But alas, theophanies are by definition extremely rare. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the amount of theophanies recorded in the Bible, which spans about 3,000 years of history. So if the going rate for a manifestation of God is about 5 every 3,000 years, odds are I will probably not witness one in my lifetime.
Genesis 35:1-20
"Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth. 9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. 16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18 As she breathed her last — for she was dying — she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb."
What's really fascinating here is that it seems that God was willing to work with these people even though they were still fairly pagan in their religious practices, i.e. having them throw away all their foreign gods they had been carrying about. Apparently, Rachel was still pretty much a pagan when she married Jacob -- remember when she stole her family's household gods? And now Jacob/Israel commands the whole family to get rid of them.......he didn't want anything messing up his encounter with God. His second encounter with God.
Why was Jacob the recipient of at least two theophanies, when I, who could really use one right about now, don't even get one? I guess God had to really get in there and get involved, since He was building up a new people to be a beacon of His light for the world of the gentiles. Maybe God needed to make sure there was an insistent witness to His saving actions in the world.
On the other hand, I do believe I have barely missed several theophanies of God.......out of the corner of my eye. In people's lives, in their faces, in the laughter of my God-given children, in the smiles of my church family, I glimpse the barely glowing remnant of a place God was just standing. He shows Himself to me all the time through these and other people in my path, but I can be too busy looking for a theophany instead.
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