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So Close and Yet So Far?

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Today is Day 27 of counting the omer – countdown to Pentecost or Shavuot.

Exodus 25:30 And you shall set the showbread (the bread of the Presence) on the table before Me always.

When the people of Israel cried out for bread He provided manna in their wilderness. When the people began collecting the manna they described it as “what is it?” (See Exodus 16) When Moses pitched a tent outside the camp of Israel – far outside the camp – the Exodus account records Moses speaking to God face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. What’s surprising is what Moses prays in Exodus 33:18-20, a mere seven verses later:

And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory. 19 And God said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, The Lord, before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy and loving-kindness on whom I will show mercy and loving-kindness.20 But, He said, You can not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live. 

Yet, throughout the Bible, we are commanded to seek the Lord’s face: Psalm 27:8 You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word]. 

Many Bible scholars will say that this phrase is simply a Hebrew idiom for presence, serving as a metaphor for God’s Presence, intimacy, and favor. The Hebrew word for “face” is panim which is frequently translated as “presence”. You could conclude, “Well that issue is settled”. Or is it? John 14:8-9 records an interaction between Jesus and Philip in which the disciple is echoing Moses’ words almost verbatim: Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father [cause us to see the Father—that is all we ask]; then we shall be satisfied.9 Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?

Did you catch what Jesus said? Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? You could conclude that the Old Testament’s repeated exhortation was a command not to settle for what appeared to be God’s, “No!” Many are familiar with the Exodus 33 account. In response I frequently ask, Is Jesus God? Did the disciples see Jesus’ face? Often they seek to justify their ignorance by stating that they only saw Jesus as a human. I follow that question by asking, Was Jesus God following His resurrection – in His glorified state? That’s when the lights go on. The Old Testament exhortations to seek God’s Face were not limited to God’s invisible Presence. It was a clue that they were to seek for more. To seek for Jesus – the Manifest Presence of God the Father. Many followers of Jesus settle for the superficial forms of Christianity never questioning why they aren’t really satisfied. Forms of religion that deny His Power; His Manifest Presence. For many the best that can happen is to die and go to Heaven.

That’s why Scripture has been given by the Spirit Who leads us to the living Jesus. Exodus 25:30 gives us the clue: And you shall set the showbread (the bread of the Presence). Showbread is translated mysteriously as the Bread of His Faces. Why? Because the Hebrew word for Presence, panim, is a plural word used singularly. If you are making the grain of the Word count – you are seeing His Bread crushed into flour, “baked” into bread, rising into the Bread of His Face, revealing His Presence. All of this should lead us to the conclusion that if you are hungry enough you will want more than just words on a page (forms of religion). You will hunger for the Jesus’ Face. You will hunger to see Jesus. Are you hungry? How hungry are you? How badly do you want to see Jesus? Have you been with Jesus so long and you still don’t know Him?

Disturbing Jesus

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Today’s Omer Count: Day 20

Friday we sought to answer the question, What is it? referring to the grain that is counted in the omer. Today I want us to begin answering the question, What does God’s Bread provide? Luke 24:35 states: “Then they [themselves] related [in full] what had happened on the road, and how He was known and recognized by them in the breaking of bread.” In this familiar passage Jesus has been crucified, risen from the dead, and making disturbing appearances throughout Israel. It’s always interesting when people attend churches or gatherings different than their own. Afterwards they will often remark that they were disturbed or uncomfortable. Guess what? If Jesus is there – He is going to make you uncomfortable. Note that in this account the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus have already been disturbed through the horrific crucifixion of Jesus, and the even more disturbing news that Jesus had risen from the dead.

A.W. Tozer once stated: “If God cannot disturb us, He cannot move us. If He cannot move us, He cannot save us. If He cannot get us concerned about the things of God, He cannot do anything at all for us”. Walter M. Miller, Jr. wrote: “When you tire of living, change itself seems evil, does it not? For then any change at all disturbs the deathlike peace of the life-weary.” 

I would say that when our walk with Jesus becomes comfortable, and the Word and Spirit of God no longer disturbs us – we have settled into the graves of comfortability. We have grown tired of living for Christ and His Word. This results in our seeing change, and disturbance as evil. This is a sad commentary on not making the grain of God’s Word count. It’s quit disturbing us. We have rocked ourselves to sleep in self-congratulatory delusions of who we think we are losing sight of to Whom we belong.

Yet these disciples on the Road to Emmaus were kept from recognizing Jesus. When did they recognize Him? And it occurred that as He reclined at table with them, He took [a loaf of] bread and praised [God] and gave thanks and asked a blessing, and then broke it and was giving it to them. 31 When their eyes were [instantly] opened and they [clearly] recognized Him, and He vanished (departed invisibly). (Luke 24:30-31) They recognized Him when the bread was broken. Funny how we refer to opening our Bibles like we’re cracking eggs: “Crack open your Bible to…” We can’t truly count the omer, or make the omer count until we’ve allowed the Word of God to be broken for us. At the birthing of the New Testament church a common practice was for them to meet in homes and “break bread” together. This implied more than eating a meal. It was a deeper reference to something far more profound: fellowship and communion. They were handling the Bread of Jesus (His Body), sharing Him with one another. His broken bread doesn’t become your bread until it’s broken in you. The Word is made flesh – in your life. This Bread, His Bread, allows you to see Jesus – in your life and others. Now the question remains, Are you disturbing to Jesus? Better yet, Are you disturbing the devil?