God Hiding His Face - What does it mean?

[Jebus_H.Christ]

Deuteronomy 31:17

Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured

Deuteronomy 31:18

And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

Deuteronomy 32:20

I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.

What does God mean when he says that he will hide his face? At no time in the Bible is God said to have revealed his face or allowed his face to be seen. In fact God tells Moses on Sinai:

Exodus 33:20

But," he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

How can something be hidden that is already hidden ?

Later God reveals:

Ezekiel 39:25-29

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity [f] and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

This seems to equate no longer hiding his face with ending the Exile.

So what does God mean when says that he will hide his face? When did God hide his face? Is it related to the Exile? Is God hiding his face related to the the loss of the Temple*? Would the Second Temple be an adequate replacement for the First Temple for “face to face” meetings with God considering it was missing the Ark of the Covenant, the Urim and Thummim, the holy oil, the sacred fire, the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod? (list from Wikipedia)

*Moses is described as speaking with God “face to face” in the Tent of Meeting which was later incorporated into the Temple.

Exodus 33:9-11

As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

[Clothahump]

It means that whoever wrote the story had a poetic turn of phrasing.

[BrainGlutton]

Isn’t there also something about even Moses only being allowed to see God’s “hindquarters”?

[Jebus_H.Christ]

@BrainGlutton

Isn’t there also something about even Moses only being allowed to see God’s “hindquarters”?

Yes. It quoted part of it in the OP.

Exodus 33:20

But," he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Here it is in a fuller context:

Exodus 33:19-23

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

[BrainGlutton]

@Jebus H. Christ

Yes. It quoted part of it in the OP.

Exodus 33:20

Here it is in a fuller context:

Exodus 33:19-23

So, it means God wants His holy ass kissed!

[Jebus_H.Christ]

There is also Gensis 33:29

So Jacob called the place Peniel, ** saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

But I think we have to read this as Jacob mistaking an emanation of God or an angel for God and that it was not actually the form of God.

[DSeid]

What we need is someone familiar with the Hebrew, but IMHO, I read the first set of uses as similar to the Engish “I will look away from them” or “I will turn a blind eye” … not that God is hiding from their sight, but that God is hiding from seeing their troubles: “Sorry I’m busy now, try again later. Schmucks.” The other context is, as I have stated elsewhere, more a comment on how God is beyond human comprension: even Moses, who was able to recieve all of Torah, could not comprehend God directly, we mortals must instead content ourselves with attempting to deal with God has left in “His” wake, and by so doing, develop a relationship with the process that is God.

[GoKings57]

I’ve always looked at most of those passages as God saying he would turn his back on those who did not follow him.
Regarding the “can’t see my face and live”, I’ve always interpreted that to mean that the glory and knowledge we gain when we are in the presence of the Lord is so overwhelming that our human minds would pretty much explode.

Simplistic, maybe, but it works for my feeble little mind.

[Malacandra]

Sort of the opposite of God making his face to shine upon those he favours, as in “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace”. If he’s ticked off at you, you don’t get any of that good stuff.

[Walloon]

I’m always amused when people assume that metaphor was a recent invention, unknown to the ancients.

[monavis]

Jesus said;“If you have seen me you have seen the Father”. Does that mean God.s face was no longer hidden?

I wonder what an invisible face would look like!

Monavis

[dmk092]

According to the Orthodox Jewish interpretation, God’s face does serve as a metaphor. The literal meaining is that God will cease work outside the laws of nature, bringing an end to open miracles etc.

[Translucent_Daydream]

Maybe God is ashamed…
*sorry, just some sort of slightly pagan dude.

[nd_n8]

Perhaps it’s God’s way of going :smack: