The Commitment

UV 1489/10000 The Commitment
Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 39 v 29

The Lord hides His face when He is displeased with people. When we revel in our sin and anger Him, He hides His face. He hid His face from Israel when they rebelled against Him and disobeyed. He gave them over to captivity and they were dispersed around the world. But the Lord ‘s salvation and love are everlasting: the salvation He provides are in all directions, dimensions and aspects of time, space and circumstance. He promises not to hide His face from us anymore. He is up close and personal with us. He is with us as an intimate friend. When His face shines on us, we are greatly blessed. It is a period of sunshine in our lives. We will feel His warmth and grace. He will bless and keep us. In this uni-verse, the Lord promises or commits Himself never to leave or forsake us. We will not have to search for Him any longer. We will find evidence or signs of His presence in our lives all the time. Instead of us hiding from the Lord like Adam and Eve after the fall, or God hiding from mankind after the abounding of sin and lack of faith, we can now hide in the Lord. We can hide in Him in trouble and times of threat, to seek rest and refuge, to be blessed, to be strengthened, to obtain wisdom and guidance, to find help and salvation in any situation. It is a commitment to reveal the depth and dimensions of His love, power and grace in our lives.

The Lord pours His spirit upon us when His face shines on us. The word “ pour” implies that He gives us His grace, power and wisdom in abundance and in sufficient measure to meet every change and challenge. Each of us as well as all of us collectively constitute the “ house of Israel.” Israel means “ struggle with God. He will give us triumph in all our struggles. As we find and increase in Shalom or peace with God, we ill increase in peace within ourselves and with all others. His spirit softens our hearts so that we do not harbour sin therein. He removes every trace of guilt, bitterness and anger from within us. He will remove the spirit or attitude of mourning and regret from our lives. He will not let us be confused or ashamed. He will instead clothe us or cover us with the spirit of rejoicing in the Lord or rejoicing in His presence, rejoicing in His promises, finding our strength and hope in His Word.

When the Lord does not hide His face from us, it means that we have found grace or favour in His eyes. He is watching over us all the time, both night and day. He leads us from within and directs our steps. The use of the word ‘house’ indicates that the Lord resides in us and we dwell with Him through His indwelling Spirit. The Spirit of God releases both the seed of the fruit of character as well as His divine gifts. An anointing with oil externally is only superficial- it touches only our skin but the anointing of the Spirit from within deals with our sin and cleanses us. We are perfected from deep within. The Spirit does a work of comfort and restoration within us. He does a work of healing too within us. He reveals mysteries and secrets to us. He prophesies to us to encourage and build up our faith. He affirms or endorses the good things He sees in our character and practice of faith.

Prateep V Philip