"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
4) The LORD…be gracious to you. Grace. The one thing we need from God, and one thing it is so hard to ask for if we are allowing our flesh to dictate our lives. Because, for one thing, grace is a gift. Romans 4:4—Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. One thing that separates Christianity from all other religions is grace. In Islam your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds, and if not—even by the weight of an atom—Allah the All-Merciful™ will send you to Hell. In Buddhism and Hinduism, you must do your dharma—your religious duty—in order to advance. In Roman Catholicism you must do good works to be saved—not that you must do good works to show you are saved as it says in James 2:18. The grace shown by God is this, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Other religions cannot grasp that. They think that you have to do good in order to be accepted by God. What was so special about these pitiful little Israelites that God said “you are Mine”? Nothing. What was so special about Abram that God sais “all nations shall be blessed in you”? Nothing. What was so special about Isaac or Jacob—especially Jacob—that God would bring about a great nation from them? Nothing. What was the defining characteristic of Moses that made God say “That’s him! That is the man who is perfectly capable and equipped to lead over a half million people in the wilderness and appear before me!” Absolutely nothing. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. Nothing. What was it about you that made God say “Yes! I want that person! He/she has done spectacularly amazing things and I want them on My team!” Answer: less than nothing.
So why did God choose Abram? Why did He choose Isaac and Jacob? Why did
He choose Moses? Why did He choose—you? One word: GRACE. The passage that is
stamped on your forehead whenever you join a Baptist church is Ephesians
2:8-9— 8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it
is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. The argument is “well, which of them
is the gift—the grace, the faith, or the saved?” The answer of course is “Yes”.
It is all of them. Grace is obviously a gift, “good-will, loving kindness,
favour: of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon
souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian
faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian
virtues” according to Strong. Romans 11:5-6— 5 Even so then, at this
present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by
grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But
if it is of works, it is no longer grace. Guess how much God’s grace depends on us? Again, nothing. Zero,
zip, zilch, nada. Nothing.
How do I know this is true? Because I know me. I know the man I used to be. The music I listened to, the movies and TV shows I watched, the beer I drank. But I will say this much—I did not have a problem with pornography. I watched it every chance I got with no problem. I lived the struggles men face—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1st John 2:16)—and I didn’t back down to them, I charged full face right into them and enjoyed every minute of it. If you had told me back then that I would one day have a website where I would tell everyone reading it the truth of God and His Christ, I would not have believed you, even for a second. From the hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed” by DW Whittle:
I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me is daily shown,
Nor why, with mercy, Christ in love redeemed me for his own.
I know not how this saving faith to me he did impart,
Nor how believing in his word wrought peace within my heart.
I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing us of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in him.
I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noon-day fair,
Nor if I’ll walk the vale with him, or meet him in the air.
There is also a refrain in there, taken verbatim from 2nd Timothy 1:12—I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. That is another component of grace, is God keeping those who are His until that last Day. It was a hurdle I had to get over, that when God saves someone, they are in His hand forever. Some dismissively call it “once saved always saved”. I prefer to call it the Perseverance of the Saints, and is found all over Scripture, most notably Philippians 1:6 and Hebrews 10:14 and, as above, 2nd Timothy 1:12. To say that one can be saved and God would not hold on to that person not only makes the one who thinks that turn God into an unfaithful God, but also contradicts Scripture.
5) The LORD lift up His countenance upon you. What does it mean for God to “lift up His countenance”? Well, we know God does not have and actual face. We see all the Renaissance paintings of God sitting on the clouds, a bearded old man who reaches out a finger to give life to Adam in Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But in all reality, God is Spirit (John 4:24), and does not have an actual face like you or me. In fact the Westminster Confession says “There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions” (Westminster Confession, 2.1).
Well, it is what we call
“anthropomorphic language”: giving human traits to a being that is not human.
And we know God is not human—obviously. But He had to express Himself in a way
the people could understand. And this is but one way. The first place we see it
is after Jacob wrestles with the Angel in Genesis 32:30—So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying,
"For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been
delivered." Now we know that Jacob did not really see God’s face,
because God tells Moses in Exodus 33:20—“But,”
he said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
Again, Jacob used anthropomorphic language.
We must understand that
the “face of God” is not something that can be seen, but something that must be
sought after. It is us knowing Him,
and Him knowing us. It is us seeking
Him so we may know His will, and Him looking upon us that He may lead us and guide
us. The phrase “seek His face” is used 7 times in the Old Testament, 3 times in
the Psalms. David was a man after God’s own heart (1st Samuel
13:14), and constantly sought the face of God, that he may know what His
will was and how he should go about pleasing Him (1st Chronicles
16:11 [which is repeated in Psalm 105:4], Psalm 27:8). This
phrase is also used in 2nd Chronicles 7:14, Hosea 5:15
and Hosea 7:10. When we seek the face of God, we are asking for an
audience with Him, to pour out our prayers and supplications.
Now, does God hide His
face? Yes. He even hid His face from David. Psalm 30:7—LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand
strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. Why would God hide His
face? Well, even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he stumbled. There
was a time when he REALLY stumbled (2nd Samuel 11:4). And
when he did stumble, God would not be there for David. And no matter how he may
have been treated by men, this made David cry out even stronger. When I was in
high school, I tried to sneak off with a friend of mine. When mom found out—and
caught me—she didn’t hit me or lay any kind of corporal punishment on me. Know
what she did? She said “I’m really disappointed in you”. Ouch! There I was, in my high school football jersey, bawling my eyes out because of her words. It hurt worse
than any kind of lashing. But it got her point across. That is what it was like
for David when God hid His face.
A couple other times when God hid His face, the first is Isaiah 54:8—"With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer." Of course, this is right after the prophecy of Christ, in Isaiah 53. He is speaking, I believe anyway, to Israel after they crucify the Lord of Glory, and He turns away from them. But this will not be a turning away forever, and He will bring them back to Himself (Romans 11:1-5). We also see Him hiding Hid face in Ezekiel 39:23—“The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.” This was when God allowed Israel to be taken into exile by Babylon (2nd Chronicles 36:16-21). He allowed them to be taken away because they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy (2nd Chronicles 36:16). Then when calamity fell upon them, they had nowhere to turn, there was no one who would fight for them, and God Himself fought against them and they fell into captivity.
But God… My favorite phrase in all of Scripture. Romans 5:8—But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God, who is rich in mercy, lifted His face to us Gentiles--Gentiles from whom He had hidden His face for so many years--and welcomed us into His kingdom. He sent His Son, His perfect, beloved Son, in the flesh, to dwell with us, and to give His life for us so that all those who believe on Him could gain eternal life—not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by faith in the Only Begotten Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead! Praise His name! And when we say God looks upon us—let’s face it, God sees everything. He is always there, omnipresent, all-seeing, all-knowing, all and in all—what we mean is summed up neatly in 1st Peter 3:12—For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers. He does not hide Himself from those who believe and belong to Christ. He may seem far away, but He isn’t. He is there, always there, to hear our petitions and supplications, and to offer a way of escape from temptations. JC Ryle has this to say about our free forgiveness in Christ—
If any man is willing to be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ stands ready to save him. "Come unto Me," He says, "weary soul, and I will give you rest. Come, guilty and sinful soul, and I will give you free pardon. Come, lost and ruined soul, and I will give you eternal life. Come and be freely saved." Oh, reader, let this message be a word in season! Arise and call upon the Lord. Let the angels of God rejoice over one more saved soul; let the courts of heaven hear the good tidings that one more lost sheep is found. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
YHVH lifts His
countenance on all who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A great
blessing these Israelites did not know at the time, but understood when Christ
entered through the gates of Heaven, leading captivity captive, leading His
saints into everlasting glory. Amen!
6) The
LORD…give you peace.
When men talk about peace, it is always temporary. And it always hinges on both
sides giving what the other side wants. And it never lasts. Why? Because humans
are involved. James 4:1-3—1 Where do wars
and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure
that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and
cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures. Why does negotiating for peace take such a long process?
Because neither side wants to give anything up, but they want the other side to
give up stuff. Look at the Middle East. They have had a merry-go-round of peace
talks for how many years? And are they any closer to having a lasting peace in
that area?
Consider the Camp David
Peace Accords, signed in 1978 by Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. The
three men agreed on a plan that would suit everyone. And what happened in 1981?
Anwar Sadat was assassinated. By whom? By an Islamic extremist who was ticked
off that Sadat would sign a peace deal with Israel. In 1993, Bill Clinton
negotiated a peace settlement between Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat, which
split the West Bank into Israeli and Palestinian sectors. Donald Trump brought
Benjamin Netanyahu together with the leaders of Bahrain and the UAE in 2020.
And yet, today, we have Palestinians holding Israelis hostage while Israel
bombs Palestine. Not to mention the war in Ukraine (and oh by the way, neither
side in the Russia-Ukraine war is a “good guy”. The people of those countries,
yes. Their leaders? Not so much). Nations will never be at peace with each other
because human beings are involved.
But God… The One who
rules over all of Creation, the One who holds all things in His hands, the One
of who it has been said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of
our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry,
Mine!” (Abraham Kuyper), has made a way for us humans to be at peace with
Him. He gives us peace through the blood of His cross. And we give Him…..what,
exactly? What is there that we can give Him that He needs? Our good deeds? Isaiah
64:6—But we are all like an unclean thing, and all
our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and
our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. Titus 3:4-5—4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior
toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us… Galatians 2:16— knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ
Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of
the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. We are not saved by our “good”
works. It has been said that “we contribute nothing to our salvation except
the sin that makes it necessary.” This quote has been attributed to both
Jonathan Edwards and Philip Melanchthon, and I have found nothing that settles
the debate of who said it originally. But whoever said it, it is correct.
God gives us eternal life and what do we give Him? Our sins. Doesn’t seem like a fair trade now, does it? But God is not fair, and we should be eternally grateful for that. Because if God were fair, we would all be burning in Hell for all eternity, and Christ would not have come down to die on the cross to bear away our sins. But God was not fair! He was not fair to His Son, who died that we may have peace with God. John 14:27—“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Romans 5:1—Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul starts his epistles with the words “Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. See, the Greeks and Romans believed in a plethora of (little-g) gods. And by plethora, that says a lot 😀. Sorry, couldn’t resist, Well, I could have, but…Anyway. One thing they never had with any of these gods was peace. They were always worried about offending them; they had to continually offer oblations and sacrifices to them. But what do we do if we do something that offends the God of all Creation? Pray. Ask forgiveness. And guess what? He’ll forgive. The hymn “O God of Love, O King of Peace” by Henry Williams Baker:
O God of love, O King of peace,/Make wars throughout the world to cease;
Our greed and violent ways restrain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.
Remember, Lord, your works of old,/The wonders that your people told;
Remember not our sins' deep stain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.
Whom shall we trust but you, O Lord?/Where rest but on your faithful word?
None ever called on you in vain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.
Where saints and angels dwell above/All hearts are joined in holy love;
Oh, bind us in that heav'nly chain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.
In our fallen state, we were at enmity with God. He gave us His Son, who gave His life on Golgotha that we may be saved from our sins and from the wrath of God. And what do we give Him in return? We give Him nothing that He needs, for He needs nothing. But we give Him our lives, our love, and our sins, which made it necessary for us to be saved from His wrath and from death and hell.
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
Jesus
Christ is Lord.
