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Prepare: Some places appear to be charged with the presence of God. You arrive and sense that he is there. Or maybe there were important stages in your life when his nearness was tangible. Revisit them now in prayer.
God’s grandeur
The much-lauded poet Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844–89) wrote extensively about God’s presence in creation. His poem ‘God’s Grandeur’ opens with these lines:
‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.’
The dwelling of God
Jacob would have sympathised with these sentiments. This was his experience at Bethel, the place which exuded God’s immanence. Time after time he returns there to rediscover the mysterious dwelling of God.
He is commanded to return there with his family (v 1); his mother’s nurse is buried there (v 8) and he builds another altar in this place to mark God’s appearance to him (vs 14,15). Strangely enough he is compelled to either reassert the same name (v 15) or offer a variation on the original (El Bethel, v 7, NIV).
The shining of God
Bethel is foundational to Jacob in his knowledge of God. Places are of course important and some seem divinely charged, but the New Testament’s emphasis is on a person and not a place.
The apostle Paul exclaims that God has ‘made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6, NIV). Jesus is the shining of God.
Respond: ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face.’
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-07-27
God’s grandeur
The much-lauded poet Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844–89) wrote extensively about God’s presence in creation. His poem ‘God’s Grandeur’ opens with these lines:
‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil.’
The dwelling of God
Jacob would have sympathised with these sentiments. This was his experience at Bethel, the place which exuded God’s immanence. Time after time he returns there to rediscover the mysterious dwelling of God.
He is commanded to return there with his family (v 1); his mother’s nurse is buried there (v 8) and he builds another altar in this place to mark God’s appearance to him (vs 14,15). Strangely enough he is compelled to either reassert the same name (v 15) or offer a variation on the original (El Bethel, v 7, NIV).
The shining of God
Bethel is foundational to Jacob in his knowledge of God. Places are of course important and some seem divinely charged, but the New Testament’s emphasis is on a person and not a place.
The apostle Paul exclaims that God has ‘made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6, NIV). Jesus is the shining of God.
Respond: ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face.’
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-07-27
Scripture
About this Plan
WordLive provides a daily slice of Bible reading and commentary that, over four years, covers most of the Bible. The commentary encourages the reader to engage with the Bible passage in order to deepen their relationship with God, through reflection and practical application. The WordLive website offers further multimedia content and group Bible study, while registration offers a daily email, journal and bookmarking, and community tools.
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We would like to thank Scripture Union England & Wales for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.wordlive.org/youversion
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