddanaram, Laban’s labor camp, Galeed/Mizpah; No, the Peniel experience, where he met God face to face, where the God of Abraham and Isaac became the God of Jacob or Israel, ‘El Elohe Israel’ his personal God and Jacob became became a ‘Prince with God’ “Israel.” He knew how to wrestle with men in business, how to make a shekel or two and always come out on top, but there on the river bank, alone, scared, in the night, desperate, and destitute he learned how to wrestle with God in prayer and to give God His way and let Him come out on top! He learned how to commune, how to trust, how to hang onto God, how to wrestle, how to pray like his life depended on it because it did! What has happened to that tenacity in our prayer lives? Why don’t we pray through any more or have prayer vigils or pray and fast; instead we have a moment of prayer, or we mention you in prayer, or we bring you up in prayer, or put you on a prayer list. Jesus said, “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.” Mark 11:17 & Isa. 56:7. Then why is there so little importance put on it in our churches today? “…Between The Lines…”

“Father, help us, prepare us for what the future holds; We are desperate and destitute like Jacob and scared; Teach us to pray, to wrestle, to hold on until You bless us; and as tribulations come our way and we know they will come, may we cling closer to You and hold on tighter and not let go until You bless us.” In ha shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” – Jacob the Angel Wrestler – Part #5

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Jacob The Angel Wrestler – Part 4’

Posted on April 13, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

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I should have entitled this, “Wrestling In Prayer” Gen. 32:13ff.. Jacob sends a gift to his distraught brother Esau, 550 animals, a gift to appease his enemy and the bigger the better! There is a principle ‘…Between The Lines…” here for us if we look carefully and it works. You can’t dislike or hate someone you are doing a kind deed for and it’s hard to dislike or hate someone who is doing a kind deed for you. However, in v.24 Ya’akov/Jacob the heel catcher, the supplanter, the conniver, the swindler was left alone. His family is gone, his possessions are gone, his servants are gone, his protection is gone, and the verse says, “And Jacob was left alone;” Have you ever been alone with God? Just you and God, in a cabin with a Bible, a blanket, a canteen and maybe a Strong’s concordance for a pillar? That could change your life forever and those in your inner circle, trust me!

Anyway, it says, “And there wrestled a man with him until, the breaking of the day.” All night he wrestled with this ‘Man of God’ and the angel did not prevail, Jacob was wrestling for his life and those of his family also. This ‘Man of God’ did not prevail against Jacob and the sun was coming up, I guess Jacob had him in an angel-lock, so he dislocated Jacob’s thigh and he still wouldn’t let go and said, “I will not let you go except you bless me.” Praise God! Now, that my friend is persistent, desperate, sacred praying, Jacob is destitute. In Gen. 32:28 Jacob gets a new name, ‘Israel, Prince with God’ because as a prince he struggled with man and with God and has prevailed, Wow! Can men say that about you, can they? Have you struggled with men and with God and have you prevailed with both? Do you bear the marks, do you walk with a limp? Read II Cor. 11:23-33 and 12:1-10 and tell me if Paul bore the marks, struggled with men and with God and prevailed? Tell me if he fought a good fight, kept the faith, finished his course? If you think a vibrant, effectual prayer life is easy, read on…….

The word wrestled is the Hebrew word (abaq) and means to float away as a vapor, to be dust, to grapple, to be light dust particles, the idea is one of fierce wrestling, being ground into powder; this is the only place this word appears in the Older Testament. In Gen. 30:8 Rachel wrestles with Leah (patal) to twine or struggle. There a different word and meaning is used altogether, then you have in Gen. 32:24. Here the struggling is intense, in the dirt, dust is flying, grinding each other into powder, this wrestling match is so fierce bones are dislocated, and no one is yelling, uncle. Wow! What a beautiful picture of persistence in prayer, of not letting go until God blesses you, hanging on tenaciously until death or blessing! “Persevering in Prayer!” In Luke 11:5-10, Yeshua/Jesus tells us about ‘Importunity in Prayer’ with the parable of the, ‘Persistent Friend’ and again in Luke 18:1-8 with the, ‘Woman and The Judge.’ Importunity means to request or beg for urgently, to be persistent in a request or demand, to be troublesomely urgent. Jacob is troublesomely urgent, Esau is coming to kill him and his family with 400 warriors. He’s scared, desperate and destitute, just where God wanted him.

He is at his wits end, or in ‘Wits end corner’ have you ever been there? He is wrestling, not with Abraham’s God, and not with Isaac’s God, he is wrestling with the God of Jacob, the God of Israel, you will see that in Gen. 32:20 when he builds an altar to ‘El-elohe-Israel’ “To the God of the God of Israel.” But here he meets God ‘face to face’ and names the place, ‘Peniel’ which means, “The Face of God.” Have you wrestled with God all night in the dust lately? Do you have your ‘Peniel?’ Yes, Jacob was a scoundrel, and a conniver but he had his Water-loo on the Jabbok River and he received a new name, ‘Israel – Prince with God’ (He will rule as God). This is the first time Israel is used in the Bible. Oh that we might have our own Waterloo with God, our own Jabbok River and have it soon. I wish that every one of us could wrestle (abaq) all night for a blessing from God and cry out in the night, “I won’t let You go unless You bless me!” Then get up limping, just how desperate are you? Peniel, “The face of God,” east of the Jabbok River, he has not entered the Promised Land yet, and before he does he must meet God face to face. If he is to become the nation of Israel and rule as God would have him, he must know Him personally. Gen. 32:31, “As he passed over the Peniel the sun rose upon him and he halted/limped upon his thigh.” Just as he crosses the river, the sun rises on him, the dawn breaks, and he limps into the Promised Land ready to meet his brother, broken and humble, but a ‘Prince with God.’ What a change, what a transformation a night of prayer can make in our lives but more importantly in the lives of others in our inner circle.

Gen. 33:1, “And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and ‘Behold Esau’ came and with him 400 men.” The moment he crossed the Jabbok River he faced his greatest fear. Prayer doesn’t always remove our fears, it gives us the strength many times to face them head on and God is always with us in the midst of them, Isa. 43:1-7. Here comes Jacob’s greatest fear, “ESAU,” Gen. 33:4, “And Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept.” Oh my, I bet Jacob was not expecting that reception. Esau set out to kill him, not to kiss him, you don’t take 400 warriors to a kissing party. What changed Esau’s heart? The 550 animals, seeing all the women and children, his limping, humble brother bowing seven times; I believe the same angel, “The Angel of The LORD,” that touched Jacob’s thigh that night while wrestling in prayer, touched Esau’s heart while wrestling in sleep. Not to belittle the gift to the offended party and the bigger the better, but your prayers many times will do as much, if not more to soften the heart of the offended party to the touch of the Master’s hand than anything else. In fact 25 years later, Jacob and Esau together bury their father Isaac who is 180 years old in Gen. 35:29 in the cave of Machpelah with Rebekah their mother. That prayer on the Jabbok River is still working 25 years later or was it the gift of 550 animals? One thing for sure, Jacob was still limping on that hip…..! “…Between The Lines…”

“Oh LORD, may we have our Peniel and may we have it soon. We want to wrestle with You or Your Angel and prevail. May we know both the ‘Presence’ of Your almighty power and the ‘Power’ of Your almighty presence in a new and personal way like Jacob.” In ha Shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer In Genesis” ‘Jacob the Angel Wrestler Part #4’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Jacob The Angel-Wrestler-3

Posted on April 7, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

I could have entitled this, “The Prayer of Fear!” In Gen. 31:1 Jacob is scared and in fear for his life and his family’s and that seems to be the only time he prays. In chapter 28 he is afraid and running from Esau when he runs into God at Bethel, here he is running from Laban’s sons when he is reminded of his vision at Bethel and his vow and he ends up running into Esau again in Gen. 32. Question, do you pray when you are scared? David did, Daniel did and Paul did. It is not wrong to pray due to fear, in fact it is very natural and normal. Many avowed atheists pray just before they die due to, ‘the core of man’s existence’ which is “the fear of death.” Heb. 2:15, and this is their prayer, “Oh God!” But it’s too late for them. No, there is no problem with praying when you are in fear. You do have a problem though if that seems to be the only time you pray!

In Gen. 31:3, the LORD tells Jacob to return to the ‘Promised Land.’ Twenty years have passed since Jacob was in intimate communion with the LORD. Remember, this is not the LORD’s trip, it’s Rebekah’s. In v.11 the ‘Angel of the Lord’ appears to Jacob, the ‘God of Bethel’ so he takes off for Canaan. Notice God speaks to Jacob through dreams and visions not through His word or Jacob’s prayer life. However, there were not to many versions on the market at that time, just the originals, even the KJV wasn’t out yet, but we are without excuse today, Amen? God usually had to speak to people in dreams and visions who don’t or won’t speak to Him in prayer. Like the unbelievers, the hardhearted, the Labans, the Jacobs, the Pilates, etc. However, not all dreams and visions were to the hardhearted and unbelievers because you have the Josephs, Daniels, Ezekiels, and Pauls, etc. If dreams and visions make you uncomfortable lets call them (DMI’s) for “Dynamic Mental Impressions.” Feel better now?

In Gen. 31:44, a covenant is made or cut, a pillar or a heap of stones becomes a witness between two arch enemies, “The LORD watch (Mizpah) between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” They didn’t trust each other, v.53 “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor (his brother) and the God of their father (Terah) judge between us.” Did they originally worship Jehovah? It appears to be so! In Gen. 31:54, Jacob builds an altar and offers a sacrifice. Remember, an altar should have three things sacrifice, worship and prayer. Jacob not being a Godly man at this time prays only when in fear or when it is for material gain. Here he desires protection and gain! Sounds like the average gim-me prayer of Christians today! How much time do you spend in praise and thanksgiving in your prayer time compared to asking God for things? Jacob hasn’t had his ‘Water-loo’ yet, it’s coming in Genesis 32 on the banks of the ‘Peniel River,’ “The Face of God!”

He is still worshiping the God of Isaac and Abraham, not the God of Jacob. There is no personalness in his prayers or worship yet! How about yours? Do you pray to ‘God the Person’ or do you pray to the ‘Person of God?’ Think about it, it makes a big difference. Prayer is on an intimate, personal level, from your heart to the heart of God! We need to enter into His Almighty presence, by the blood that was shed to give us access into the Holy of Holies. Praise God, in spite of our spiritual state or condition God, always remains faithful and true even if we don’t. God always keeps His promises, He is not only ‘The God of the Word,’ He is ‘The God of His Word!’ He said it, that settles it, and I believe it! It’s wonderful and fearful at the same time to know that He keeps His Word! For the Christian it’s wonderful, for the non-Christian it’s fearful!

Now we come to Gen. 32 and here comes Esau with 400 men to kill him, so Jacob prays! Note, Jacob is still a crisis pray-er, even though he just met the ‘Mahanaim‘ the band of angels, he is still scared. He does not know God yet in a personal, intimate way so he prays, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, Return to thy country and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee.” v.9. It’s the God of his ancestors, the God he makes deals and bargains with, his e-bay god he prays to. The God he goes to when he is in need of something, but we never do that do we, come to God only when we are in need? I am afraid too many Christians pray this way all the time, in fact I would say a vast majority of Born-Again, Blood-Bought, Christians are just that, “Crisis Pray-ers!” To our shame and God’s.

It has been 20 years now since Beth-el and the ladder, the pillar, the vow, the vision, (the DMI) the oil, the angels. WOW! Twenty years between chapters 28 and 32. But notice the first three words in Gen. 32:12 as Jacob prays, “For You said…” v.9, “The LORD Who said…” He held God to His Word! To His promises, that’s why God heard and hearkened, not because of Jacob’s flawless character or his intimate friendship with Jehovah, but because the LORD is a God of His Word, He keeps His promises and He is not a covenant breaker. We too need to hold God to His promises and to His word. Jacob did and so did George Mueller, D.L. Moody etc. and God blessed them. So Jacob is coming back to the land, back to the God he left, back to the prayer life of his ancestors. Twenty years have elapsed and we have the same God but a different Jacob; Jacob the heel catcher, the supplanter, the conniver is becoming ‘Israel’ the “Prince with God!”

We have a lesson to learn here in prayer, ‘A Principle For Prayer’ when we pray. “Hold God To His Word” He glories in that, “For You Said!” Those are the sweetest, most beautiful words in prayer, “For You Said!” God said it, and that settles it! Amen, Amen! Whether you believe it or not, the answer to this prayer comes in Gen. 33:4, when Esau runs, meets him, embraces him, falls on his neck, kisses him and weeps! There is the power of God, Esau was coming to kill Jacob not kiss him. So, what changed his mind the 550 goats, sheep, camels and bulls, no the power of prayer and, “For You Said!” The promises of God, they are there for you and I to, ‘Cash In On!’ Or as one saint put it, “They are like bank drafts on Christ’s account waiting to be cashed in.” Oh my friend, we need to spend time in the Word finding those precious promises and then get on our knees and faces if possible and cash them in. Let us determine from this day forward to hold God to His word, to put Him to the test, Mal. 3:10, to pray back His promises, “For You Said…” He delights in that kind of praying, in fact, He is glorified by it.

Maybe our crisis isn’t severe enough, maybe we need to pray for God to send an enemy with 400 warriors who wants to kill us and our families first, maybe that’s what it will take to see the Mahanaim, before we take God at His Word. Remember God does not answer prayer, He answers desperate prayer! “For You Said…” “…Between The Lines…”

“Oh God, help us to search Your Word to find Your promises and then hold You to Your Word when we pray. Thank You, LORD for Your faithfulness, even when we are not faithful, or walking close to You. LORD may we not just come to You for things or when in a crisis but to worship, praise and adore You for Who You are and may those three words become part of our prayer life, “For You Said…” ” In ha Shem Yeshua we ask. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Jacob The Angel Wrestler – Part #3

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” “The Angel Wrestler – Part 2′

Posted on March 23, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

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We left Ya’akov, Jacob in Bethel pouring oil on his pillow and making it a pillar and making his father Isaac’s God his God, now he comes to the land of the people of the east, to his mother’s people in Paddan-aram and stumbles upon Rachel and his mothers family in a field. If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale! The God he vowed a vow to in Bethel is guiding his every step, and if He is your God and you made your pillow a pillar last night, then He hears your payers and He is guiding your steps right now too. Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, (YHVH) and He delights in his way.” And as George Mueller used to say, “The stops too!” He first happens upon Rachel and Gen. 29:17 says, “Rachel was beautiful and well favored.” In fact she is so beautiful the writer needs two words to describe her beauty and form, and both words are compound words. It wasn’t only her face that was beautiful, lovely and fair to look upon but her form was also so beautiful and she is described as ‘well-favored’ you will have to do further research. This word is used only one other time in the scriptures in Deut. 21:11 when referring to a captive woman. In fact she was so beautiful that when Jacob first saw her he lifted up his voice and wept. You might say, well he met a relative, but he didn’t weep when he met Leah.

Now, Leah was ‘Tender-Eyed,’ soft, gentle, tender, she could melt chocolate on the table by just looking at it. She had a look about her, have you ever met a child like this, who looks up at you with those big brown eyes, and maybe there is a tear in the corner of her eye and she has a little dirt on her cheek and she hands you her doll with a torn arm and says trembling, “Please!” That’s Leah, got the picture now? Get the cross-eyed girl out of your camera lens, that is not what this word means. It means gentle, smooth, soft, delicate, silky like velvet, smooth like satin, you just want to hug her and hold her in your arms but v.18 says, “And Jacob loved Rachel;” yeah obviously, the flesh was attracted to the flesh but Laban her father loved both of his daughters and especially, his little Leah! So, Ya’akov/Jacob makes a deal for Rachel and promises to work for Laban for seven years for her and it seems like a few days and on the wedding night Laban slips in little Leah instead of ravishing Rachel and when Jacob wakes up in the morning he has the wrong daughter or does he? You see God’s plans are accomplished in spite of our schemes. So he ends up getting Rachel after fulfilling Leah’s week and works another seven years without wages. (Too much wine on the wedding night could be a problem in the morning)

We could entitle Gen. 29, “The Prayer of The Barren Womb,” you have two marriages, four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah and no mention of prayer or altars. In v. 31-35 Leah gives birth to four sons, is it possible she was in prayer to El Shaddai the One who enriches and makes fruitful. Why do I say that? Look at the names of her sons, ‘Reuben v.32, “Looked on my affliction” or “See a Son;” v.33, Simeon, “Hearing” or “The LORD has heard;” v.34, Levi, “Attached;” and finally v.35, Judah, “Praise,” or “Now I will praise the LORD.” Gen. 30:17 says, “And the LORD listened to Leah and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.” God listened to Leah, He heard her prayers, her pleas, her cries for children and she conceived and bore children. I am convinced that Leah, being the first wife and being rejected cried out to El Shaddai and He heard her and blessed her womb and gave her four sons including Judah, through whom the Messiah was to come and closed Rachel’s womb. In fact it is Leah who is later buried in the cave of Machpelah with Jacob, along with Isaac and Rebekah and Abraham and Sarah not Rachel.

Does prayer work? Does El Shaddai give children in answer to prayer? Can He make the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear? Does He open the womb of a woman who has dried up or is sterile? Ask Leah, ask her mother-in-law Rebekah, ask Rebekah’s mother-in-law Sarah, ask Hannah, ask Rachel, or my wife or her friend Dee or millions of other mothers who prayed, “LORD open my womb!” Ask David who wrote Psalm 127:3, “The fruit of the womb is His reward.” ‘The Prayer of The Barren Womb.’ Are you barren? Does your womb ache for children? Have you born any spiritual children lately? I don’t mean last year, this year, this month, this week, this day? THEN PRAY! Pray to the God of the womb, El Shaddai, The Many Breasted One, this name means fruitful! He is the God of the womb not the God of the tomb!

Gen. 30 the ladies are at it again but not Ya’akov, Rachel cries out to Jacob at first instead of God, so he goes in unto Bilhah and she conceives and bears Dan v.6, and Rachel says, “God has heard my voice,” or “He has judged my case” and “Given me a son.” Has God heard your voice, has He judged your case, has He given you a son? Have you cried out to Him for one, for ten, for fifty, for a hundred? What is your soul goal for this year, do you even have one? Rachel learned form Leah, the answer for children is El Shaddai! Gen. 30:17, God listened to Leah and she conceived again, and again, and again… These ladies knew the pattern, they were on track, v.22 God listened to Rachel and opened her womb, fourteen years have passed and as far as we know Jacob is still not praying, but his wives sure learned how to get a hold of God in prayer for children. Oh my friend, are you barren? Are you without spiritual children? Then pray, NO! Cry out to God, to El Shaddai, He desires to give you spiritual children more than you desire to birth them. He is waiting to open your womb. If a Christian is childless it is not because they are sterile, it is because they don’t know their God. Now Jacob has waited 20 years, a few days have turned into many years and still no altars, no prayers, no worship, no spiritual blessings, physical yes but no spiritual blessings! We’ll see this when he crosses the Peniel River (The face of God) and wrestles with the Angel of the LORD in Gen. 33. In the mean time, it’s between time as we meet… “…Between The Lines…”

“El Shaddai, our wombs are barren, empty, dry, but not dead. Lord, give us children, lest we die. Open our wombs, increase our faith, strengthen our testimonies, and give us boldness to proclaim Your truth. Keep us close to You LORD, as we worship You daily, praise You continually, and speak of You unceasingly. In ha Shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Jacob The Angel-Wrestler – Part 2

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Jacob the Angel-Wrestler

Posted on March 16, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

The first time we find Jacob/Ya’akov he is wrestling with his brother Esau in his mother Rebekah’s womb, before birth, Gen. 25:2 and this struggle would never cease, NEVER! In fact his name Ya’akov in Hebrew means, supplanter, heel catcher, or leg puller. As it says in Gen. 25:26, “His hand took hold on Esau’s heel and his name was called Jacob.” Rebekah was told by the LORD (YHVH) in v.23 that from the womb, “The elder (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob).” So, the battle lines were drawn in the womb from conception and would continue even till today. As they grew Esau became a cunning hunter and Jacob a tent dweller and a great cook, and Esau wanted some of his red lentil stew for which Jacob made him swap his birthright, at the age of 15. The birthright encompassed three things; the family priesthood; the Messianic promise from Adam; and the Abrahamic promise of the promised land and blessings of fruitfulness. Basically, the first born got the farm and Esau wasn’t interested in farming at that time, he was a hunter not a farmer, and he even despised his birthright, v. 34.

The ‘Arahamic Covenant’ is confirmed to Isaac in Gen. 26 and a famine strikes Gerar/Gaza. After the famine they leave, dig some wells and settle in Beer-Sheba. Then Esau marries Judith the daughter of Beeri a Hittite in Gen. 26:34, which seems strange since Judith means, “Jewess or Judahite” a, “Person of Judah, a Judean, a Jew, or Jewish.” Now, Judah and the Jewish people are not on the scene yet so this can’t be a descendant of Judah because he hasn’t been born. Isaac was 60 in Gen. 25:26 when Esau was born and now he is 100 in Gen. 27 and physically blind when he is ready to give his blessing to Esau. So, he asks Esau for savory food v. 4, so his soul can bless him, his will not God’s and he knew it. Rebekah overhears him and devised her own evil plan and she and Jacob fix two goats and steal Esau’s blessing from a 100 year old blind man, Gen. 27:28-29. Of course Isaac tries to reverse it but you can’t, “What’s done is done!” So Isaac calls Jacob in Gen. 28:1-5 and blesses him one last time with the ‘Abrahamic Blessing’ and sends him to “Laban’s Labor Camp” to get a wife from his mother’s family. Esau overhears a the plan and goes to his uncle Ishmael and takes one of his daughters, Mahalath a Canaanite for a wife because he knew it would hurt his father and mother. Rebekah will never see Jacob again, “The few days” of Gen. 27:44 become the rest of her life, as she sat in the tent door and watched and waited for his return. In fact we never hear of Rebekah again after this scheme, I think God was really upset with her evil plan.

Then Jacob/Ya’akov went out from Beer-Sheba and stopped at Bethel (God’s-House) and laid down to rest and had a dream of a ladder reaching into heaven and angels ascending and descending on it, with the LORD standing above it giving him the ‘Abrahamic Covenant.’ So, he took the stone he used for a pillow and used it for an pillar, poured olive oil on it, and called the name of the place ‘Bethel’ and vowed a vow to God and promised to give Him, “Ten Percent” a tithe of all God gave Jacob. This is 600 years before the ‘Law’ and before the IRS. What’s interesting is this is the passage Nathaniel was meditating on under the fig tree in Galilee, when Phillip found him and said, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” John 1:43-51. Jesus said, “Because I said, I saw you under a fig tree you believe, you shall see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man.” You see He knows the thoughts and intents of your heart right now, John 2:24-25. Whenever, you read His word, you may think you received nothing out of it, but He knows exactly what you read because He wrote it through His (nabi) prophets and He knows what you are reading. So, read it to Him, you only remember 7% of what you read and 38% of what you hear, so if you read His Word out loud to Him you will remember 45% (makes sense) no? It will be a lot more enjoyable too, trust me, to have your ‘Quiet Time’ with the Author.

So, Jacob the heel-catcher leaves everything he knows, family, friends, servants, environment, occupation, life, for a strange place Padan-aram and on his first day this “Angel Wrestler” bumps into a ladder of angels ascending into heaven. He has a dream (kalam) now in my circle we don’t talk about them, so we call them ‘DMI’s’ (Dynamic Mental Impression’s) 🙂 Joseph actually is the ‘Dream-Catcher’ who we will catch-up with later. Now, this word (kalam) also means to grow strong, so I get the feeling this was a strong ‘DMI’. Again I like to use the ‘Paleo Hebrew’ when looking at Hebrew words, it paints a better portrait and this root is made up of three letters (chet – fence, inner room; lamed – prod, goad; mem – mighty, strong). So, this dream or ‘DMI’ in Jacob’s inner heart and mind was used to goad him and it was very strong. In this dream the LORD confirms the covenant He gave to Abraham and to Isaac with Jacob and promises to bring him back to the land He promised his father and grand-father.

He wakes up from his sleep, believes he is in the house of God, the gateway of heaven, takes his pillow and makes it a pillar or an altar and names the place ‘Bethel’ “The House of God.” Before that it was called Luz, the ‘Almond Tree.’ Then he makes a vow to the ‘God of Bethel‘ and this is the last time he builds an altar or at least that it is mentioned until he prays 20 years later when he is on the bank of the Peniel River. Then after wrestling all night with God or The Angel of The LORD, he limps to Shechem and builds an altar in the promised land Gen. 33:20, ‘To God the God of Israel or Jacob.” Except for the possibility of prayer in Gen. 31:1-3 where Jacob is fearful for his life after 20 years of swindling and God tells him to return to Canaan and He will be with him, Jacob’s vow seemed to be a bargain with God, “God if You will do this for me, then I will do this for You!” God is not a bargain hunter, He doesn’t shop for prayer requests on e-bay or Craig’s list and neither should we.

God also spoke to Jacob in a dream (kalam) v.12 and God usually only speaks through dreams to those who don’t or won’t speak to Him or who don’t or won’t read His word. Now that is not always the case, like Joseph and Daniel and others but many times that is the way he gets the attention of the hard hearted and unbelievers like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, etc. ‘Beth-El’ the house of God, or the ‘Gate of God’s Heaven’ is anywhere God is, your prayer closet, your prayer garden, your secret chamber, etc. Oh, my friend, let us not make deals with God, let us just lay hold of His promises and hang on with both hands in prayer. Let us take our pillows at night and consecrate them to God and make them pillars and pray with David in Psalm 63:6, “When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.” So when we awake in the morning we can say with Jacob, “Surely the LORD is in this place!” “…Between The Lines…”

“Oh LORD, may we be open and honest with You, but obedient as to Your will and not a bargain hunter in our prayer lives. May Your will be done in our lives as it is in heaven; You choose LORD, and we’ll choose what You choose. We love You LORD, let our closets, our gardens, our hearts, be Your Beth-El!” In ha Shem Yeshua we pray. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Jacob the Angel-Wrestler Part #1’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Isaac & The Stolen Blessing

Posted on March 8, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

(We have begun a new blog (isaiahfiftythree.org) come and visit)

Yitzhak, laughter or Isaac the well digger is also known for his blessings. So, we have named this devotional, ‘The Stolen Blessing or The Stolen Prayer.’ Is a blessing a prayer? It is if it is invoking God’s promises or blessings upon an individual, family or nation. Gen. 27:35 says, “Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing.” Esau could not get the blessing back even though it was taken away deceitfully by Rebekah and Jacob. They didn’t have to do this because God promised her in Gen. 25:23 while she was still pregnant and praying to God, when the twins struggled in her womb, “The elder shall serve the younger.” (Rom. 9:12) In other words, Esau will serve Jacob, why? Rom. 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” God is omniscient, He knew you before you were born, before you were conceived, before you were a gleam in your father’s eye, before you were a thought in your mother’s heart; in fact He knows what you are thinking right now, so be careful, John 2:24-25. An oath or blessing with God is a permanent thing, Gen. 27:33, “Yea, and he shall be blessed!” Ecc. 5:5 says, “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.”

The word bless (barak) or blessing is all over this chapter, vv. 4, 7, 10, 12, 19, 23, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41: Isaac tried to reverse God’s order, will and plan to have Esau serve Jacob, v. 39-40 “…and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.” Esau was angry because of the blessing and vowed to kill his brother Jacob after Isaac died. The family blessing was a powerful thing in those days as it is today, but it has been forgotten in most cultures. Jacob later blesses his twelve sons in Gen. 49, but in chapter 48:13-22, he blesses Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh in reverse; Ironic? No, God’s perfect will! You see, it took him about 100 years to understand God’s plan and purpose, how long will it take you?

Isaac didn’t walk as close to God as his father Abraham did. Isaac only built one altar that we know of, in Beer-Sheba and he stayed there. Little is said about his walk or talk with El Shaddai. The promise was to come through him and it did, God keeps His promises. If he had walked closer to God I believe he would have recognized God’s plan and he would not have tried to reverse it. You don’t hear any more about Isaac from this point on. Gen. 28 picks up with Jacob’s life and Isaac is about 150 years old; in Gen. 35:27-29 Isaac dies at 180 and Jacob and Esau are between 80-100 years old. Isaac’s first blessing in v. 27-29 was intended for Esau, “Be master over your brethren,” but God said Esau will serve Jacob. Isaac tried to reverse God’s will but in v. 39-40 he prays, “And by thy sword thou shalt live and serve thy brother;” Do you ever try to reverse God’s will in prayer, or bargain shop with Him? Sometimes we seem to think God shops for prayer requests on e-bay and the answer goes to the highest bidder, but He doesn’t.

Isaac gives Jacob a final blessing in Gen. 28:3-4 and asks God Almighty to give him the blessings of Abraham. He calls on El Shaddai, the Strengthener, the Satisfier, really He is the All-Sufficient One, He not only enriches, but He makes fruitful. Listen, to Isaac’s blessing, “May El Shaddai, bless you and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed, with you; that you may inherit the land wherein you are a stranger which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob;” El Shaddai is a God of fruitfulness, this is the God Isaac prays to, the God of his father Abraham. Jacob was a supplanter, a heel catcher, a conniver, but obedient. Esau was honest but rebellious, disobedient, hateful, and seditious. Yeshua/Jesus spoke of a similar situation in the parable of the two sons in Matt. 21:28-32, which of the two son’s did the will of his father? The first who said he would not go to work in the field but did? “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” (Rom. 9:13; Mal. 1:2-3) A statement that has perplexed theologians since it was written. Jacob like his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham would eventually meet El Shaddai, Elohim, YeHoVah and He would become the personal God of Jacob or Israel when he returns to Bethel in Gen. 33:20.

For now though, what has happened to, “The Blessing of the Blessing?” That may sound redundant, but it’s not meant to be, it’s meant to be a probing question. I believe our children and our children’s children have missed out on spiritual and material blessings because we believe ‘Blessings’ are an ‘Old Testament’ tradition that should be packed away in the attics of our minds in moth balls. When was the last time, fathers you laid your hands on your children and seriously prayed a blessing over them and for them? That was a regular, weekly tradition in the orthodox Jewish home, and the church was birthed out of the womb of Judaism. Children are a blessing from God, not a curse or a punishment. The fruit of the womb is His reward and happy is the man whose quiver is full and a warrior’s quiver in the Older Testament held 13 arrows! I have eight children, four by birth and four by marriage and each one makes my heart sing. I also have ten grandchildren and they make my heart smile, and what a blessing. As the patriarch of your family you need to reclaim that ‘Stolen Blessing’ which belongs to your family and re-establish once again the blessing, the enemy has snatched. By the way, who stole it, your neighbor, the deacons, God, or Satan? Every church service used to end with a benediction or a blessing, now they end with announcements, a song, a screen saver or “You’re dismissed!” What are we still in the fourth grade? God instructed Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel and put His name on them so He in turn could bless them in Num. 6:27. Could you apply that to the church and if not, why not? 500 times you have the word ‘Bless or Blessing or Blessed’ in the Scriptures, 500 times! Is it important to God, is it? It would do us all well to memorize Numbers 6:24-26, “The Aaronic Blessing” and use it whenever needed. You see it on walls and plaques everywhere, so let’s steal it back and use it! Amen? “…Between The Lines…”

“Abba, Father, please, Bevakasha, help us as fathers and pastors to re-establish the blessing which You gave to us as heads of our families and churches to give to them. To bless them and cause them to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, to inherit the land and to worship You, the only true God!” In Yeshua’s name. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac & The Stolen Blessing’

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“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” Isaac The Well Digger-4

Posted on March 1, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

I don’t think we lowered our buckets deep enough in the well at ‘Beer-Sheba.’ So, let’s go back and give our buckets a little more rope and take another sip. Gen. 25:21 says, “Isaac entreated (pleaded) with the LORD for his wife because she was barren (sterile) and the LORD was entreated by him (or granted his request) and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Isaac was 40 in v.20 when he married Rebekah and 60 in v. 26 when Jacob and Esau were born, so Rebekah was barren for the first 20 years of their marriage and barren again for the remainder of their marriage. “Isaac entreated or pleaded with the LORD for his wife.” This word means to burn incense in worship, to intercede, pray, or entreat (a’thar). Its Arabic cognate means to slaughter a sacrifice, perhaps the Hebrew word has a sacrificial basis too. It means to make an earnest request or prayer, to beseech or implore. Biblical prayer is spontaneous, personal, motivated by a need and unconditioned by time or place. Its marks are a child like sincerity, simplicity and confidence. The LORD can be approached anytime, anywhere, for anything. With all of Israel’s detailed instructions on sacrifice, there is no fixed liturgy for prayer. It is spontaneous, sincere, simple and child like; like a child talking to their father. Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, ‘He entreated the LORD for his wife, and the LORD was entreated by him.” God listened to his prayer and v.21 says, “the LORD granted his plea.”

God listened to his prayer, He hearkened, (shama) listened with understanding, and was intent on doing something about it. Why? Isaac was desperate, destitute, and determined. Interesting how God withheld children from Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth and others. Remember, Isaac is living near the well, ‘Beer-La-Hai-Roi’ (The well of the One who lives and sees me). Sixty years of Isaac’s life is gone, now he comes to God with an urgent prayer request and God listens and grants it. I believe he had been praying for 20 years but now he is desperate, destitute, and determined. God answers that kind of prayer and that’s what God has been waiting for. Psalm 127:3 says, “The fruit of the womb is His reward.”

There was strife in Rebekah’s womb (rasas) a struggle, to crack in pieces, to break, bruise, crush, oppress; This word is used to describe maltreatment and oppression. There was trouble in her womb from conception, abnormal movement, one trying to break the other in pieces. In Romans 10:9-14 while in Rebekah’s womb, God said, “Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.” Two nations struggling (rasas) in the womb. Was one trying to eliminate the other before birth? I believe he was! So, Rebekah inquired (daras) of the LORD. To seek with care, to consult for knowledge, advice or insight into a particular problem, and that’s just what Rebekah had, a problem! Her two boys were trying to break each other into pieces in her womb, they were born for contention as sure as sparks fly upward, and their lives bore this out. Two answers to prayer, one an entreaty, the other an inquiry and God answered them both, why? They were desperate, destitute and determined! It does not matter what your problem is, or how big it is, bring it to God. He is the God of the impossible, in fact His middle name is ‘Impossible!’ The moment you say, “I can’t!” He says, “I Can!”

In Gen. 26 Isaac follows the same route as Abraham his father, even by running to Gerar and lying to Abimelech about his wife, but God chooses to bless him anyway. Not because of him but in spite of him and because of His promise to Abraham. We have a covenant keeping God, one who never breaks His promises, One who must keep His word, and that is a ‘Key principle to remember in prayer.’ We have a tremendous transformation in the life of Isaac in this chapter and it is brought about by prayer. You don’t see much of Isaac’s prayer life; He runs v.1; God speaks to him v.2-5; He lies v.7; God blesses him v.12; He digs wells v.18ff; God reveals Himself to him v.24; God confirms His covenant with him v.24; He builds an altar and finally calls on the LORD v. 25; At Beer-Sheba the ‘Well of the Oath’ where Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant Gen. 21:31. Despite all the promises, protection, and blessings of God; we don’t read about any sacrifices, prayers, or altars of Isaac until now! It wasn’t enough just to live in his father’s past and dig up his father’s wells and receive blessings due to his fathers faithfulness and obedience; He must return and worship for himself his father’s God, El Shaddai, El Olam, Elohim; Who appears to him in Beer-Sheba and Isaac finally builds an altar and calls upon the name of the LORD JEHOVAH, The Self-Existent, Eternal One, and he builds an altar to the God of, The God of Isaac! Gen. 26:25 says, “He built an altar; He called on the name of the LORD; And he pitched his tent there.” Sounds pretty decisive! Remember Abraham never built an altar in Beer-Sheba, he planted a Tamarisk Tree, Gen. 21:33, to the ‘Everlasting God, El Olam‘ and his servants dug a well and called it Sheba.

Isaac is about 80 years old at this point and it took him that long to begin to practice the presence of Almighty God, El Shaddai, and when he did the Philistines knew it, v.28 and they said, “We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee:” It is exciting when the unsaved say that about the saved. Amen? They saw it and they feared it, what a testimony to, “Practicing The Presence of God” in the midst of your enemies. We need to pitch our tents, build our altars, and call on the name of our LORD in the midst of our enemies. We need to stop riding on the sleds of the past and stop bowing to the demigods of yesterday and strike out on our own and discover that God the LORD is a covenant keeping God. One who never breaks His promises and must keep His word if we v.5 obey His voice, keep His charge, His commandments, His statutes, His laws, stay in His word and let His word stay in us and obey it. The God of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses and David is the God of Roger, Mary, Jane, Frank, Eden, and John; He is our personal God. So, lets pitch a tent, build an altar, dig a well, call on the name of our LORD, and ‘Practice The Presence of God’ in the midst of a heathen society. Amen? “Between The Lines”

“Oh LORD, may we daily practice Your eternal presence so that You might manifest Your power through us among the unsaved around us and bring glory to your name.” In Your Son’s name we ask. Amen!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac The Well Digger -4’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Eliezer – God’s Helper-2’

Posted on February 24, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

There are at least 10 Eliezers mentioned in the Scriptures that I am aware of and that is why Moses has chosen to label Abraham’s, ‘Eliezer of Damascus.’ Moses had a son named Eliezer, Ex. 18:4; Benjamin had a grandson named Eliezer, I Chron. 7:8; There was a priest that helped bring the Ark back to Jerusalem named Eliezer, I Chron. 15:24; A prophet named Eliezer rebuked Jehoshaphat, II Chron. 20:37; In Ezra 8 & 10 you have a chieftain, a priest, a Levite and a son of Hiram all named Eliezer; In Luke 3:29 you have an ancestor of Joseph, Mary’s husband named Eliezer.

Genesis 24 is so beautiful in so many ways, you could spend a lifetime bisecting it, trisecting it, dissecting it and never really plumb its depths. Verse 27 seems to be the center fold of the chapter when Rebekah literally runs off to her mother’s house with the news and the rings and Eliezer falls on his face, prostrate and cries out to the God of his master Abraham, “Blessed be the LORD God (JeHoVaH Elohim) of my master Abraham, who has not left destitute my master of His mercy and truth: I being in the way the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” Now the key here to answered prayer, and you need to note it is, ‘OBEDIENCE!’ Question, Are you in the way or are you in the way? Think about that! Availability is important and much more important than Ability many times! “Being in the way the LORD led me!” He praised the LORD for His guidance and direction. This is simply the case today, many Christians are, ‘in the way of the Lord’ even in their prayer lives and service. Preventing His work, His will, and His servants because of their opinions, their desires and their likes and dislikes. We need to be, ‘in the way with the Lord’ in the center of His will, obedient to the Master, and His leaders who are obedient to Him.

Eliezer was blessed due to his obedience, which is always better than sacrifice, I Sam. 15:22. Isn’t that the main lesson God wants us to learn here on earth, ‘Trust and Obey, for there is no other way.” In v. 42-44, Eliezer repeats his prayer to God for Rebekah and her family; in v.45 he tells us this prayer was in his heart; In v.48 he repeats his praise to God for directing him to Rebekah; ‘Principle for Prayer’ God won’t lead His children astray, and He leads us in the way of truth; Remember v.27 where the servant praised God for His mercy and truth, now here we see where God leads us in the way of truth. It reminds us of John 14:6 where Yeshua/Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…” In v.52 the servant immediately worships the LORD in response to their answer to his question, but really in answer to his and Abraham’s prayers. Instantly, immediately, publicly, he prostrated himself, holding nothing back, no reservations, he was trained well by Abraham. Then Laban her brother and Bethuel her father said, “This thing proceedeth from the LORD;” Did they know the LORD? Remember, Abraham’s father Terah, left Ur of the Chaldeans in Gen. 11:31 to go to the land of Canaan with his family but died in Haran making Abraham the patriarch.

First they try to hinder Eliezer’s departure, for ten days and he says in v.56, “Hinder me not, seeing the LORD has prospered my way;” Eliezer is on a mission and nothing can turn him to the right or to the left. So they ask Rebekah if she will go with this man and she says, “I will go!” Then they ‘Bless’ Rebekah in v.60, and give her a nurse Deborah, Gen. 35:8, “Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them.” ‘WOW!’ What a blessing they give to Rebekah! “May your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.” That is still true today! What a chapter, this servant exercised faith, the faith of his Master, Galatians 2:20; He had a correct view of God’s character, mercy and truth; He had a specific answer to a specific prayer, to indicate God’s specific presence; His prayer was simple, specific, direct, intercessory and child like and that is the kind God answers. The obedience of a servant and the faith of a friend of God, Wow! What a combination, it can’t be beaten, together they are unbeatable.

“I being in the way, the LORD led me…who had led me in the path of truth and mercy.” Yeshua/Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life, no man comes to the Father but by Me.” In Matthew 4:19 He said, “Follow Me!” Will we be obedient servants like Eliezer, God’s-Helper and follow our Master in prayer, in service, in life, in suffering, and in death? What a chapter, you could spend years plumbing its depths and never reach its ocean floor. We are not done yet, Isaac is in the field, in the evening, meditating on someone, his Master. He is in the way of ‘Beer-La-hai-roi’ (The well of the One Who lives and sees me) and he is communing in his heart with the LORD. However, he is also praying and interceding for himself and for his bride to be, he is aware of Eliezer’s mission, he is also interceding for comfort concerning his mother’s death, v.67. Rebekah asked Eliezer who was in the field and he said it was his master’s son and she veiled herself and got off her camel and Eliezer told Isaac the whole story and he took Rebekah in his mother’s tent and she became his wife and he loved her and Isaac was finally comforted after Sarah’s death. Eliezer’s mission is complete and he moves off the scene, his job was to exalt the son, to lift up the master’s son, to find a bride for the son and deliver her as a chaste virgin at eventide, the new day. C.I. Scofield points out that this chapter is highly typical of a king who would make a marriage for his son, Matt. 22:2; the servant is a type of the Holy Spirit who ‘does not speak of Himself’ but takes the things of the Bridegroom to win over the bride, John 16:13-14; This servant is also a type of the Spirit enriching the bride with the Bridegroom’s gifts, I Cor. 12:7-11; Gal. 5:22-23; He then brings the bride safely to a meeting with the Bridegroom, Acts 13:4; 16:6-7; Rom. 8:11; I Thess. 4:14-17; Rebekah is a type of the Church, “the called out” virgin bride of Christ, Gen. 24:16; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Isaac is a type of the Bridegroom “whom having not seen” the bride loves her through the testimony of this Servant, I Pet. 1:8; Isaac is also a type of the Bridegroom who goes out to meet and receive His bride in the evening, Gen. 24:63; I Thess. 4:14-17. There is so much doctrine, so much theology, so much eschatology and so much typology in this chapter that you could write a book on it, let alone a devotional thought! “Between The Lines”

“Oh, LORD may we be obedient like Eliezer, Your helper and be found faithful, ‘walking in Your way.’ Quick to pray and continuously praising You, trusting You, obeying You, and serving You! LORD, help us to learn from Eliezer’s, life that if we walk in Your ways, You will lead us and guide us and we will be successful in Your eyes and that’s all that really matters, in this life, on this journey, for Your glory anyway.” Baruch ha shem!

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Eliezer – God’s Helper-2’

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Eliezer – God’s Helper’

Posted on February 18, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

In Gen. 2:18, “The LORD God said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a help (ezer) meet (or fit) for him.” Actually it is repetitive, so it would be (ezer – ezer) for him. One of the best definitions I have found for this ancient Hebrew word is, ‘Life-Saver.’ I was a life-guard and what is their function? They sit on a stand with a whistle and a buoy and watch the people in the water and wait for someone in distress and immediately rush to their aid and save their lives, by wrapping their arms around them and bringing them to safety at the peril of their own lives. They have one purpose, the safety of others, the protection of others, the life of another at the cost of their own life. When I put up my sign, “Lifeguard On Duty” you were safe to go in the water. Before that, you took your life in your own hands. My son Adam is a ‘Lifeguard’ and he has saved the life of another. The name ‘Eli-ezer’ means, “God’s Lifeguard.”

You say, “How did Abram, the Hebrew in Gen. 14:13-16 deliver Lot, his goods, the women and the people of Sodom with only 318 men from four kings, Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal and their armies out of Damascus? Simple, Eli-ezer, Gen. 15:2 was from Damascus and he knew the way in and the way out and he became the heir of Abraham’s household, ‘God’s – Helper.’ So when Abraham was ready to arrange a marriage for his son Isaac, whom he left on Mt. Moriah, Gen. 22:19 after the ‘Akedah‘ the binding he called his most trusted servant, the heir of his household, ‘God’s – Lifeguard’ to go fetch her, Gen. 24 and made him put his hand under his thigh and swear an oath. Eli-ezer travels to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor and arrives in the evening at the well, at the time of watering, when the women come out to draw water v.11. You see it’s the woman’s job to draw water, men never carry water pots.

Eli-ezer stands and prays, Gen. 24:12-14, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray Thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master, Abraham.” Specific, pointed, determined prayer that’s what the servant of Abraham, Eli-ezer of Damascus used. We are not even sure it’s his God he is praying to at this point, we can assume it, but he never addresses Jehovah personally but only as the God of my master. In v.14, he says, “Let it come to pass, that the damsel (na-arah – young woman) to whom I shall say, let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let her be the one whom Thou hast appointed for Thy servant Isaac, and thereby shall I know that Thou has shown kindness unto my master.” Do you pray like that? Do you? Then how will you ever know if you are getting answers or not? Specific requests get specific answers and God gets the specific glory! All five Hebrew words for ‘Woman’ are found in this chapter for a reason, to clarify I believe Isaiah 7:14; Ish-ah-woman in contrast to man, v.5; Na-rah-young woman, v.14; Bethu-lah-young virgin woman, v.16; Al-mah-young virgin woman contracted in marriage, v.43; Bat-daughter, v.23. What happened between v.16 and v.43 Rebekah took the nose ring in v.22 and she was under contract.

Now, Rebekah comes to the well, here comes those specific answers vv.16-21; Rebekah was born to Bethuel, who was born to Nahor, Abraham’s brother; v.4, “go to my country, to my kindred, and take a wife for my son.” Does God answer specific, desperate, pointed, prayer? Ask Eli-ezer when you see him and you will see him. Then why don’t we pray that way? Because we are afraid to, He might not answer and then again He just might, v.26, “He bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD.” I get the feeling here that, Abraham’s LORD is Eli-ezer’s LORD, do you get that feeling too? Bowing is a form of worship, the word means to shrivel up, to bow low; he probably fell to his knees with his face to the ground; v.52 sheds more light on this verse, “he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.” Prayer is also a token of thanksgiving, he blesses God for His goodness to his master, v.27. I love this principle in v.27, “I being in the way the LORD led me, to the house of my master’s brethren.” The principle here is ‘Availability not Ability!’ Are you in the way for the LORD like Eliezer or are you in the way of the LORD like Judas? It makes a big difference! Do you hear His voice saying, “This is the way walk ye in it…” Isaiah 30:21? How would you know if Psalm 46:10 is not on your “To Do” list?

The place or posture of prayer is not as important as the spirit and attitude of prayer. In John 4:20-24 Yeshua/Jesus said, “His Father is seeking those to worship Him in spirit and in truth.” Eli-ezer stood to pray v.13, later he bowed to worship v.26, right next to the kneeling camels, next to a public well, in the busy evening when the women were drawing water, v.11. What a beautiful picture, can you see it? Close your eyes, now do you see it? What a beautiful principle, can you feel it? Do we bless God that quickly for answers to prayer, do we? Maybe that’s why we get so few answers? He’s still waiting for the ‘Thank You’ for the last one He gave you! How quick are you to continue to give to a thankless or unappreciative child? Have you thanked God for yesterday, today yet? In fact have you thanked Him for today, yet? Eli-ezer said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham.” v.27. He blesses God, (barak) which means to kneel or bless God as an act of adoration, this is a servant! Do we bless God on a regular basis? King David did, read Psalm 103 and many others. This is one area that seems to be missing in our prayer lives, adoration to God, blessing God! Just try to spend 60 seconds ‘Adoring God!’ Not thanking Him for what He has done, but praising Him for Who or What, He is! We need to take the time to adore the One Who created us and swam out into our cesspool and drowned, to save us from drowning.

Eli-ezer goes on in v.27 in his prayer to God, “Who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master.” These are attributes and characteristics of God that can never be denied or diminished, NEVER! His mercy and His truth for all His children are only a prayer away. Eli-ezer was a prayerful servant, just like his master Abraham and his prayer life was specific, definite and precise and God answered it specifically, definitely and precisely. Therefore, he could do nothing else except fall on his knees and worship the LORD his God and cry out as we should, “Blessed art Thou, O LORD, our God, Creator of heaven and earth. Hallowed be Thy name, above every name in heaven, on earth and under the earth. Help us O God, to pray specifically, so that we would have great cause to worship and adore You specifically. Your mercy and Your truth are great and beyond all human understanding. You are the God of mercy and You are the God of truth, blessed be Thy holy name, O God.” Amen & Amen! “Between The Lines”

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Eliezer – God’s Helper’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Heart After God, Olivet Ministries International, OMI, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“Portraits of Prayer in Genesis” ‘Isaac The Welldigger -3’

Posted on February 15, 2012 by The Scarlet Worm

In Gen. 26:26-31 Abimelech and the Philistines show up for dinner. Sure right after all the work is done! Cause that’s what Philistines do, show up after the work party, to party! They cut a covenant, swear an oath, eat a meal, and depart in peace, yeah right! Then Isaac’s servant’s find a new well and he names it, ‘Shebah‘ the well of the oath or covenant. Beer means well and Shebah means oath. Beer-Shebah is an area south of Gerar or Gaza on the trade route, so a well would be very valuable in that location to travelers. Many times a well was about four feet wide and about six to ten feet deep in a dry river bed and would form a pit!

The wells in Genesis were very significant and associated with special events; Beer-lahai-roi, was the well of Him who lives and sees me, Gen. 16:14; 24:62; 25:11; Beer-sheba, was the well of the oath or covenant, Gen. 21:25-33; 22:19; 26:23-25; 46:1-5; Esek, was the well of contention, Gen. 26:20; Sitnah, was the well of hatred, Gen. 26:21 and those two were Isaac’s own attempts at well digging, after that he chose to live by the wells of his father Abraham. Rehoboth was the well of enlargement, as most would have us believe or as the Paleo-Hebrew says, “The head of the inner-room of my heart and home who offers my family security.” Gen. 26:22. When Isaac returned to Beer-Sheba, the LORD of his father Abraham made Himself known to him and established His covenant with him and Isaac built an altar for sacrifice, worship and prayer and pitched his tent and dug a well. He was staying put!

In Gen. 27, Isaac is 100 years old and blind and we have the story of the stolen blessing of Easu. First his birthright for a bowl of lentils in Gen. 25, the first-born always got the farm. So he gave away the farm for a bowl of chili. Then Jacob stole his blessing in Gen. 27 with an old goat or was it from the old goat? The moral here is don’t wait till you are old and blind to bless your kids because you might bless the wrong ones. Isaac lives 80 more years and dies in Gen. 35:27-29. He is gathered unto his people and buried by Jacob and Esau. Isaac is alive for 60 years after Jacob returns to the promised land with his family from Laban’s labor camp, but nothing is known of Isaac’s later years or of his earlier years for that matter. Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah dies and her death is recorded in Gen. 35:8, but Rebekah’s death is never recorded. She died in silence, during Jacob’s 20 year absence, of a broken heart. She sent away her favorite son, never to see him again!

Now, what ‘Prayer-Principles’ can we glean from this “Well-Digger’s” life? Isaac learned about altars from his father Abraham, the ‘Altar-Builder.’ In fact he built one with him in Gen. 22 on Mt. Moriah and then laid on it! It was there Isaac learned to ‘Commune’ with God’ That is our First principle for prayer. The word commune in its earliest form meant to have in common, both in giving and in receiving, in thought, word and in deed. In fact, from it comes the words, commune, communicate, communion, community, and even communism. In Ps. 4:4, the word commune is (amar) ‘to say in your heart.’ To commune with your heart upon your bed and be still. In Ps. 64:5, the word for commune is (saw-far) ‘to recount, reckon, rehearse, enumerate, go over and over.’ In Ps. 77:6 the word for commune is (see-akh) ‘to muse, ponder, consider, to put forth in thoughts. (I communed with my own heart). When you commune with God no words are uttered, the giving and receiving takes place in your heart, soul and mind. Listen – You commune with someone!

The Second principle Isaac taught us about prayer is, meditation, Gen. 24:63, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide;” He was in the field meditating when his wife arrived. Listen – You meditate on someone! The word (soo-akh) means to go over a matter in one’s mind, to rehearse silently or aloud. To speak, mutter, utter, moan, or growl. The main difference between commune and meditate is the audible part. One is always silent ‘Commune’ and the other can be silent or it can be audible, ‘Meditate.’ Ps. 119:15,23, 48, 78, 148 use the same root word showing pious meditation and devotion. (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2) “But his delight is in the LORD.” You meditate “ON” someone or something.

The Third principle Isaac taught us about prayer is entreaty, Gen. 25:21, “And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife because she was barren;” He entreated (athar) the LORD for his wife, ‘to pray, to supplicate, to plead, to intercede, to stand in the gap.’ The root of this word means abundant, plentiful, and to multiply. I get the idea he did a lot of entreating, for a very long time! Amen? How does that verse go, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, avails……” Twenty years is a long time to be barren. Now why was she barren (aw-kawr)? Listen carefully, this word means she was sterile! How is that for a prayer request? Pray for me I want a child, and oh yeah, by the way I am sterile! oi vey! Then she receives a double portion, ‘Red and Fred.’ You see faith is not believing God can, faith is believing God will! Now she is pregnant and the twins are struggling and she inquires of the LORD in Gen. 25:22, (da-rash) to seek or consult, but Isaac made abundant, plentiful entreaties (athar) on her behalf; to plead, to supplicate, to intercede, to stand in the gap. There is a big difference in their prayer lives, a big difference. Where did they grow up? hmmm?

You commune with someone; You meditate on someone; You entreat for someone! Did you learn anything from Isaac? How to dig a well? How to run from God? How to lie about your wife’s age? Or how to walk with God? I trust you learned some more principles about Isaac’s prayer life that you can apply to your own. Communing is from your heart to God’s heart; Entreating is uniting your spirit with God’s Spirit; and Meditating is from your mouth to God’s ears; and all of it is directed to your LORD! Which will it be for you today, a shovel to dig a hole and look for water, a pair of running shoes to find a place to hide, an old prayer altar to lay those burdens down, or a quiet place to hear that still, small voice; to commune, meditate, ruminate, and to take a fresh look into the face of Yeshua/Jesus. When was the last time you took a fresh look into the face of Yeshua/Jesus? Isn’t it about time you did it again? “Between The Lines”

“Portraits of Prayer in genesis” ‘Isaac The Welldigger Part-3’

Posted in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Communion With God, Devotional, Family, Family Altars, Friendship, Heart After God, Olivet Ministries International, Personal EGO "Edging God Out", Portraits of Prayer, Prayer, Prayer and Thanksgiving, Prayer Closet, Prayer Garden, Prayer Journey, Prayerology, Scarlet Worm, Spirituality, Unbroken Fellowship, Uncategorized | 1 Comment