Seeking the Light of His Countenance

One of the most cherished prayers in the Christian tradition is the ancient Priestly Blessing: 

"The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you" Numbers 6:25. 

It is a beautiful image, suggesting warmth, favor, and the intimate smile of a Creator directed toward His children. But as we walk the narrow way, we often find ourselves asking a difficult question: Does the Lord’s face always shine upon us? Or more poignantly, why does it sometimes feel as though He has turned away?

In this short post, let us explore the biblical reality of the "shine" and the "hiding" of God’s face. By looking at the experiences of Moses, Job, and David, we can better understand how to navigate the seasons of light and the shadows of the soul.

The Radiance of Favor

In Numbers 6, the "shining" of God’s face is equated with His being "gracious" to us. This is the "light of His countenance." When a father looks at his child with a smile, the child feels secure, loved, and approved. In a much greater way, when God shines His face upon us, it signifies His satisfaction and His favorable presence.

This shine is not just an abstract feeling; it has a transformative effect on the believer. Consider Moses. In Exodus 3:6, when Moses first encountered God at the burning bush, he "hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God." This was a natural response to the holiness of the "I AM." However, after years of walking with God and spending forty days on the mountain, a change occurred. Exodus 34:30 tells us that when Moses descended, "the skin of his face shone." Note that Moses did not know his face shone. The radiance was a byproduct of communion. He wasn't trying to shine; he was simply reflecting the glory he had been beholding. This tells us that if we want to reflect God to a dark world, we don't need to "work up" a glow, but we need to spend time in His presence.

The Shadows of Backsliding

If the shining of God’s face is the ultimate blessing, then His "hiding" His face is the ultimate distress. Why does He do it? Scripture gives us several reasons, and the first is often tied to our own unfaithfulness.

In Deuteronomy 32:20, the Lord warns, "I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation." Similarly, in Isaiah 54:8, He speaks of hiding His face in "overflowing anger for a moment."

God’s "face" is His favor. When we turn to idols, which is anything that separates us from God or takes the glory due to Him (Ephesians 5:5), we effectively pull a veil between ourselves and the Sun of Righteousness. Our backsliding causes God to withdraw the perception of His favor. He does this not to destroy us, but to show us the bitterness of life without Him. If we give His glory to something else, the end of that path is always worse than the beginning. Holiness is not a suggestion; it is the atmosphere in which we can see His face.

The Anguish of the Hidden Face

There are times, however, when the hiding of God's face feels like a mystery rather than a direct consequence of a specific sin. This is the anguish felt by Job and the Psalmist. 

In his intense suffering, Job cried out in agony, "Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?" (Job 13:24). For Job, the pain wasn't just the loss of his family or health; it was the silence of God.

Psalm 13:1 captures the raw emotion of a soul in the dark: "How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?"

God may hide His face to test our faith, to teach us to value His favor more highly, or to lead us to deeper prayer. Notice that David’s Psalm doesn't end in despair. By verse 6, he concludes, 

"I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me." 

Even when we cannot see the shine, we can remember the bounty. It is a vital lesson for us. Faith is not built on a constant feeling of "glow," but on the steadfast love of God that remains even in the dark.

The Great Paradox: Hide and Shine

One of the most fascinating prayers in Scripture is found in Psalm 51:9, where David asks God to: 

"Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities."

This reveals a profound theological truth. We want God to look at us, but we desperately need Him to look away from our sins. Because we cannot stay with a holy God while sin is in us, we must plead for the blood of Christ to cover our transgressions. Our sin makes us want to hide from God (as Adam did), but the Gospel allows us to ask God to hide the sin so that we can stand in the light.

This culminates in the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). As Jesus stood on the mountain, "his face shone like the sun." Jesus is the perfect manifestation of the "shining face." In Him, the holiness of God and the grace of God meet. He is the light that does not consume us, but cleanses us.

Reflections for the Nations

Why do we pray for His face to shine? Is it just for our own comfort? Psalm 67:1-2 gives us the missionary reason:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us... that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations."

When the Lord’s face shines on His servants, it isn't meant to stop with them. We are like the moon, we have no light of our own but we are designed to reflect the Sun. If the world sees the peace, joy, and steadfast love of God reflected in our lives (especially during our own "Job-like" struggles), they will learn of His saving power. Our life becomes a book of God's grace. If we are reflecting Him, others will know who He is through us. Moreover, this reflection is a glimpse of the eternal glory we'll relish. Like Paul says,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

Our Daily Prayer

As we continue our journey, let these scriptures form our daily petitions. Like David in Psalm 31:16, we cry, "Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!" Whether you are in a season where the light is bright and your face, like Moses’, is reflecting His glory, or you are in a season of "Job-like" silence where you feel like an enemy, remember the promise of Isaiah 54:8: the hiding is for a "moment," but the compassion is "everlasting."

Let us strive for holiness, put away our distractions, and keep our eyes fixed on the face of Jesus, for it is the only face that shines bright enough to lead us all the way home.

As we gaze on your kingly brightness

So our faces display your likeness

Ever changing from glory to glory

Mirrored here may our lives tell your story

Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine

Fill this land with the Father’s glory

Blaze, Spirit, blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow, river, flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send forth your word

Lord, and let there be light