FACES OF GOD
In Genesis 32:22-32 we have the story of Jacob wrestling with God. He, alone in the wilderness, wrestled with him until the break of day. I won’t tell the whole story here (you can read it for yourself). But Jacob would not let go of God unless God blessed him. So Jacob received a new name. “…Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” [ESV] Then God blessed him.
Such a simple thing to ask of another, “would you bless me?” In today’s world we think of finance, wealth, notoriety, and power. But back then, a blessing was merely a word given to define the person’s future. Sometimes dying fathers gave words of blessing to their sons. A prophet might pronounce a blessing. King Saul received a blessing from a prophet. People took a blessing quite seriously. They also took curses seriously. One man heaped curses on King David … then when David was successful he was sorry and expected to lose his life as a result. (Factoid: David did not have him killed during his lifetime, but he gave instructions to Solomon to follow after his death requiring the man’s life.)
Back to Genesis 32 … Names and words have actual meanings. There are always some who do all they can to twist the meanings of words, to change the meaning of a phrase, to obscure the truth of a statement. Yet the true meanings of words and names should be known so that the story may be learned and valued. Because of Jacob’s experience he felt he needed to name the place of his personal experience Penuel. That name means “face of God.” Jacob did not believe he had wrestled with anyone less than God himself, and it is likely he did. Moses reported Jacob’s thoughts about the encounter at that place: “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” One does not wrestle with God, face to face, and not know that one’s life was on the line. It isn’t a “nothing” and something like that would change one’s life. It did.
What we miss in the English translations is that the word Moses wrote which we translate “face” is actually a plural word. The word is “panim” and the “im” at the end is a plural ending, like “Elohim.” Jacob saw the faces of God. One could report that others have as well. Mary Magdalene at the tomb did not recognize the face of Jesus until he called her by name.
There have been times of prayer when I have sought the face of God only to not see Him. Looking back weeks later I recognize that he had been there the whole time, had heard, had responded, and met my need. I’m not trying to be mystical. I’m just saying that God is more than we can recognize with one look. I also am careful to understand that God is NOT in trees, rocks, or stars. Those aren’t his faces. He is the father we recognize as small children … the One who loves us completely. He is the father we recognize as youth … the One who demands our obedience to his commands. He is the father we love so deeply when we are adults ourselves (see what the Apostle John says in 1 John 2). Same father, but we see him differently as we grow and mature.
The issue is not that God has faces, it is that we (finite as we are) can’t picture all of God at one time. He is too much.
Without trying to be silly I would liken this to looking at an ocean. There is no way you can see it all at once, up close and personal. All you can see is a few miles of the surface. But then there’s the ocean at noon, and sundown, and under moonlight, or even when an overcast night seems to pull all light out of it. You know it is there, but it is impossible for your eyes to define it. It also has depth beyond depth, each with its own degree of pressure.
I’m happy to see him, but each time is a new revelation (to me). I look and could write a whole book. The next day I’d have to write another. At the same time he knows all of me and permits me to survive in his presence. Like Jacob those who wrestle with God continue to seek a blessing from him. God promises that, too. Trust him, look to him, seek him only … and “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
Copyright 2026 Donald Whelpley
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