Heaven is a wonderful place,
Filled with glory and grace.
I wanna see my Savior’s face;
Heaven is a wonderful place.
I’ll admit that, as a youth, I liked the snappy musical part of the song, but never gave much thought to the words. To me, the idea of seeing the Lord’s face might have satisfied one’s curiosity, but it didn’t seem like a blessing.
Things changed dramatically several years ago when spending time with Moses (not literally, in Scripture).
On one occasion God had to rebuke Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ siblings. They had spoken against Moses because, in their opinion, he had not married the right gal.
God reminded the two that when He communicated with prophets, it was through visions and dreams. However, with Moses, his faithful servant, He spoke face to face, or in God’s own words “mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (There’s more to the story in Numbers 12.)
Have you ever seen an investigative report on TV where the identity of the person being interviewed was kept secret? The lighting was set up so that viewers could only sees a silhouette. Still, we, the viewers, strained to study the shadowy figure in hopes of identifying him. As much as the secret identity was necessary, we still wanted to see his face. Not seeing was not knowing, and that was somewhat of a distraction.
Face to face is personal.
Face to face is intimate.
Face to face is knowing.
While still at Mount Sinai, before receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses had set up a tent of meeting, that is, a place where he would go to meet with God. It was a simple man-made tent, not the God-ordained tabernacle that would be built later. Moses would enter his man-made tent of meeting, which was set up outside the Israelite encampment, and God would descend in a pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. There God would speak to Moses while all of Israel would come out to the entrance of their tents and worship.
Moses, aware that God knew him by name, recognized that he had an intimate face-to-face relationship with God. Yet, as if he could stand it no longer, perhaps like a little child, Moses blurted out: “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
He wanted to experience the very same level of face-to-face intimacy that God had with him. God tenderly explained, “I Myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you….” But He added, “You cannot see My face and live, for no man can see Me and live.”
At the end of the book of Revelation the Apostle John is shown the eternal city of God. He saw that in that city there was no temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (21:22) Later John wrote: “and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see his face….” (22:3-4)
Oh to stand in the presence of God,
Mark Stinnett
While still at Mount Sinai, before receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses had set up a tent of meeting, that is, a place where he would go to meet with God. It was a simple man-made tent, not the God-ordained tabernacle that would be built later. Moses would enter his man-made tent of meeting, which was set up outside the Israelite encampment, and God would descend in a pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. There God would speak to Moses while all of Israel would come out to the entrance of their tents and worship.
“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just a a man speaks to his friend.”—Exodus 33:11
On one occasion Moses began to describe to God the relationship between him and God and between God and Israel. He was leading up to a request that God would be their leader, not an angel or something/someone else. God agreed to personally lead Israel. He even gave a reason: “for you [Moses] have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”
Moses, aware that God knew him by name, recognized that he had an intimate face-to-face relationship with God. Yet, as if he could stand it no longer, perhaps like a little child, Moses blurted out: “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
He wanted to experience the very same level of face-to-face intimacy that God had with him. God tenderly explained, “I Myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you….” But He added, “You cannot see My face and live, for no man can see Me and live.”
At the end of the book of Revelation the Apostle John is shown the eternal city of God. He saw that in that city there was no temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (21:22) Later John wrote: “and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see his face….” (22:3-4)
Oh to stand in the presence of God,
Oh to see Him face to face.
Heaven IS a wonderful place.
Mark Stinnett
August 21, 2022
Won’t that be awesome! I believe so.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mark, for this beautiful reminder! Face to face is such a comfort.
ReplyDelete