BLESSING
[p. 175] BLESSING
Address by James Taylor, Woodstock 1907 Genesis 32:1-9; Genesis 32:24 - 32; Genesis 35:9 - 16 My thought is to show how man comes into blessing. The book of Genesis is a book with a large thought of blessing. It would seem as if God intimated at the beginning what was in His heart before He disclosed what was in man’s heart.
If the book is read carefully, we will be struck by the place that blessing occupies. God presents the thoughts of blessing as deposited here in a vessel. Jacob himself at the close of his days is conscious of being the vessel of blessing: he blessed Pharaoh and the sons of Joseph. You get the testimony to the vessel of blessing and that prior to the man realizing himself his need for blessing. Jacob illustrates how man comes to value the blessing and receives it. He was the channel, but I want to show how Jacob foreshadowed the kind of person who receives blessing, although I do not want to diminish what Jacob is as a type of Christ. Only one Person is eligible to be Lord over His brethren. Jacob at the end of his career is made a conqueror. Only one Person is capable of taking spoils from his enemies. Jacob is also a type of man in his crookedness. We all are crooked, but God takes up one and He sets him [p. 176] forth before all the world, and men are to behold in Jacob their own picture. His days were few and evil; nevertheless its very crookedness is an encouragement to those who seek blessing from God. Nothing can prevent us from receiving blessing, nothing can hinder us from being the recipients of blessing. Jacob had received it under false pretences, but he received it. Jacob was blessed, and thus Christians are blessed, never mind their past history. I wanted to show the kind of man that received blessing. Jacob was less commendable than Esau, but he is blessed. Another point is the intense interest of God in Jacob. When he fled from his brother, the angel of God appeared to him, and now again appears after the lapse of twenty years. We see the angels of God interested in him on his return. God is intensely interested in us. A man with nothing but a stone for his pillow is of little interest to men. Have you travelled that road? He was of little interest upon earth, he was in flight, and a ladder was extended from heaven to earth and the angels of God were ascending and descending. He was for them an object of intense interest. Jacob was the vessel of promise, but we have more than that for “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth”, Luke 15:10 (A.V.). The way to create interest, not only upon earth but also in heaven, is to repent. Repentance is It wonderful thing in God’s account; divine Persons are moved at the repentance of a sinner.
[p. 177] It brings joy in the presence of the angels of God. Jacob in flight with a stone for his pillow suggests a man in need. And the angels of God ascend and descend.
Jacob learns Bethel and goes to Padan-Aram. He is now a prosperous man, although it was in selfishness he prospered, but it did not, however, divest God of interest in him. You may wander from Bethel, but God’s interest remains unchanged. When you turn your face homeward, it says, “The angels of God met him”. Thus Jacob is more or less a type of a wandering Christian. The angels are wonderful beings because they represent God; that is what gives angels their value. They are here in two camps. On returning towards Bethel you find those who represent God to you. They are upon earth yet; they are here to meet the wanderer in two camps. Jacob recognizes that testimony of divine interest in him. Have they ever met you? They would suggest to Jacob on his return divine interest, and to a wanderer or prosperous man of the world, the interests of God remained what they were. It was a night meeting between God and Jacob. Jacob was in the dark, but the darkness in your heart is no barrier to God; He is able to wrestle with you until the day. You will be helped if in your heart you allow the thought of divine interest. So one must be encouraged by the book of Genesis - seeing divine interest there. Jacob comes to the point when he values the blessing of God. What we see in Jacob now [p. 178] is a man in need of the blessing. He will not let God go until he blesses him. It is a wonderful moment in a man’s history. God dismisses all else, then He can bless. God will bless you alone. It is well to be solitary with God. There must be with each one a direct transaction; God comes into close quarters with you - God wrestled with him. It is wonderful to see how God comes near to one. If God sends an angel it implies His interest in you, but then He comes Himself and wrestles until the breaking of the day. Has every person in this room come so near to God? It is important as to whether we have gone through this experience. God gives blessing to those who seek it and value it. The blessing of Jacob primarily was a question of divine counsel, but that is one thing, and our reception of the blessing is another. If we take for granted that blessings (or things) are in Christ and rest there, we miss much. Then Jacob would not let him go. If there is joy on repentance, there is joy when divine things are appreciated.
It was a fine moment in Jacob’s history, no more to be Jacob but Israel, “For thou hast wrestled with God, and with men, and hast prevailed”. Jacob was made a prince. When repentance takes place, there is a great deal of interest among the people of God; but as a prince, you create still more interest. A man on reception of the blessing is morally exalted.
When a man receives the gift of the Spirit he is [p. 179] made a prince, and his name is changed. The Spirit will not recognize an old name. The Holy Spirit does not recognize what is after the flesh. It is no use hiding it, the Spirit of God is in you, and you have an entirely new name. Someone may perhaps despise Christians and mock at Christ and Christians, but nevertheless they are all princes and have a new name. You will not understand Christianity until you see the change of name. The Holy Ghost has come into us to make a new race of us - man’s spirit after all is what he is. If the Spirit of glory rests upon man, then there is a moral exaltation. Made a prince is not only in title, but the title carries with it something of superiority. The name describes what Jacob was, he had power with God. You may have power with men, but it is a much greater thing to have power with God. Jacob then wishes to know the name of the “man”.
The few verses in chapter 35 show that, while you may get a name from God and have power with God, still you may never know God fully just as He has been declared until you are in the proper place, the house of God. God will only disclose His name to you in connection with Bethel. The supreme honour and privilege of Christians is to know that Name; but Jacob only got the disclosure of that Name when he got to Bethel. There, God voluntarily discloses His Name to him. He does not wait until Jacob asks Him again. While God is always ready to bless and to give, yet He reserves His sovereign rights [p. 180] and would teach us in this. When Israel returns to Bethel, God says, “I am the Almighty-God”. It is well to return to Bethel. God will meet you and teach you to return to the house of God, there He will teach you all about His name. In Jacob’s case it was God Almighty but with us it is Father. We have that verse, “Wherefore come out from the midst of them, and be separated”, 2 Corinthians 6:17. God demands separation. Jacob was like many Christians, they wander but have to return to the place where alone His name can be known.