October 6, 2021 -- Numbers 6:24-26 -- Our Father's Shining Face

Beloved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep 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.
Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

The expression ‘the LORD make His face shine upon you” might, at first glance, be difficult to understand. Perhaps if you consider the opposite of this the meaning of the LORD’s shining face will be more evident. Where the people of God sin, spurning His statutes, He declared: ‘I will set my face against you’ Leviticus 26:17. Or, where the leadership of the people of God sin violently, He declared:
   Then they will cry to the Lord,
   but he will not answer them;
   he will hide his face from them at that time,
   because they have made their deeds evil.
   Micah 3:4 ESV.

The shining face of the LORD our God indicates His great blessing and love. Hebrews 1 describes Jesus as “the radiance of the Father’s glory”. In Jesus Christ the Father’s blessing and mercy, the love for and delight in His people is most clearly seen.

Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. We’re sinners. We know the right we should do and that thing we should leave off of doing undone. Incredibly, those evil and wicked things we pursue with vigor. We know we don’t deserve the radiant love of our Father in heaven. That is the point. We don’t deserve it. We are sinners. We are completely incapable of saving ourselves. We are completely incapable of contributing to our salvation in any way. Jesus has done it all. When we confess our sinfulness and admit our deep need for Jesus’ saving work, at that moment the Father’s justice and extravagant mercy in sending Jesus are highlighted. His Spirit speaks to our weary, battered hearts. Because of Jesus great work, the Spirit declares: “You are forgiven in Jesus Christ, You are loved. You have been given all you need for this new life in Christ—ask, repeatedly ask, and you will receive resurrection power to live in the glory of this new life.”

INCOMPREHENSIBLE, GREAT AND GLORIOUS GOD
I  adore thee and abase myself.
I approach thee mindful that I am less than nothing,
a creature worse than nothing.
My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze.
My secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance.
Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin,
to believe in that grace which subdues all iniquities,
to resign myself to that agency which can
deliver me from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
Thou hast begun a good work in me
and canst alone continue and complete it.
Give me an increasing conviction of my tendency to err,
and of my exposure to sin.
Help me to feel more of the purifying, softening influence of religion,
its compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
and employ me as thy instrument in blessing others.
Give me to distinguish
between the mere form of godliness and its power,
between life and a name to live,
between guile and truth,
between hypocrisy and a religion that will bear thy eye.
If I am not right, set me right, keep me right;
And may I at last come to  thy house in peace.
"New Beginning" The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions. ed Arthur Bennett. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth, 2020. page 174

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