Face to Face with God

Have you ever stopped for a moment to marvel at the intricacies and beauty of the human face?  Do you long to have a face to face encounter with the Living God? My dear friend Peggy Hall, at the Health American, got me thinking about what the Bible says about God's face and our face.  Join me for an adventurous, inspiration, encouraging, and even shocking look at the many faces in the Bible and our culture!

The Bible is our handbook for life.  It tells us everything we need to know to make wise decisions.  With it we can "test the spirits" to see if what we hear is in alignment with Scripture.  We can use it to test our works to ensure that they are in alignment with the Word and Will of God. It only makes sense that we should search the pages of scripture to glean what the verses say about the face of God and face of man.

As the world masks up we must take time to study the uniqueness, power, and influence of the face.  Face-to-Face with God plays a prominent role in the Holy Writ.  When we use the term face-to-face it can mean, that we desire to have a meeting with that person or that we may be confronting a person face-to-face.  When we say, to his face it indicates we spoke in the persons presence. 

Facial Revelation of Our Inner Feelings

The face reveals a plethora things concerning your inner feelings. Your face holds the power to convey:

• Long face betrays a sense of gloom,
• Shining face displays a sense of happiness and contentment.
• Put on a bold face you attempts to appear confident.
• False face is an attempt to hide one’s feelings or opinions.
• To make a face at another can indicate contempt.
• Setting one’s face against someone indicates open defiance or determination to oppose that person.
• When we show our face at an event, we attend it or be seen there.
• We may either lose face or save face, that is, we may lose or maintain our respect.
• We can also be faceless meaning we lose our identity which shamefully is happening today with the masking of humanity. 
• The face can also be used for the surface of a thing such as a clock. The face value of a document.
• Climbers at times scale the sheer face of an outcrop of rock.
• And consider the face of the sun or the face of the moon.

Through our facial expressions we can face up to problems, confront them, or challenge them.  We can also fly in the face of prevailing opinion suggests a course of action contrary to an accepted policy, belief, or standard. 

Faith Lesson:  Lord, you flew in the face of cultural and religious authorities to express the heart and Will of the Father.  Help me to have your boldness to follow in Your footsteps in these troubled days.

Importance of Your Nose On Your Face

“Smoke Ascended From His Nostrils’

Let us pause to consider what the Bible says concerning one of the prominent features of the face our nose. It is the most prominent image relative to the face, the hook in the nose. Biblical imagery of the hook in the nose symbolizes mastery or forced leading. Prophets have used this image to warn nations of God’s wrath and of their coming doom as we see in Kings and Chronicles.” For example, God denounces the mighty Assyrian Empire and its king Sennacherib in particular: “Because you rage against me and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back by the way you came” Isaiah 37:29. How are we to determine who is our Master, the one in charge unless we can see spiritually and physically the hook in the nose?  I would say if you are masking up, you have surrendered your allegiance to God.  The Word says that you cannot have two masters.  You cannot serve God and mammon.  Those of you in mask compliance are likened to Sennacherib, virtually a stubborn beast, which must be put under restraint.  Think about this next time you grab for your mask.

Faith Lesson:  Lord Jesus, You are my Master and Lord.  Assist me in this day of trouble to be faithful to you and make it clear to everyone that You are the King of Kings in these troubled times.  Keep me or the narrow path that You hook might not be put in my nose during judgment.

The Breath of Life & Your Nostrils

A more important text concerning the nose or nostrils is found in the Genesis account of man’s creation: “The LORD God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” Genesis 2:7. Think of the wonder that it is that every living thing has the breath of life in its nostrils, but only man has the breath of God in his nostrils.” The Psalmist poignantly describes idols and idolatry, “They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell” Psalms 115:5-6.  We must each inquire of God, "Am I engaging in idolatry when I mask up?"

God is likened to one whose nostrils smell a very fragrant and pleasing aroma within the sacrificial system. Very satisfying was the life and propitiatory sacrifice of Christ. For by these he demonstrated that he “loved us and gave himself for us as a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God” Ephesians 5:2.

The nose and nostrils of God are also used to indicate God’s displeasure, wrath, and judgmental power.  Consider that it was the mere blast of God’s nostrils that caused the waters of the forbidding sea to pile up and provide a safe passage for the Israelites as they fled from the pursuing Egyptian forces: “By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters solidified in the heart of the sea” Exodus 15:8. Whenever I read this passage, I think of it in the Hebrew, which indicates that the sea coagulated into a solid mass.  I wonder if the very salvation for the Jewish people, the solidification of the sea, was the same force and power that hardened the heart of Pharaoh? 

Faith Lesson:  Help me to under O God that my nostrils emulate God the Father and Jesus Christ in their work of salvation and sanctification.  When we mask up we are deleterious impacting our spiritual and physical well-being. 

The Cultural Nose

One of the most distinctive features of the face is the nose. It is amazing how critical our nose is for things other than breathing and smelling.  For instance, a reporter who has a nose for news is able to track down the desired information. He may “ follow his nose” in gathering the details. A nosey person, however, pries into others’ affairs and is said to have poked his nose into them. A close victory can be expressed as winning by a nose. Those who pay an unreasonable price for something have paid through the nose. My friends, you have sure witnessed the price gouging and escalation of prices so we are surely paying through the nose for almost everything these days!  If we count noses we tally the number of people in attendance or who can be counted upon to support our position.

Something under my nose is in plain sight. Rude people can rub someone’s nose in it by endlessly reminding him of his mistakes. They may look down their noses in disdain while doing so or it can mean displeasure with your action as in the case of my grandmother, who would stare down her nose at us, with a cold chill I might add, when we did something she disapproved. Some people may have their nose out of joint which is also a sign of displeasure.  There are people with a propensity to cut off his nose to spite his face by doing that which is injurious to his own welfare. To be led by the nose is to be dominated by someone else.  Are you being lead by Jesus or Satan? 

The nose’s sense of smell is also used figuratively such as in smelling danger or smelling out the facts in a given situation. The wide use of facial features in figurative expressions should alert us to expect to find them in God’s communication to us. We see that the Bible uses many of them.

Faith Lesson:  Thank you Jesus for my nose.  May I use it to for Your glory!

Face-to-Face in Scripture

“Cause Your Face To Shine”

Inanimate objects in the Bible have also been bestowed a face.  Cain complained to God that the Lord was driving him from “the face of the land,” to places where he would disappear from God’s sight, Genesis 4:14. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of “the face of the kingdoms which are … earth,” Jeremiah 25:26. Moses warned his people that God would remove the disobedient from the [face of] land, Deuteronomy 6:15. The Lord scatters the post-deluvial population “across the face of the entire earth,” Genesis 11:8. The remains of Queen Jezebel’s body were to lie “like manure on the surface [face] of the ground,” 2 Kings 9:37. The surface of the sea could be termed its face as we see in the books of Genesis and Job.  In certain translations, the horizon of the sky has a face as seen in Matthew 16:3.

Face can also be used in connection with an object such as a scroll, a building, or even a tent. The face gives us direction. In 1 Kings 7:25  we the twelve bulls, on which the basin known as the Sea rested, were arranged “three facing northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward.” They can also provide direction in visions as with Jeremiah vision of the boiling pot in Jeremiah 1:13.

Faith Lesson:  Lord, I lift up my face towards You to show me the direction I must go as I travel through the Wasteland of Wickedness.

The Many Faces of Scripture

What face are you wearing during the year 2020?  Let us dig deeper into the word to see the many faces embedded within the Word. 

Solomon points out that a joyful heart makes a face cheerful, Proverbs 15:13.

Sad faces, which many of us are experiencing these days are an indication of sorrow or need.  Sad faces can be good for the heart as we see in Ecclesiastes 7:3 and Nehemiah 2:1-9. 

Are you experiencing a pale face?  This is an indication of fear or fright.

There is also the hypocritical face that Jesus warns us about in Matthew 6:16.

Scripture also contains other faces, some positive and others negative.  Negative faces include: the hard face is indicative of defiance, face of impudence, a ruthless face.  A shamed face points to defeat, frustration, humiliation. The flaming face is one convulsed by terror. An evil face is a face marked by distress and anxiety. A fallen face stems from very strong anger or displeasure.

Positive faces brilliantly go forth through: “shining” face is evidence of joy. “In the light of a king’s face there is life” Proverbs 16:15.

Faith Lesson:  This day I choose not to mask and will encourage others not to mask so that we all can appreciate the many emotions that You have provided us to discern with wisdom the circumstances that find myself. 

Cover up in Grief and Embrace the Sentence of Judgement

“He sees God’s face with rejoicing”

The face appears in various figurative expressions involving personal emotions or attitudes.  Here is where things get very interesting.  Covering the face can indicate grief in the Bible.

When King David learned of the death of his son, he covered his face and cried aloud, ‘My son, Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!” 2 Samuel 19:4. God commands Ezekiel to cover your face so that you cannot see the ground because I have made you an object lesson to the house of Israel” Ezekiel 12:6. By this act he was to symbolize the fact that although the king would attempt to stop Ezekiel’s covering of his face in this context symbolized not only grief but also shame, and a sentence of judgment ending in doom.

Faith Lesson:  Your Word says that covering my face is a sign of grief.  I am grieving in my heart for this sinful world but in my heart there is fullness of joy even in judgment!

Cover the Face with Shame

Covering the face as a sign of shame occurs in other verses as well. The psalmist implores God that when he judges Israel’s enemies to cover their faces with shame so they might seek you, O LORD” Psalm 83:16.

Faith Lesson:  Let me learn the lesson that only Your enemies are to cover their face and with shame.  I pray that they might seek You. 

Covering Your Face In Your God's Presence

The Biblical verses and model indicate that we are to cover our face to our Divine God.  By masking up, are you masking worship to God Almighty?  Did He give the order that you are following?  Or, rather, are you worshiping and following Satanic and secular orders?

The face could also be covered in the awesome presence of the Lord God. Elijah covered his face with his robe when he heard a gentle whisper and recognized it as the voice of God in 1 Kings 19:13. While the angelic seraphim also covered their faces with two of their wings in the presence of the Holy One in the Great Throne Room scene of Isaiah 6:2.

Faith Lesson:  Help me to only mask up as I approach Your Holiness and Presence, as a small token of my reverence towards You.

Worship and Submission to Your God

As I mentioned, your actions indicate who you worship so it is critical that our actions be in alignment with the Word of God.  Bowing down with one’s face to the ground/floor or falling on one’s face appears in many contexts whether to indicate honor or respect as we see in 1 Samuel 28:14 and Daniel 2:46, especially of a king, self-humbling, or worship/reverence in the presence of God.  Prayer may also be expressed as lifting up the face, seeking God’s face, especially in repentance and submission, or putting the face between the knees.

Submission or respect for a superior or elder was demanded in the Old Testament. “Stand up in the presence of [literally the face of] the aged, show respect [literally to honor the face of] for the elderly and revere your God.

I am the LORD” Leviticus 19:32. Expressing your devotion to God can be seen by bowing one’s face to the ground. Therefore, Joseph, in seeking his father’s blessing for his two sons, “bowed down with his face to the ground” in Genesis 48:12. Falling on one’s face to the ground can indicate being terrified or frightened as we see in the Book of Daniel.

Faith Lesson:  Let the bowing of my face be in worship only.  Give me courage to fight the social engineers mandating masking in violation Your Word by their social distancing which in essence is masking the elderly from society.  This mandate condemns the elderly into the slime pits of loneliness, despair, and isolation.  No comfort, no friendly faces, no ministering one unto another.  This is not Your Will O Lord.  Please forgive us!

Personal Actions And The Face

“Seek his presence (literally, face) always”

The many facets of the face require PHYSICAL ACTION.

As Jacob fled from Laban, his father-in-law, he “headed for [‘set his face toward’] the hill country of Gilead” Genesis 31:21. After capturing the town of Gath, the Aramean king Hazael “turned to attack [‘set his face toward’] Jerusalem” 2 Kings 12:17. When Balaam the hireling prophet “saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness” Numbers 24:1. A far different prophet of the Lord, the prophet Daniel, reports, “I turned to the LORD [literally I set my face toward] my God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and sackcloth and ashes” Daniel. 9:3.

Activities represented by the face may be positive or negative. “A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but by a painful heart the spirit is broken” Proverbs 15:13. Washing the face indicates purity or happiness. Jesus advised that fasting ought not to be undertaken with external accompaniments such as a disfigured face or somber look. Such is a hypocritical observance. Rather than drawing attention to oneself, one should wash his face so that only God would be aware of the person who fasts.

A further positive note is the scriptural prophecy that God would send “my messenger, who will clear the way before me” [literally my face] Malachi 3:1. The application of Malachi’s prophecies concerning Elijah thus gives positive assurance that the final fulfillment of the prophecies will definitely take place and thus of the truthfulness and divine inspiration of the Bible.

Another positive text including actions and the face is found in Elisha’s instructions to Gehazi, his servant, to run ahead and lay Elisha’s staff on the face (i.e., the body) of the Shunamite’s dead lad. “The staff as the symbol of God-given prophetic power (cf. Ex. 4:1-4; 17:8-13) signified Elisha’s faith that God would stay further physical degeneration until he could come.” With the reviving of the lad a positive result occurred so that the power of God through his designated prophet was displayed. Do you carry His resurrection power that even the dead be raised or do you clutch your protective fabric and mask up quaking in fear or compromising biblical truth to avoid consequences from a supposed virus?  Where is your faith servant of God?

Faith Lesson:  Guide me as I turn and set my face toward You O LORD and my God, and plead with You in prayer to Your grace and mercy.

Spitting in the Face of Your Enemy

How bold are you?  Would you spit in the face of your enemy as public rebuke and shaming?  Recently, when ousted from the Good Food Store I did a battle cry of, "Heil Hitler!" but I am learning that I should have taken off my shoe and spit in the manager's face.  Here is the biblical precedent set forth for us in Numbers 12:14 and Mark 15:19:

A particularly prominent case involved the situation of brothers living communally together. If one of the brothers died, it was the prescribed obligation of the surviving brother to marry the widow. If he refused to do so, however, a public ceremony was to follow during which his brother’s widow was to approach him “in view of the elders, take off his sandal, spit in his face and say, ‘This is what is done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line’” Deuteronomy 25:9. Eugene Merrill describes the rationale behind the stipulation: “The sandal, again, represented forfeiture by the derelict brother of any claims he might have had to his departed brother’s estate. The act of spitting into the face displays the utmost disdain or contempt.”

You might be wondering how this is applicable to my situation?  I should have taken off my shoe in the view of management (who would not have understood this ancient custom) as a sign that this is what is done to the person who does not ensure humanity's bloodline, but is aiding its demise.  I furthermore should have spit in his face showing my utter disdain and contempt for this illegal and lawless policy.  It probably would have got me arrested, but it is biblical, and I could plead my case before the Living God.  

As encouragement for our future there is this poignant case. Although he is faithful and obedient, he is mistreated with severe disrespect and insulting behavior: “I offered my back to those who attacked, my jaws to those who tore out my beard; I did not hide my face from insults and spitting” Isaiah 50:6. As Edward Young illuminates to us that the description of this servant goes far beyond any human sufferer: “It would be impossible for any sinful human being, no matter how fine a person he was, to undergo the sufferings herein described without a spirit of rebellion welling up within him… . The only One who can so patiently suffer is the One without sin, the Christ of God.” Indeed, Isaiah goes on to describe this One in terms that surely can apply to no one other than the Messiah, God’s son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah 53:3-12.

Jesus himself predicted, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him severely, and kill him. Yet after three days, he will rise again”. Such literally came to pass. It is of interest to note that although the practice of spitting in the face was designed to be symbolically negative, in God’s providence this odious act was overcome through the suffering of the triumphant Christ. Negative deed became changed to positive outcome.

Then there is the graphic figure utilizing the face is that of “pulling up the skirt over the face.” The image is related to the act of harlotry. Thus in prophesying concerning the fall of Nineveh, Nahum charges the Assyrian capital city with being a “wanton prostitute” Nahum 3:4. Nineveh is here seen as using both immoral attractions, the city of Ishtar, and sorcery as a means to enslave others. This is our current reality. “‘I am against you,’ declares the LORD who commands armies. ‘I will strip off your clothes literally lift your skirts over your face, as they say in Britain, face nappies! I will show your nakedness to the nations and shame to the kingdoms,’” Nahum 3:5.

We see that Nineveh also receives a similar fate, a pronouncement against God’s own people because of their religious harlotry in entertaining false gods. Accordingly, God declared their just judgment: “I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress! People of Jerusalem, I have seen your adulterous worship, your shameless prostitution to and your lustful pursuit of, other gods. I have seen your disgusting acts of worship on the hills throughout the countryside” Jeremiah 13:26-27. How shameful that God’s people would leave the source of true life and turn to other fascinations! Well does the apostle John warn today’s believers: “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” 1 John. 5:21.

Where else do we see a face or faces in Scripture? 

Armies are said to face each other and in hostile situations like open warfare, the idiom to one’s face can indicate rebuke.

Faith Lesson: Help me O Jesus not hide my face from insults and spitting that You endured as will I during this time of trouble.  Keep me from putting on this mask a representation of You pulling up my skirt and showing my nakedness.

Personal Relationships And The Face

“I hope to come visit you and speak face to face”

The face often appears in contexts involving personal relationships. In your life and in the Bible, people are often said to meet one another face-to-face.

Face-to-Face in Prophecy:  Jeremiah predicts that Zedekiah will be captured and will speak to the king of Babylon “face to face”.

Face-to-Face in Confrontation:  The apostle Paul the Roman points out to Agrippa, “it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met his accusers face to face”.

Face-to-Face in a Military Challenge:  King Amaziah of Judah at one time sent a military challenge to king Jehoash of Israel saying, “Come face me on the battlefield”.

Face-to-Face with Special Access:  Those officials who enjoyed special access to the Persian king were said to “see his face,” Esther 1:14.

Face-to-Face Denying Access:  Joseph denied access into his presence to his brothers by telling them, “You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.”

Face-to-Face Special Meetings or Relationship:  John wrote to his friend Gaius that he hoped “to see you right away and we will speak face to face”.

Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to “join in helping us by prayer so that many people [literally, many faces] may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many."

Seeking the Face

We often seek the face of someone in authority.  This was true in biblical times as well. “Everyone in the world wanted to visit [literally seek the face of] Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.   The author of Proverbs observes, “Many people seek the face of a ruler”.  When you turn your face toward someone he pays attention or you address that person, but to turn your face away can mean rejection. We can choose to hide our face from God and reject Him.  Hiding your face can go further indicating displeasure or revulsion to the Almighty God.

In ancient biblical times "not lifting up the face" was a sign of disrespect.  Israel was told that their disobedience could bring God’s judgment in the form of a fierce nation coming against them that had “no regard for [literally will not lift up the face of] the elderly.” It can also mean currying favor, partiality, and granting a request. Turning back the face meant refusal.

Faith Lesson:  May I seek You face every moment of my day Jesus. 

God’s Face

“Moses, Who Knew The LORD Face To Face”

One of the most intense experiences is when Jesus visits you.  When Jacob wrestled with the Angel he was so overcome by the events of that night that he “named the place Peniel, explaining, ‘Certainly I have seen God face to face, and survived’”.  He did not, literally see the face of God, but faced His presence. 

In the Wilderness Wanderings God was said to “speak to Moses face to face the way a person speaks to a friend.” Moses was always face to face with God with questions, concerns, and sometimes in confrontation. 

God’s “face” means his personal presence in accomplishing his purposes and especially his power as the means by which God accomplished his mighty deeds. The same idea will be seen in the case of unbelievers in the great tribulation period, the climax of earthly history. Those who fear the awesome power of God’s presence in judgment are portrayed as crying, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”.

God’s essence, not his literal face, can be intended for no one should or could  see God. No human has ever seen God the Father, Himself.  We are to see the face of Jesus Christ supreme, that God has been known and seen. A man must perish if he looks on or even hears Father God. Biblical greats such as Moses, Elijah, and even the seraphim cover their faces in God’s presence.

The times when a believer see's God the Father and yet lives to tell the experience involves either a manifestation of God’s glory and majesty, a revelation through the Angel of the Lord; or a visionary experience.

God's face is often used for Divine action.  Oftentimes this comes in the form of comfort for His people such as giving instructions as to how Aaron was to bless the people: “The LORD bless you and protect you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace”. A believer may seek the “face” of God and pray, “Lift up upon us the light of your face, O LORD” as relayed by the Psalmist, to make us realize that God is aware of our hidden sins.

Sin causes fellowship with God to be broken so that the Lord will hide his “face” from his people. The fruit of this sin is pain and sorrow. The Psalmist prays, “Do not reject me [literally hide your face from me] or I will join those descending to the grave.”  Yet “God is merciful and compassionate; He will not reject you [literally turn his face from you] if you return to him.” God warned the nation Israel through his messengers that if his people sinned against him, judgment would surely come as we see when Ezekiel prophesies concerning Jerusalem, “I will give it to foreigners as loot … I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured place” Ezekiel. 7:21-22.

Even when Israel sinned and was sent into exile, God gave a gracious promise to his people through Ezekiel that a day was coming when he would make a new covenant with a repentant people and “I will not leave any of them in exile any longer. I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD,” Ezekiel 39:28-29.

When we refer to God's face it is anthropomorphic for God’s face is not to be construed in physical terms. Rather, it is given for mankind in order that people may understand his active presence in world affairs, particularly in connection with his own people. He reminds each one of us that warm, active fellowship with God is possible but warns us all that sin can mar that fellowship and bring God’s just judgment.

The Upright Will Experience His Favor

God’s majesty and power can be felt in each instance you encounter His presence. And when we sin and err, His face is there with Judgment. Whether face or nose, these texts assure us of God’s mighty power. Moreover, they stand as reminders that all people live in the presence of the omnipotent God of the universe.

It is you, my dear friends, who are sensitive to God's presence.  You who will seek to live upright and faithful lives before Jesus. God’s “face” reminds you that God is available in your everyday lives, whether in His self-revelation in the Scriptures or in your daily communion with Him in prayer.   Jesus was the sweet aroma to the Father, and each of you are the sweet aroma to Jesus.

May that hope of seeing Christ be lived out by all Christians in righteousness so that they may sing with joyous anticipation the familiar words of the hymn writer, “Face to Face with Christ, My Savior, … Face to face in all his glory, I shall see him by and by.”

Be blessed this day.