I often pray to God, asking Him to shine His face upon me.
When I was diagnosed with multiple pain related diseases, I asked Him if he would “shine on me?” When my mother died unexpectedly, I asked Him if he would “shine on me?” Even when I’m simply having a rough day, I ask Him if he will “shine on me?”
Discovered
In my study this week, I learned that in 1979, two silver scrolls were discovered west of the old city of Jerusalem. These scrolls included excerpts of Numbers 6:24-26, The Aaronic Blessing, also known as the Priestly Benediction.
From all I read, it appears that these two silver scrolls are the oldest written text of the Bible still in existence. They are said to be at least 400 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. How incredible!
Defined
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;”
~Numbers 6:25
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on christianity.com states that Numbers 6:25 is, “Alluding to the shining of the sun upon the earth, to enlighten, and warm, and renew the face of it. The Lord love thee, and make thee know that he loves thee. We cannot but be happy, if we have God’s love; and we cannot but be easy, if we know that we have it.”
When I ask God to “shine on me,” I am basically praying that he enlightens, renews, or looks favorably upon me. When I ask this of him, I am asking for him to bless me and my current situation. I’m also asking him to shine his face on my feelings and/or circumstances. There is no light greater than the Lord’s, which contributes to my belief that only the light from His face can show me what I need to know about a situation. His beautiful face allows me to see my life much more clearly and sometimes from his viewpoint.
Draw, Paint, Journal.
The Bible page I created for Numbers 6:25 came to me while I was looking up verses for October’s light theme. I pictured God looking down on me, my face lifted toward the sky with my eyes closed, and His light shining on me like the bright, warm sun.
Drawing sun-like rays shining down from the top of my page, making it appear as though it were coming straight from the heavens. I created two printables for your convenience, one with rays coming from the right and the other from the left.
Once I penciled in the lines from the printable, I painted the rays with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paints. After the paint completely dried, I re-wrote over the pencil lines with orange marker, to give the rays more definition.
Also, I used some alpha stickers I had on hand to write out the words “His Face” at the top of the page. I also found some great diecuts in my stash to create the layered tab at the top.
I believed the page looked finished at that point and could technically be considered “done.” However, since I don’t always know when to quit and I’ve been dying to use this Peachy Cheap exclusive diecut, I added the young woman above the verse I was focused on. Finally, I did a little bit of journaling in the margin.
During my creative process, I meditated on Numbers 6:25 throughout. I also conversed with the Lord, asking questions about this specific verse and requesting clarity as I studied.
Finishing Touch…
This week’s post is another helpful Study Start. My goal with these new Study Starts is not to share with you everything I learned during my own personal study time. I want to give you scriptures you can illustrate and journal. With these “helps,” I want to share some interesting facts and/or discoveries, or just a bit about the verse itself.
Doing this, gives you a place to “start” your own Bible study. Here you’ll find a verse or two and some information you might be interested in learning. It’s a start! It’s a Study Start.
Check out last week’s study start, Falling At His Glowing Feet: Bible Journaling In Revelation.
Pin Later
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