Hidden in Plain Sight
Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “if it had been a snake, it would have bit me.” It is used when we miss something that is right in front of us. Or, as you have likely heard others say, it is “hidden in plain sight.”
So it was with Jacob. His encounter with a God “hidden in plain sight,” is not one he will likely forget. If you remember the story, you’ll know that Jacob is running to save his life. His pursuer is his burly brute of a brother, Esau. After deceiving their father into giving him what rightly belonged to Esau—the top position of authority and the largest part of the family inheritance—Jacob is in real trouble. And so, he runs. Actually, the Hebrew language records that he “stumbles forward,” moving at break-neck speed in no particular direction as long as it’s away from Esau. He keeps running and only stops, the text tells us, when it becomes so dark and he is so tired, that he cannot see his way or find his strength to go any further. At this inauspicious spot, he collapses. Soon, with only a rock to lay his head on, he falls asleep.
Sunday school children can tell us what happens next. As he sleeps, he dreams and, in his dream, he sees a ladder that connects heaven and earth. It’s God’s way of telling him that his life is not closed off from heaven’s sight and influence. God has broken through the heavens and is meeting Jacob on earth. He is present there with him. Not only this, the promise of blessing that God has made to Jacob’s family is with Jacob as well and God is intent on fulfilling it, even through a cheating scoundrel like Jacob. So powerful is this message that when Jacob awakes, he proclaims, “Surely the Lord was in the place, and I didn’t know it.” Or, translated into the popular American idiom, “If He had been a snake, he would have bit me!” Jacob is so impressed with what has happened that he wants to mark the spot. He names the place “Beth-el” meaning “the house of God.” In other words, he declares the space is a sacred one, a place where God abides.
The name drips with comic irony since the reader knows that the place itself is actually quite common. The text has already shown us that it has nothing to commend this particular place. It goes to lengths to illustrate that Jacob has found it quite by accident. The full truth is what the psalmist tells us, “the whole earth is full of His glory.” That means that God was there when Jacob deceived Esau. He will be there as Jacob continues to run. He will be there when he returns to his deceit and seeks to get the better of another relative. And, twenty years later, when he decides to return to his home and face his angry brother, God will again be there to meet with Jacob.
Such irony points us to the broader message of scripture when it repeatedly tells us that God “fills the earth!” What is different for Jacob is not the place but that God has finally gotten his attention. Jacob has finally seen the obvious even if he mistakenly thinks that only this place is sacred. God has been “hidden in plain sight.” It is not a snake that kills, but a God who gives life that has attached itself to Jacob. And this place, at least for Jacob, will never be the same.
Jacob’s story tells us that when God gets our attention, when we notice His presence, things change. The common is made sacred. Places that seem accidental take on meaning. Even our attempt to run from our sin and who we are is transformed into a path back to Him. Even our decent “into the darkness… becomes light.” Though not bitten, we are smitten – this time by seeing Him present with us.
—Rev. James R. Needham
Jim gives us a great devotional though today calling on us to ask questions of our own life’s journey. Is there a place or a time that holds special significance for you because you experienced God there? In what upcoming place or time today would you be aware of the God who is “hidden in plain sight?” Take a moment to bring to mind the places you will go to today. Then, pray the following: Heavenly Father, You fill heaven and earth with Your glory. Give me eyes to see your presence in this day and in the place(s) where I will be. May His presence be a blessing to you today in each of your interactions and in each of their aftermaths! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics