The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)
The word “surface” is rooted in the latin “superfices,” or “upon the face,” which indicates the outward and visible portion of a thing.
The ancient Hebrew language uses this same concept with the word פָּנִים (panim). It means “face.”
But there’s another application of this word “face” in scripture that carries much more weight. When it applies to humanity and to God, it becomes a powerful theological word.
It is about the experience of acceptance and rejection.
In Genesis 1 & 2, we’re shown the face of the waters, the face of the deep, the face of the expanse of heaven, and the face of the earth.
But in Genesis 3, we encounter the face of God. Most translations say “presence,” but this is inaccurate.
Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:8 (NASB)
The phrase in Hebrew is מִפְּנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, which is “the panim of YHWH Elohim.”
And it’s from this panim that the man and his wife withdrew. Not from God’s presence, but from his face.
So what does this mean? How can we hide from God’s face?
Perhaps we see it more clearly when we see the face of man, who is made in God’s image.
We first see man’s face when we get to Cain. In the Hebrew, we read that God did not “regard” Cain and his offering. Literally, God did not even look at him.
So Cain’s face fell.
But for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:5 (ESV)
What does it mean that his face “fell?” It’s the word נָפַל (nephal). (Interestingly this is also the root of “nephilim.”)
In the next verses, we get a clue. Falling is met with Rising: שְׂאֵת (se’et). Most translations say “accepted” but it is “lifting up” or “rising.”
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to[ you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7 (ESV)
If se’et is tied to being accepted, naphal is tied to being or feeling rejected.
Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 4:14 (ESV)
When Cain cries “I shall be hidden from your face,” this isn’t the same “hide” that Adam and Eve experience in Genesis 3:8. There, they withdrew. Here, Cain is concerned he’ll be obscured.
It feels linked to Cain’s initial lament: God did not pay attention to him or his offering. He wasn’t accepted.
So this is the understanding: God’s face represents acceptance. Our face reflects our position of acceptance or rejection.
When we’re in God’s face, and our face is lifted up, this is a picture of being accepted by God. When our face is down, we are experiencing rejection, but God can lift our face.
When Cain leaves, what he leaves is the opportunity for acceptance, choosing to wander instead.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,[a] east of Eden.
Genesis 4:16 (ESV)
This usage gives us another hint about God’s reaction to Lot as he’s being rescued from the destruction looming over Sodom. Lot begs the angel to let him flee to Zoar, and the angel agrees to let him go there and also spare the city.
He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Genesis 19:21 (NIV)
The phrase “I will grant this request” is literally “I have raised your face.” He’s saying: I have accepted you. I am saving Zoar on account of you.
Perhaps Lot’s hesitation back in verse 16 is really about wondering if he was accepted. He learns that he is.
And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Genesis 19:16 (NKJV)