Like the face of God

This morning I ate Genesis 33-35. When Jacob met his brother Esau he said, "To see your face is like seeing the face of God." How beautiful is the face of a loved one. Its funny, at first, the face of a stranger may not mean anything - after the stranger becomes a friend - their face means something. It is true than when I see a friend, especially one whom I haven't seen for awhile, there's something special about seeing their face.
Another thing that leaped off the page today, was the fact that the term Bethel ("House of God") is used to describe the place where God revealed himself to Jacob. Interesting that throughout history we have tried to explain this phenonmenon in terms that are rational (i.e. "house of God" "tabernacle" "tent of meeting" "sanctuary" "temple"). Now we have become the house of God. God's Spirit lives within us. BUT, do we acknowledge and live this truth?
Another thought from this morning's reading: Rachel's death is significant and interesting to me. She dies during childbirth and she is buried on the way to Bethlehem. In my heart I thought, "Is this a type of Christ or a foreshadow of Christ?" Matthew records Isaiah's prophecy of Christ, "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." Interesting...Rachel died BUT Benjamin lived. All the two year olds in Bethlehem died and yet Jesus lived. Rachel had first named Benjamin, Ben-Oni, which means son of my trouble. But Jacob renamed him Benjamin which means son of my right hand. This totally points to Christ in my books. Jesus' life was spared from King Herod and Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19; Heb 1:3, 13).
God's Word is AMAZING!