Tuesday, November 22, 2011

What Does It Mean When God Turns His Face Toward You. Numbers 6:23

What does it mean for the Lord to turn his face toward you? The phrase comes from the ancient priestly blessing. It was like a public prayer.

"The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:26. NIV.

It is the most beautiful benediction and a wonderful picture of hope. The entire blessing is Numbers 6:24-26.

TURN
Someone turning their face toward you suggests the hope of being seen and recognized by them. Imagine entering a room, and someone you love sees you, and their face lights up with recognition and joy.

This is the idea of attentively watching, like a parent watching a child at a playground; the parent observes with concerns for the child's safety and behavior. The parent has his face turned toward the child out of love, protection, guidance, and even assessing the child. To have God's face turned toward us is wonderful; it means he is full of care, protection, and he is waiting to offer blessing and reward.

PEACE
Ultimate peace can only come from God. The foundation of strife is the sinfulness of man, which puts man in danger of the judgment of the holy, pure, sinless Lord of the Universe. We need peace universally, but first, we must have peace with God- meaning forgiveness of our sins. To have peace with God, we must also have unity with God and his purposes. If we have peace with The Almighty, we will have peace with each other and peace in our hearts.

GIVE
We can never earn or buy peace with The Lord; he is too holy, we are too small, and the price is too great. The benediction points us to hope when it says, "give you peace." Peace with God can only come through the gift of God. He offers us peace based on the sacrifice of His Son Jesus that paid for our transgressions.

HOPE
God may turn his face toward you but without peace. His gaze may be dreadful to the sinner. For The Lord to see us and give us peace at the same time is great hope. He loves us and is looking for us to turn and recognize him, that we may see the light of his love and accept the gift of peace.

(c)Adron Dozat 11/22/11