Countenance

The Lord bless you and protect you; the Lord make his face (pāneh) to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance (pāneh) upon you and give you peace. 

Numbers 6:24-26

The Hebrew word pāneh is the word for face and countenance. Its meaning includes appearance, presence, to be shown honor, to be under direction, to be under blessing, to be under supervision, watched, favored, to be given audience. 

One small word with so much meaning for the people of God.

The New Oxford American Dictionary (2021) defines countenance this way:

(v) to admit as acceptable or possible

(n) a person’s face or facial expression

(n) support

The rich words of Numbers 6 describe the outcome of the atonement for every person who trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior. They deserve our pause and deep reflection. At the center of their power is the countenance of the Lord.

The Lord bless you and protect 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.

The speaker pronouncing the blessing is the priest, after emerging from the holy of holies where atonement has been made. His rich words are not a wish or even a prayer. They are a declaration, an impartation from the Lord for His people, a present wrapped in words. The blessing is binding, and in the custom of ancient oracles, cannot be taken back. The servant of the Lord, the priest, is therefore pronouncing the word of the Lord to the people, declaring the outcome of the atonement.

For those pilgrims standing ready outside the heart of the temple, this declaration brought relief. Now we can go forth into our villages, our fields, our work. We can go about our lives with the peace and protection of God. He is with us. He has promised. He will not go back on His word. We can work hard all day and rest deep all night. We can entrust our loved ones to Him. We can look at the future without fear because His countenance is with us. God is with us.

Because of the atonement, you and I can approach God without obstruction. His face shines upon us. He lifts His countenance upon us.

The countenance of God is suddenly critical to our understanding of atonement.

We can experience the presence of Almighty God.

We are shown honor.

We are under the direction of the Lord.

We are under the blessing of God.

We are under His supervision.

We are watched by the One who knows the plans He has for us. Plans for hope and a future (see Jeremiah 29:11).

We are favored.

We are given audience by the One before whom angels bow day and night, the One before whom the enemy must ask permission (see Revelation 5:11-14, Job 2:1-6). 

We are admitted as acceptable and possible.

We are supported. 

We are rescued because the Lord delights in us (see Psalm 18:16-19).

Countenance is central to our peace and joy. In fact, joy can simply be defined as being glad to be with someone. God created our eyes to illuminate when we are glad to see someone. He gave us tear ducts that fill just enough to make our eyes shine when we lay eyes on someone in whom we delight. Our faces quite literally shine when we are in the presence of someone we love.

How much more the Lord, who created those tear ducts, the Designer, who made our brains that thrive on joy, the Creator of these hearts of ours that rise with excitement at the thought of one we care about… how much more does the One who made us delight in us!

When we rush out to work, when we race into worry about loved ones, when we analyze the day ahead without first turning our face toward His, how much we miss. 

How much harder our work. 

How much bleaker our future, how much more worrisome our lives. 

We need God's countenance. We need to remind ourselves every day that He delights in us. We need to know that we, God's people, make His face shine with love. #joy Click To Tweet

He looks upon us with grace for the life we live. One look fills us with strength. One glance reminds us we are protected. One sparkle of His eyes assures us His presence will be with us, no matter what the day holds.

Jesus is our High Priest. He entered the holy of holies and made atonement for us. He has emerged and declares the blessing that cannot be revoked. 

The Lord bless you and protect 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. 

Take time to look up today and see His face illuminated with love for you. Let your eyes fill with joy as your face shines back at Him. And go forth in peace, beloved of the Lord.

Lord, my prayer is silence today. Stillness. Looking at You as You look at me, our faces shining with love. Amen.

@audreycfrank

This adorable photo of a little boy, face bursting with joy as he holds the Bible, is by Ben White on Unsplash