The Altar

Genesis 33:20- Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel (God, the God of Israel).

Up until this point Jacob (now named Israel) has referred to the Lord as the
God of "Someone Else." HE has been the God of Abraham, the God of my father, the Fear of Isaac, etc. Through the years of struggling through his commitments to Laban, even when deceived, somewhere during that time his character was being formed; but not until he struggled all night with God and prevailed did he ever refer to God as being his (Israel's). Now he builds an altar and declares that God is his God as well. He saw God. There it is, that necessary personal encounter with God and now Israel is His!

There seems to always have to be that One on one, Face to face encounter with God that establishes a relationship of 'servant under Almighty'. It is a struggle and a wrestling match to give in to the Truth. It was a struggle with the Lord when I was first saved. There have been other struggles...wrestlings with loyalties and devotions to the wrong things or persons.

Israel called God his God that day. O that all my confrontations with the Lord always end with Him still on His Throne over me.