Hide not Your Face
“And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 39:29
In the scriptures, the anthropomorphic terminology about God hiding His face is a repeated one. During Israel’s captivity, for example, the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that there would come a time when God would hide His face no more. Of course, God is spirit and does not literally have a face. But God does make His favor and presence or nearness known to us.
God would hide His face from His people because in times of peace and prosperity, Israel would forget God and turn to idols. Among other things, this meant that He removed His favor and protection from them. This resulted in Israel’s enemies defeating them and ultimately subjugating them.
So when the Bible speaks of God hiding His face, this speaks of God disciplining His children. It’s important to note here that although God dealt with Israel differently under the Old Covenant than He deals with the church today under the New Covenant, the promise of discipline remains (see Hebrews 12:5-11).
The tendency of God’s people is to forget God in times of prosperity. We begin to look to the blessings of God and not God Himself for our security and safety. We look to money or what money can buy to bring us comfort. We fall in love with our freedoms more than with the God who gives us freedom.
During this election season, many on both sides of the aisle were concerned with losing their freedoms. I for one am super grateful to be living in a free country. Today is Veterans Day, a day we set aside to honor our vets who sacrifice mush to preserve our freedoms. Freedom does not come for free, and we should never take it for granted.
But what do we want freedom for? What are we doing with the freedoms that we have?
There are many in our country who want freedom to terminate a pregnancy and kill the life in their womb. Others want the freedom to marry a same sex partner, or allow children to decide their gender, although it’s already been determined biologically by God. People today want to give children not only the ability to choose their gender, but to mutilate their bodies in a feeble and twisted attempt to become what they’re not.
Freedom can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse when we use our freedom to live independently of God and His plan and purpose for our lives. Freedom without boundaries will lead to bondage—will lead to greater depravity and destruction.
When the freedom and prosperity led God's people down a road of depravity and destruction, God in His love would hide His face, His favor, so that they would remember what they needed most, namely God Himself, and turn back to Him. Sometimes God allows His people to be under a government that will bring more freedom, and sometimes He allows them to be under one that affords less freedom. But the greater question we need to ask ourselves as Christians in America is, "Am I using my freedom to know Jesus and make Him known?”
In addition to His favor, the face of God speaks of His presence, or person, which we can know intimately. When God hides His face, we not only lose the fullness of His favor, but of His fellowship. This is expressed in the psalmist's prayers:
It’s right and good to seek the Lord in prayer for freedom, provision, and prosperity so that we can know Jesus, raise our children to know Jesus, and together live to spread His fame. But we must be careful to not fall into a pattern of only seeking the Lord for what He can give us more than seeking Him for Himself.
What is your prayer life like? Are you only seeking primarily for something from God? To help us know the difference, Ron Auch observed:
As in Israel's day, seeking God’s face or cultivating intimacy with God can be hindered by unconfessed and unforsaken sin. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). When we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are adopted into the family of God and become children of God.
But like a parent-child relationship, or a husband-wife relationship, sin will disrupt our fellowship with God, our intimacy with God. We cannot be fully present with God and God will not be fully present with us when our hearts are not pure, when our hearts are divided, when we are harboring sin in our lives. The essence of sin is an act of independence from God that we must confess, forsake, and seek His forgiveness and cleansing to walk in fellowship and enjoy communion with Him (1 John 1:1-9).
If you feel distant from God, it could be that there is unconfessed sin in your life, or that you want God more for what He can give you than you do God Himself.
O may we avail ourselves of the riches of God’s grace in Christ and live to know Him and make Him known.
-Pastor Marco
In the scriptures, the anthropomorphic terminology about God hiding His face is a repeated one. During Israel’s captivity, for example, the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that there would come a time when God would hide His face no more. Of course, God is spirit and does not literally have a face. But God does make His favor and presence or nearness known to us.
God would hide His face from His people because in times of peace and prosperity, Israel would forget God and turn to idols. Among other things, this meant that He removed His favor and protection from them. This resulted in Israel’s enemies defeating them and ultimately subjugating them.
So when the Bible speaks of God hiding His face, this speaks of God disciplining His children. It’s important to note here that although God dealt with Israel differently under the Old Covenant than He deals with the church today under the New Covenant, the promise of discipline remains (see Hebrews 12:5-11).
The tendency of God’s people is to forget God in times of prosperity. We begin to look to the blessings of God and not God Himself for our security and safety. We look to money or what money can buy to bring us comfort. We fall in love with our freedoms more than with the God who gives us freedom.
During this election season, many on both sides of the aisle were concerned with losing their freedoms. I for one am super grateful to be living in a free country. Today is Veterans Day, a day we set aside to honor our vets who sacrifice mush to preserve our freedoms. Freedom does not come for free, and we should never take it for granted.
But what do we want freedom for? What are we doing with the freedoms that we have?
There are many in our country who want freedom to terminate a pregnancy and kill the life in their womb. Others want the freedom to marry a same sex partner, or allow children to decide their gender, although it’s already been determined biologically by God. People today want to give children not only the ability to choose their gender, but to mutilate their bodies in a feeble and twisted attempt to become what they’re not.
Freedom can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse when we use our freedom to live independently of God and His plan and purpose for our lives. Freedom without boundaries will lead to bondage—will lead to greater depravity and destruction.
When the freedom and prosperity led God's people down a road of depravity and destruction, God in His love would hide His face, His favor, so that they would remember what they needed most, namely God Himself, and turn back to Him. Sometimes God allows His people to be under a government that will bring more freedom, and sometimes He allows them to be under one that affords less freedom. But the greater question we need to ask ourselves as Christians in America is, "Am I using my freedom to know Jesus and make Him known?”
In addition to His favor, the face of God speaks of His presence, or person, which we can know intimately. When God hides His face, we not only lose the fullness of His favor, but of His fellowship. This is expressed in the psalmist's prayers:
“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.” Psalm 27:7-10
It’s right and good to seek the Lord in prayer for freedom, provision, and prosperity so that we can know Jesus, raise our children to know Jesus, and together live to spread His fame. But we must be careful to not fall into a pattern of only seeking the Lord for what He can give us more than seeking Him for Himself.
What is your prayer life like? Are you only seeking primarily for something from God? To help us know the difference, Ron Auch observed:
“Let’s say that as parents you set up some rules in your household and you told your children that if they got straight “A’s,” they could ask for any toy they want. That then becomes a principle of your home. Even though that might motivate your child to getting good grades in school, it doesn’t necessarily enhance the love relationship between you two. As a parent if your child kept coming to you with His “A’s” and asking for more and more, in short order you would most likely say, “Why don’t we get together today? Why don’t you and I just go to the park and be together? The child would say, “Sorry, dad, [or sorry mom] there’s no time for that; there’s a new line of toys out and I’m going to see what I am going to get next…I once heard Peter Lord speak about two types of seekers. First there are seekers that are beggars. A seeker that is a beggar looks to the hand. The other type of seeker is a lover. Lovers look to the eyes. Lovers look to the eyes because the eyes tell the story. Someone in love is seeking love in return, so they look to the eyes for the look of approval…I didn't go after my wife for her material possessions, I sought her face. I was going after her—not the things she possessed. There is a great principle we need to understand here about seeking first the kingdom of God. Even though I went after my wife’s eyes, I ended up with her hand. In other words, once you’ve got God, you have all that He is possessed of.”
As in Israel's day, seeking God’s face or cultivating intimacy with God can be hindered by unconfessed and unforsaken sin. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). When we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are adopted into the family of God and become children of God.
But like a parent-child relationship, or a husband-wife relationship, sin will disrupt our fellowship with God, our intimacy with God. We cannot be fully present with God and God will not be fully present with us when our hearts are not pure, when our hearts are divided, when we are harboring sin in our lives. The essence of sin is an act of independence from God that we must confess, forsake, and seek His forgiveness and cleansing to walk in fellowship and enjoy communion with Him (1 John 1:1-9).
If you feel distant from God, it could be that there is unconfessed sin in your life, or that you want God more for what He can give you than you do God Himself.
“In the course of the Christian life the face of God will shine upon us in blessing, and turn away from us in discipline. In those days when God hides his face, we must remember, though he may feel distant, and his grace may be delayed in coming, he is not far off, nor is his love fading. God’s love is everlasting and there is nothing that can separate us from it. He is always with us and promises to never forsake us. So when, because of our sin or God’s mysterious purposes, we cannot sense his closeness or do not experience temporal deliverance, we must remember we are not chasing the forgiveness of sins or the love of God. We have all of that in Jesus Christ. What we are seeking is intimacy with God and the intervention of God in our lives at the present time…What should we do when we find ourselves afflicted, downcast, and distant from the help of God? We should seek him diligently, and anticipate his gracious response. This is what seeking God truly is, reaching out to the Lord in anticipation of undeserved grace.” (Source)
O may we avail ourselves of the riches of God’s grace in Christ and live to know Him and make Him known.
-Pastor Marco