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FOR THE TRUTH
WHO IS THE FACE OF GOD?
~ The Glorious Facts of
Israel’s Restoration. ~
(As this article is largely for our
Messianic Jewish friends, we show our respect for them by using some
of the Hebrew words familiar to them. This is why we use ADONAI for
LORD.)
IS
IT TRUE THAT ISRA'EL HAS A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE IN EVERY WAY?
SIMPLE
ANSWER: YES!
Here
is the Scriptural Evidence from the Bible.
At
this point one could literally fill pages with Scripture quotations,
especially from the prophetic books of the Tanakh. (O.T.) Some of
these books seem better known than others, such a Isaiah chapters 60
to 66, Jeremiah 30, 31, and 32 from verse 37, right through to the
end of chapter 33. Then large parts of Ezekiel such as chapters 36
through to 39, and many more! Even if one only had the book of
Psalms one could easily be convinced of a time of refreshment and
restoration, with such sweeping yearnings for it to come, that
analysing them, would show us that a glorious future is sure.
The prayers of the Psalms (Hb. Tehillim), are GOD’S
desires! Being part of God’s written Word assures us
that they are sure to have God’s answers in His time!
So
it is clear that prayers in the Word of God are equal to prophetic
promises.
Perhaps there could be no
better example of the New Testament’s words in 2 Corinthians
6:1, about us being “God's fellow-workers,” than these
prayers, because to pray the Word of ADONAI to Him, is a way of
claiming the answers.
Take Tehillim/Psalm 80 for only one example
from many. Three times, like a repeated chorus of a song we read:
"God restore us! Make Your Face shine, and we will be
saved.” (Verses 3, 7 & 19/20) Surely, God would
not include a prayer in His Holy Word if He did not intend to answer
that prayer, prayed from a sincere heart!
A
KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE FOCUS OF ADONAI’S BLESSING
IS AN
UNDERSTANDING OF REFERENCES TO ‘HIS FACE’.
Many
times and in many places, the O.T./Tanakh refers to ADONAI’S
FACE. You will remember the most beautiful and frequently used
Benediction (or b’rakhah) known as ‘the Aharonic Prayer’
in Numbers 6:24 & 25.
"ADONAI said to Moses,
'Speak to Aharon (Aaron) and his sons and tell them that this is how
you are to bless the people of Isra'el: You are to say to them;
May
ADONAI bless you and keep you,
May ADONAI make His Face to shine
on you
and show you His favour,
May ADONAI lift up His Face
toward you and give you shalom.
"In this way they are to put
My Name on the people of Isra'el,
so that I will bless them."
Be very sure, God’s intention is to
bless Isra'el!
So
now we can analyse how the blessing will come.
1.
By prayer. The Priest,
with uplifted hands would make the plea before God. At times, perhaps
when there was no priest present, the people themselves would say the
words as in Tehillim (Psalm) 67, ‘God be gracious to us and
bless us. May He make ’His Face shine toward us…’
2.
By the proclamation of the words.
It seems that ADONAI was saying to Moshe, that by Aharon or
his descendants announcing this b’rakhah/ benediction,
the blessing of God would be on His People, with whom He
had made Covenants to bless. ADONAI cannot ever break His
Word!
3.
By answering the request of the
prayer. The request for God to bless them could be
understood in the widest possible way, because of Who ADONAI is, and
who He is to them. But it is also specific in two ways.
a)
By being gracious to them,
He was even then, as we now know in the light of the whole Word of
God, extending undeserved mercy, rather than often-deserved
punishment. This was how He would ‘show them His favour’.
b) He would also ‘keep
them’. The image of the Shepherd is very
appropriate here, giving the most beautiful picture of loving concern
for a flock of sheep and goats, who are constantly surrounded, to
defend them from harm. Another picture is of the eyelid protecting
the eye, as the Hebrew word for ‘eyelid’ is the same as
‘watch over’. See Psalm 121, & Zechariah 2:8,b
“Anyone who injures you, injures the very pupil of My eye.”
It has a similar association with the ‘Mercy Seat’/covering
of the sacred ARK in the first Temple, which we focus on ‘Yom
Kippur’ or ‘the Day of Atonement’.
c)
Some have suggested that there is even a possible link to the
‘kippah’ or small hat that a Jewish man may wear, (even
though the root word may be from the German, ‘kappel’.)
The truth is that only in Yeshua/Jesus who is our 'mercy-seat' having
made atonement for us, can we find total covering from the penalty we
deserve for our sins. These indicate how ADONAI cares!
4.
By making His Face to shine on them.
This is more than God smiling about them. By doing your own
word studies, of both the word ‘Face’, (repeatedly
used in Psalms especially); and the concept of ‘shining’-
like the life-giving warmth of the sun, a wonderful evidence of the
three-fold nature of ADONAI ELOHIM emerges.
[The great Light of
the SUN – Like our great GOD, is conveyed through space in rays
of Light, just as the shining of God’s SON. Then we are given
-in an unseen way, like the ministry of God’s Holy SPIRIT;
God’s LIFE, the warmth of God’s LOVE, and the LIGHT of
the knowledge of the Truth. Each are separate, but inter-active
ONE]
5.
The
use of the Words in the Prayer. To return to the Aharonic
prayer, it repeats the special Name of ADONAI, (often translated as
‘The LORD’), three times, emphasising again His threefold
nature, leaving exactly 12 other words, in the Hebrew. This prayer
was for all 12 tribes, for all time! For Jewish Believers today,
also. (But now, because God, Who is eternal, has grafted Gentile
Christians into His 'olive tree' with His people so we can humbly
claim the blessings too!) Amazing grace!
SEEING
SPECIAL MEANING IN THE REFERENCES TO GOD’S ‘FACE’
God’s
Face is a beautiful explanation of who Jesus/Yeshua is!
In
the earnest final teaching session Yeshua/Jesus had with His
disciples, as reported by John in chapter 14, we can imagine the
disciples leaning forward to hear these amazing descriptions of the
Father. Perhaps they could hardly believe their ears! Let’s
listen! “Because you have known Me” Jesus was
saying, “you will also know My Father: from now on you
do know Him-in fact you have seen Him.” But Philip was
bewildered, and had to ask, “Lord, show us the Father and it
will be enough for us.” Yeshua/Jesus then made the electric
statement, “whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father so how
can you say, ‘show us the Father?’ Don’t you
believe that I am united with the Father, and the Father united with
Me?” Even today, for many Jewish people, who recite the
Sh’ma, (the Jewish affirmation of faith), so often, the fact
that Jesus/ Yeshua is the visible evidence of ADONAI is difficult to
grasp.
They repeat: ‘ADONAI Eloheynu, ADONAI, Ehad.’
‘[The LORD, our God, The LORD, is ONE.]’
THIS
IS THE TRUTH of the whole Word of God for all Believers in
Him!
We only worship ONE God.
It is a truth we cannot understand with our intelligence, for
if we could, we would be equal with God, and we all need and treasure
the truth that we have a GOD Who is so much greater than we are! But
because He understands us, He has graciously shown Himself to us in
three forms.
Truly, as with so much of our other Biblically
based beliefs, in the final analysis there are truths which, like the
three-fold nature of God, simply must be accepted by trusting!
If we could mentally understand the full mystery of the
Godhead, He would not be the Sovereign LORD, to us, would He? We do
not understand the mystery of trust either! But our
‘trust/faith/belief in God is gold to Him!
So the
whole Bible shows us that Yeshua/ Jesus is ‘the Face’ of
God!
THE REVELATION OF
ADONAI’S FACE TO MEN
Times
when God showed His ‘Face’
Of
all the many references, there are at least two outstanding ones in
the Old Testament.
1.
One you will quickly recall was at the very significant time of the
return of Ya’akov, (Jacob) to his roots. (Genesis 32.)
Having made cautious arrangements about the safety of his large
family, “he was left alone”. This is often how it
is when God wants to get our undivided attention and when we are in
great need.
So, now came a life changing encounter for
Ya’akov.
Truly it was a time of ‘trouble’
and real fear for him!
But it was not Esau he
met. Four times in the following verses, the description is of a
Man, wrestling with and disabling Ya'akov. In return for
Ya'akov/Jacobs’s demand, “I won’t
let you go unless you bless me,” the Man asked
Ya'akov what his name was.
The Man then says, "from now
on you will no longer be called Ya'acov, but ISRA'EL because you
have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed...and
He blessed him there.” Jacob was convinced of the
sacredness of the place- and the Person he had encountered, and so he
called that place, “P’ni-El, because I have seen God
Face to face, yet my life is spared.”
Surely, an encounter with Jesus! [Note: P’Ni=Face, El=God]
Maybe even Jewish people
forget the significance of this event. This was when the man, through
whom the Nation actually came into being, and through whom the 12
tribes were formed, for the first time in History, was given a
specific Name by ADONAI! It was one most significant night.
‘ISRA’EL
means ‘prevailer/prince with God’ and it was demonstrated
through this encounter with His special Person, Yeshua.
2.
Another
significant encounter for Isra'el through a man was the
repeated experiences their Leader and First Prophet, Moshe or Moses
had with God, as is recorded several times in the Torah as being
‘Face to face.’ For instance, Exodus 33:7-11 explains the
need for a special tent outside the camp, where Moshe/Moses met with
God. While the people waited, "ADONAI would speak to Moshe
Face to face as a man to his friend."
Later, God
Himself spoke to the rebellious brother and sister, in Numbers 12:6,
"When there is a prophet among you, I make Myself known to
him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. But it isn't that with
My servant Moshe. He is the only one who is faithful in My entire
household. With him I speak Face to face, and clearly, not in
riddles; he sees the Image of ADONAI.”
Moshe's’
epitaph in Deuteronomy 34:10 confirms that, “there
has not arisen in Isra'el a prophet like Moshe, whom ADONAI knew Face
to face.” However the mystery of reconciling these records
with ADONAI’S own words, ‘My Face you cannot
see, because a human being cannot look at Me’ and remain
alive', is solved in the ongoing record in the same
chapter as the description of the ‘Tent of meeting’ in
Exodus 33: 7 -11. There is the story of Moshe's special request for
Someone to go with him, and the beautiful response was given: “Set
your mind at rest- My Presence will go with you after all.”
[Jewish Bible.] N.I.V. says: (from verse 12), “You have
not let me know Whom You will send with Me…”
“The
LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give
you, rest.’”
Who else could this be if it is
not Jesus/Yeshua, by the power of the Holy Spirit? But it is
all by ADONAI’S mercy and undeserved compassion as Moshe
heard in the further request that he made, to see ADONAI’S full
glory. He soon found that it was impossible, because of the
overwhelming glory, which no man could bear to see, for its majesty
would cause death. God said, “I will cause all My goodness
to pass before you, and in your presence I will proclaim the Name, of
ADONAI. Moreover I will show favour to whomever I will and I will
display mercy to whomever I will.” ‘’But’,
He said, ‘you cannot see My Face, for no-one can see Me and
live.’
There is such a rich meaning to this chapter
to meditate on! So Who did Moses see Face to face? Surely it was
Yeshua/ Jesus!
John in the first chapter of his book in the Brit
Chadashah/N.T. Wrote,
“No one has ever seen God; but the
only and unique Son, Who is Identical with God and is at the Father’s
side.” John was describing the entry of Yeshua/ Jesus into
the world when He summed up the whole of the Divine ministry in
Yeshua’s first coming.
3.
Other encounters in the Tanakh/ O.T.
Again, is this actually what Yeshua meant in John 8:56,
when He told the Jews of His day, that “Avraham your father,
was glad that he would see My day, then he saw it and was overjoyed.”
It is widely accepted that one of the three ‘angelic’
visitors who came to Avraham, with Whom he interceded for the rescue
of his nephew Lot, was ADONAI in a visible Form. Surely Yeshua/Jesus,
Himself! See Genesis chapter 18. Can you think of other possible
encounters with Yeshua/Jesus in the Tanakh/O.T? What about Gideon in
Judges chapter 6 or Daniel's three friends in the 'fiery furnace'?
(Daniel chapter 3.)
These are called 'theophanies' by Bible
scholars, but real encounters.
GOD’S
FACE, AND THE NATION OF ISRA'EL
God
only chooses individuals in order to bless His people as a whole.
Have you noticed this fact? This is especially
true for His chosen people, Isra'el, including His people today,
known as Jews. Biblically there are only two ‘peoples’ in
the world. Perhaps it is hard for Jewish people to grasp the
enormous privilege ADONAI has given them! However, privileges
bring responsibilities...
This is why Moshe himself, in his
moving, final speech, warned the Israelites of the cost of
forsaking ADONAI and His WORD. It is summarised in one sad statement
in Deuteronomy 32:20.
ADONAI
says, “I will hide My Face from them.”
Just
before Moshe's death, twice in the three verses of warning in
Deuteronomy 31, (16-18) this phrase is repeated. Against the
background of what we have already explained this is a very sad
picture of ADONAI’S displeasure with His chosen children of
Isra'el. It represents an agony of ADONAI’S disappointment and
displeasure to the point of angry separation.
Sadly
this too was a prophetic statement, just as the wonderful promises
were.
The
greatest separation was borne by God when He could not respond to His
Only begotten Son’s cry as He took the sin of the whole human
race on Himself on the hill of Golgotha. But this separation was
meant to bring reconciliation for His Jewish People.
Sha'ul/Paul could hardly bear the realisation that as a Nation
his own kindred had refused the sacrifice of their own Deliverer and
Messiah, so again God hid His Face from His chosen Jewish People. The
result of Paul’s deep concern as described in Romans chapters
9-11 was to discern that this separation was for a reason of
God’s love for all peoples, and it was only
partial, and only for a set period of time.
Here is where the exciting development of the romance of a glorious
reunion is assured! We could even be part of it soon!
SO,
IS IT REALLY TRUE THAT ONE DAY ADONAI
“WILL NO LONGER HIDE
HIS FACE” FROM ISRA'EL?
This
is the central factor in this article like an ‘open letter’
to you!
It is so wonderful, - that this writer
is amazed that so little is spoken about it, or it is consigned to
such a distant future that it is best not to get too excited about it
now. But perhaps we need to take things more slowly to convince you,
and explain other factors as we go? Praise God Elohim, "The
Word of ADONAI lasts forever" Isaiah 40:6-8, but we
need the Holy Spirit's wisdom and patience to become aware of His
unfolding plan. We have to tell you about this promise right now, at
the end of Ezekiel 39: verse 29, “
I
will no longer hide My Face from them,
For I will pour out
My Spirit on the House of Israel,
Declares the Sovereign
LORD.”
We
need to pray for His help in understanding and sharing in it.
The
especially important truth is that ADONAI has a Plan to restore all
Isra'el, including individual Jewish people to Himself, very soon.
And not to just a small remnant of Jewish people,
but all. (N.B. Today’s Jewish people are ‘a
remnant’- especially when compared with Arab peoples.) ADONAI’S
counting system is very different from ours: “for it is not
His purpose that anyone should be destroyed, but that
everyone should turn from his sins.” 2nd Peter
2:9.
No one needs to wait for some ‘special time’
to recognise and accept Who Yeshua/ Jesus is, for themselves. Anyone,
anywhere, can bow in sincerity, confess they need Yeshua’s
perfect sacrificial death for their own sins, and ask Him to write
your name in His Book of Life, where He keeps yourname as part of His
Holy Royal Family. We then ask for His help to live as a Holy Royal
Family member should.
In the articles
“ISRAEL’S
GLORIOUS FUTURE” you can read more about
this.
Please look and check them out for yourself carefully,
reading the references, making your own notes, and pray and rejoice
over them. Isra'el especially, is close to a very bright future, “For
the time to favour her has come.” Tehillim/Psalm 102!
Wouldn’t it be
wonderful to actually hear Yeshua Himself
explaining all these things
to us?
Surely He does to those keen to really understand and
search
His Word for themselves...
This web-site is only a path to
walk along as we hear
Him speak as He did to the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus.
[Later to His talmidim/disciples] “Yeshua said to them; ‘This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you everything written about Me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Tehillim had to be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds, so that they could understand the Tanakh...”
From Luke chapter 24:25-27 & 44,45 in the Jewish Brit Chadashah/ New Testament.
May our hearts burn inside us as He speaks to us on the road and opens the Tanakh/O.T. - indeed the whole Bible, to us!
Thank
you for ‘travelling along the road’ of this study
and
may you be greatly blessed by Yeshua!