THE FACES OF GOD

 

 

We have many faces. This doesn’t make us two-faced. It just means that we are complex and have many sides. I think that this is especially true of God. This is one reason whey we must meditate on His Word, day and night, to grasp His wondrous richness.

 In the Five Books of Moses—the Law, Torah, or Pentateuch—He presented Himself as a stern taskmaster. Israel would be cursed for disobedience but blessed for their obedience—a theme that played out throughout the entire OT and even into the NT. God had even terrified His people into obedience:

·       Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:18–20)

 However, we must not stop here. While in the Law of Moses, God’s fear was a terror to Israel, as it was supposed to be, later we find that the “fear of the Lord” can be inexpressively sweet. It becomes such a joy that Isaiah says of the Messiah:

·       And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth... (Isaiah 11:3–4)

Later, it was revealed that the fear-of-the-Lord was Israel’s “treasure”—another face of God. What had seemed repressive turned out to be a treasure:

·       The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure. (Isaiah 33:5–6)

 Therefore, Jesus had informed His incredulous disciples that His most glorious nourishment was found in serving the Father:

 ·       Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:31–34; 12:23-24)

God reveals what we can meaningfully digest. It is like children learning trigonometry. They must first learn addition and subtraction, often by trial, error, and rote memorization. Blessing resulted from learning to obey the rules. Therefore, God had to first teach Israel to precisely obey His rules.

 Teachers often operate in the same manner. For the first six months, they are demanding and establish their authority. After these are accomplished, they can then loosen up and begin to show their softer side.

 More than a month after their exodus from Egypt, Israel rebelled because there was no food:

·       Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven [manna] for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Exodus 16:4–5)

 However, many refused to follow God’s instructions to gather no more manna than a day’s portion, and they suffered the consequences. The maggots got into the leftovers, and it created a great stench. Later, Moses explained:

·       “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.” (Deuteronomy 8:2–5)

 Israel needed to be humbled to learn to distrust their own thinking in favor of the Word of God, even when His Word made little sense to them.

 Nevertheless, there was another face of God—His overwhelming mercy—but it had been hidden in plain sight. After God had brought a plague against the children of Israel over the incident of the golden calf, thousands died, and Moses was devastated and asked God for understanding:

·       Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:18–20)

 He had explained to Moses that He wouldn’t go among Israel lest He destroy them. Instead, he would send them His Presence (literally “His Face”):

·       “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people”…And he said, “My presence [“Face”] will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:3,14)

 How peculiar! It seems that God and His “Face” would be with them but perhaps in a hidden way. Through this Face, He would give Israel “rest.” God subsequently revealed more of Himself to Moses. However, He warned Moses that that there was much that He wouldn’t reveal—His Face. Of course, God is Spirit and His entire creation couldn’t contain Him. Therefore, He didn’t literally have a face. What then had He communicated to Moses regarding this mysterious Face, His Presence?

 ·       And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. (Deuteronomy 32:20; 31:17)

 When God hides His face, He hides His mercy (Job 13:24; Psalm 13:1; 104:29; Isaiah 8:17). We are informed that no one could see the Face of God and live. Therefore, Israel could “see” His face but not really. They could see His mercy but not the extent of it.

 Similarly, there was one object in the Temple that no one could see and yet live—the mercy seat of God, a mere covering of the Ark, hidden by smoke and the outstretched wings of the cherubim. The High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement but only after the most elaborate preparations lest even he would be struck dead. All of this indicates that God was hiding the central key of His mercy—the Cross of Christ (Romans 3:14-16).

 But why? Israel wasn’t ready to hear about what was most precious to our Lord—what would break His heart, the death of His Son. The Apostles couldn’t receive this self-disclosure. Peter even rebuked Jesus when He disclosed a small portion of the love of God:

 ·       From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:21–23)

No wonder God could not open His heart to Israel. He would have been scorned! They would never receive it, but for those who were hungering to know God, He would disclose Himself a little at a time—His softer Face:

 ·       Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long…The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. (Psalm 25:4–5,14)

 Hadn’t Israel already known about the Mosaic Covenant? Evidently, but this other Covenant would clearly reveal what had been hidden for millennia. However, there was also another reason why hid Himself:

·       But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:7–8)

 However, as OT time rolled on, we begin to perceive a God whose love could no longer be contained:

·       “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14–16)