Then God Went Up From Him

God appeared to Jacob...and blessed him...Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.
Genesis 35:9, 13

One moment Jacob is in direct communion with the living God. And then the next moment God is gone. No, in a sense God is not gone because God is with Jacob wherever he goes (Genesis 35:3). But there is a sense in which God is gone. After meeting with Jacob to speak directly to him, God goes up from that place.

I wonder what Jacob must have felt like in that moment directly after God went up from that place. Lonely? Wishing that more of his life was lived consumed by majesty in the direct presence of God? That's how I would feel.

In fact, that's how I often feel.

Some mornings my communion with God makes me feel as though I'm standing in front of a burning bush. And yet on many mornings--most mornings--it feels like even though God had been right there in my room with me the day before, today God has gone up from me in this very place where he had spoken with me.

And often times it's discouraging. I wonder if Jacob felt discouraged in that moment. I wonder if he said or wanted to say, "LORD, where are you going? Wait LORD! Come back!"

Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. We don't know. The Scriptures don't tell us what he felt or said after God went up from him. But they tell us what he did: he set up a memorial in that location so that he would always remember that God really did appear to him in that place and he worshipped God by making an offering.

And that's how we must live our lives. We must, as it were, set up pillars to remember the God who has so powerfully manifested Himself to us because otherwise we forget. Our sinful nature will tomorrow tempt us to forget today's grace. And we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, this our daily act of worship, regardless of how we feel.

Because the reality of the life of Jacob is that those moments where God appeared to him were few and far between. Jacob lived most of his life with God having gone up from him, in the seemingly mundane lifestyle of "trust and obey"... day...after day...after day.

It was only into that life of discipline and faithfulness, continually clinging to the promises of God, that God was pleased in infinite grace to more manifestly reveal Himself to Jacob in what for him must have been cherished moments of grandeur and majesty. But Jacob couldn't initiate those especially holy moments no matter what he did. It was for God to initiate where and when He would appear to Jacob.

This greatly encourages me. When it seems like God has gone up from me, this is not abnormal. This is the norm. And, learning from Jacob, I can take heart, set up my pillars, and offer my worship to the Lord, knowing that even though He may have gone up from this place, He always answers me and really is with me wherever I go (Genesis 35:3). I do so eagerly looking forward to those days when God in His mercy will once again more manifestly, intimately, and powerfully reveal Himself to me and always ultimately anticipating that glorious day when God will fully and finally appear, never again to go up from us in this place.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!