Face-to-face ∙

Face-to-face ∙

The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. – Exodus 33:11

Deuteronomy 34:10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.

Isaiah 43:1-4

 1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

 3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior . . ..”

 4 “Since you are precious in My sight, you are honored, and I love you . . ..”

Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is more than just “being bad with faces.” It is the inability to recognize familiar faces, including one’s own face. Learning to recognize new faces is also challenging. Prosopagnosia, the inability to distinguish faces, is a neurological disorder. It may affect up to 2.5% of the population.

The term prosopagnosia was first used in 1947 by Joachim Bodamer, a neurologist. The word is derived from the Greek terms prosopon – face and agnosia– non-knowledge. In 1996, Bill Choisser popularized the term “face-blindness” for this condition.

No therapy provides lasting real-world improvements.

Facial recognition software began to be developed in the 1960s. However, the Father created facial recognition firmware as a part of the human brain. For most of us, it works just fine. How awful would it be not to be able to remember and recognize the faces of those you love and care about? It would be equally tragic not to remember and recognize those who love you. For those with face blindness, it is like living in a perpetual, horrid lack of facial recognition Groundhog Day.

Can the Father ever forget us? Never! What He said of Israel is true for each child of the King.

Isaiah 43:1 O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah 49:15-16

 15 Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

 16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.

REFLECT & PRAY

Only Moses was face-to-face and mouth-to-mouth with the Father.

Father, I long to experience as much intimacy and open communication with You as You will allow.

INSIGHT

The Father is transcendent, glorious, great, high, exalted, and lifted up. Yet the Father chose to make a creature with whom He could have close, real spiritual intimacy.

In the history of the human race, Moses is the only person who has had a face-to-face relationship with the Father.

Exodus 33:11 The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.

Moses was exceptional. The Father, the transcendent God, chose him as a mediator.  Moses was selected to hear the Law of God, which became the Torah, the Five Books of Moses. The means of communication was extraordinary. The Father would speak to him as someone would speak to a friend.

Numbers 12:8 I speak to him mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles!

What does this mean? “God communicated with Moses ‘mouth to mouth.’ This figurative language is intended to convey the preeminence and uniqueness of Moses” (Sarna) as a prophet of God. The Father’s revelation to him was “personal and direct, not mediated through visions or dreams, and the message is always plain and straightforward, free of cryptic utterances” (Sarna).

Comprehending what it means to be in a face-to-face relationship with the Father and experience mouth-to-mouth communication is a journey from the obvious to the sublime.

The Father created man to have a relationship with Him. Each child of the King knows Him, and the Father knows them. But the degree of such “knowing” varies greatly. It progresses from simple recognition to deep intimacy. Face-to-face knowledge connotes recognition and proximity. But mouth-to-mouth implies close personal, direct, readily understandable communication. Theologians have come to call us direct revelation. Moses was fully aware and conscious. There were no visions or dreams. The message was clear and straightforward.

Can you visualize what this was like? With a bit of imagination, we can see the Father querying Moses, “Question, have you ever wondered how the world began, where the stars came from, and how man and all the animals came to be?” The Father said, “Let me tell you how I did it.” And in a nanosecond, Genesis 1-3 passed from the mind of God to the mind of Moses. Moses wrote it down.

Remember, only the Father was present at creation, He spoke, and it was so. Many people speculate, postulate, and even pontificate regarding how everything began. But they can only guess. That’s right, guess! One theory was replaced by another down through the ages. But only the Father really knows for sure. Modern man extrapolates using a modicum of scientific knowledge. But the Father created both human thought and science.

In ancient times, Kings and nobles had many servants but only a few trusted ones. In a royal house, only the most trusted servant would have regular access to the monarch. They were referred to as “the king’s personal advisers,” literally “those who see the face of the king” (2 Kings 25:19). In the Scriptures, several are mentioned: Eliezer, Joseph, Nehemiah, and Daniel. Moses was in this position with the Father. He was a trusted friend and servant of the living God. He had frequent, if not regular, access to Him.

Run-of-the-mill Old Testament prophets received their revelations through visions and dreams, angelic messengers, and occasional visitations from the Father. The Father’s face-to-face and mouth-to-mouth communication with Moses was considerably beyond that.

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© Dr. H 2022