Believers and non-believers alike are called to come "before the face" of YAHWEH. We are encouraged to "seek His face". Yet many have no idea what this means. The concept of being before the face of YAHWEH actually refers to being in the very presence of YAHWEH - to encountering him "face-to-face", so to speak. There are numerous scriptures that speak about this, some rather indirectly. It's not possible to cover them all in this page, but I'll provide a sampling of them to help you grasp the concept. As you review them you'll note that some of the connotations are not pleasant ones. Your relationship with YAHWEH, whether you believe in Him or do not, seriously affects your experience when you are before His face - in His presence. Read on. Then decide which situation you prefer to find yourself in.
Genesis 17.3 And Abram fell on his face: and YAHWEH talked with him, …
Genesis 19.13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has waxed great before the face of YAHWEH; and YAHWEH has sent us to destroy it. (in reference to Sodom)
Exodus 3.6 Moreover He said, I am the God (Elohim) of your father, the God (Elohim) of Abraham, the God (Elohim) of Isaac, and the God (Elohim) of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon YAHWEH.
Exodus 33.11 And YAHWEH spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
Exodus 33.17 And YAHWEH said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken: for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name. 18 And he said, I implore You, show me Your glory. 19 And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of YAHWEH before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 But He said, "You can not see My face: for there shall no man see Me (my face), and live." 21 And Yahweh said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon a rock: 22 and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by: 23 and I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back parts: but My face shall not be seen."
Exodus 34.28 And he was there with YAHWEH forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.
Leviticus 17.10 And whatever man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, who eats any manner of blood; I will even set My face against that soul that eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.
Leviticus 20.3 And I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he has given of his seed to Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land in any manner hide their eyes from the man, when he gives of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not, 5 then I will set My face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. 6 And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy: for I am YAHWEH, your Elohim. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and do them. I am YAHWEH, who sanctifies you.
Leviticus 26.14 But if you will not listen to Me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 and if you shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you will not do all My commandments, but that you break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning fever, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I will set My face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursues you.
Numbers 6.22 And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, 23 Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, "In this manner you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them, 24 'YAHWEH bless you, and keep you. 25 YAHWEH make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. 26 YAHWEH lift up His countenance (face) upon you, and give you peace.' 27 And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them."
Numbers 14.13 And Moses said to YAHWEH, "Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for You broughtest up this people in Your might from among them;) 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that You, YAHWEH, are among this people, that You, YAHWEH, are seen face to face, and that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night."
Deuteronomy 5.1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and keep, and do them. 2 YAHWEH, our Elohim, made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 YAHWEH made this covenant not with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4 YAHWEH talked with you face to face in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, 5 (I stood between YAHWEH and you at that time, to show you the Word of YAHWEH: for you were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, 6 "I am Yahweh, your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 You shall have no other gods before me (literally - before my face).
Deuteronomy 31.16 And YAHWEH said to Moses, "Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and go whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our Elohim is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
Deuteronomy 32.19 And when YAHWEH saw it, He abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons, and of His daughters. 20 And He said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be, for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.
Deuteronomy 34.10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YAHWEH knew face to face.
Joshua 5.13 And it came to pass, when Yahoshua (Joshua) was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Yahoshua (Joshua) went to Him, and said to Him, "Are You for us, or for our adversaries?" 14 And He said, No; but as captain of the Assembly of YAHWEH am I now come. And Yahoshua (Joshua) fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to Him, What says My Sovereign to His servant? 15 And the captain of YAHWEH's Assembly host said unto Yahoshua (Joshua), Loose your shoe from off your foot; for the place on which you stand is holy. And Yahoshua (Joshua) did so. (Joshua is virtually the same name as that given to The Messiah, YAHUSHUA. I've chosen to spell it with an "o" instead of an"a" simply for the purpose of distinguishing between the two. In Hebrew they were identical from everything I can determine.)
Judges 6.22 And when Gideon perceived that He was The Angel of YAHWEH, Gideon said, "Alas, YAHWEH Elohim (lit. - my God), for I have seen The Angel of YAHWEH face to face."23 And YAHWEH said unto him, "Peace be unto you; fear not: you shall not die." 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to YAHWEH, and called it YAHWEH Shalom (is peace): to this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
1 Samuel 26.20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of YAHWEH: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.
1 Kings 13.6 And the king answered and said unto the man of YAHWEH, "Intreat now the face of YAHWEH, your Elohim, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again."
1 Chronicles 16.7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank YAHWEH into the hand of Asaph and his brothers. 8 Give thanks to YAHWEH. Call upon His name. Make known His deeds among the people. 9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works.10 Glory in His holy name. Let the heart of them rejoice who seek YAHWEH. 11 Seek YAHWEH and His strength; seek His face continually.12 Remember His marvellous works that He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth; 13 you seed of Israel His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones. 14 He is YAHWEH, our Elohim. His judgments are in all the earth.
2 Chronicles 7.14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Ezra 9.5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto YAHWEH, my Elohim, 6 and said, "O my Elohim, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to You, my Elohim: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day."
Job 21.31 Who shall declare His way to His face? and who shall repay Him what He has done?
Job 22.21 Acquaint yourself with Him now, and be at peace: thereby good shall come to you 22 Receive, I pray, the law from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. 23 If you return to The Almighty, you shall be built up, you shall put away iniquity far from your tabernacles 24 Then shall you lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yes, The Almighty shall be your defence, and you shall have plenty of silver. 26 For then shall you have your delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face unto YAHWEH.27 You shall make your prayer unto Him, and He shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows. 28 You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.
Job 33.28 He shall pray unto YAHWEH, and He will be favorable to him: and he shall see His face with joy: for He will render unto man His righteousness.
Job 34.29 When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only?
Psalms 5.8 Lead me, YAHWEH, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face.
Psalms 10.11 He has said in his heart, YAHWEH has forgotten: He hides His face; He will never see it.
Psalms 13.1 How long will You forget me, YAHWEH? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
Psalms 17.15 As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness.
Psalms 22.22 I will declare Your name to my brothers: in the midst of the congregation will I praise You. 23 You who fear YAHWEH, praise Him; all you the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all of you, the seed of Israel. 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hid his face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard. 25 My praise shall be of You in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
Psalms 24.3 Who shall ascend into the hill of YAHWEH, or who shall stand in His holy place? 4 He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from YAHWEH, and righteousness from The Elohim of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Your face - Jacob.
Psalms 27.7 Hear, YAHWEH, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said," Seek my face", my heart said to You, "Your face, YAHWEH, will I seek." 9 Hide not Your face far from me; put not your servant away in anger: You have been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, Elohim of my salvation.
Psalms 30.6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7 YAHWEH, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong: You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
Psalms 31.16 Make Your face to shine upon Your servant: save me for Your mercies’ sake. 17 Let me not be ashamed, YAHWEH; for I have called upon You.
Psalms 34.15 The eyes of YAHWEH are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of YAHWEH is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and YAHWEH hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 YAHWEH is near to those who are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 41.12 And as for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face for ever. 13 Blessed be YAHWEH, Elohim of Israel, from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Psalms 51.9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Psalms 67.1 YAHWEH be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; Selah. 2 that Your way may be known upon earth, Your saving health among all nations.
Psalms 69.16 Hear me, YAHWEH; for Your lovingkindness is good: turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. 17 And hide not Your face from Your servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
Psalms 80.1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who leads Joseph like a flock; You who dwells between the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Your strength, and come and save us. 3 Turn us again, YAHWEH, and cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved. 4 YAHWEH, YAHWEH of Assemblies, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people? 5 You feed them with the bread of tears; and give them tears to drink in great measure. 6 You make us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 Turn us again, YAHWEH of Assemblies, and cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Psalms 89.14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of Your throne: mercy and truth shall go before Your face.
Psalms 102.1 Hear my prayer, YAHWEH, and let my cry come unto You. 2 Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline Your ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
Psalms 104.27 These wait all upon You, that You may give them their meat in due season. 28 What You give them they gather: You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled. You take away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30 You send forth Your spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
Psalms 105.1 O give thanks to YAHWEH; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. 2 Sing to Him; sing psalms to Him: talk of all His wondrous works. 3 Glory in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek YAHWEH. 4 Seek YAHWEH, and His strength: seek His face evermore.
Psalms 119.135 Make Your face to shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
Is 54.8 In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says YAHWEH, Your Redeemer.
Isaiah 59.1 Behold, YAHWEH's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your Elohim, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness. 4 None calls for justice, nor any pleads for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Isaiah 64.7 And there is none that calls upon Your name, that stirs up himself to take hold of You: for You have hid Your face from us, and have consumed us, because of our iniquities.
Isaiah 65.2 I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, who walk in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3 a people that provokes Me to anger continually to My face;
Jeremiah 2.27 ...for they have turned their back unto Me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
Jeremiah 16.17 For My eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hidden from My face, neither is their iniquity hid from My eyes.
Jeremiah 18.17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
Jeremiah 21.10 For I have set My face against this city for evil, and not for good, says YAHWEH:
Jeremiah 44.10 They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in My law, nor in My statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. 11 Therefore thus says YAHWEH of Assemblies, The Elohim of Israel, "Behold, I will set My face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah."
Ezekiel 15.7 And I will set My face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and
you shall know that I am YAHWEH, when I set My face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, says YAHWEH Elohim.
Ezekiel 20.33 As I live, says YAHWEH Elohim, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36 Like I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, says YAHWEH Elohim.
Ezekiel 38.18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says YAHWEH Elohim, that My fury shall come up in My face.
Ezekiel 39.28 Then shall they know that I am YAHWEH, their Elohim, who caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them to their own land, and have left none of them there any more. 29 Neither will I hide My face from them any more: for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel, says YAHWEH Elohim.
Hosea 5.15 I will go and return to My place, until they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early.
Hosea 7.2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.
Matthew 18.10 Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven.
Matthew 26.67 Then they spit in His face, and buffeted Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, Prophesy unto us, You messiah, Who is he that smote You?
Luke 1.76 And You, child, shalt be called the prophet of The Highest: for You shall go before the face of YAHWEH to prepare His ways; 77 to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, 78 through the tender mercy of our Elohim.
Luke 5.12 And it came to pass, when He was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing YAHUSHUA fell on his face, and besought Him, saying, Sovereign, if You are willing You can make me clean.
Luke 7.27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your way before You. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he that is least in the Kingdom of YAHWEH is greater than he.
Luke 9.51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem.
Luke 10.1 After these things The Sovereign appointed another seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, where He Himself would come.
Luke 22.63 And the men that held YAHUSHUA mocked Him, and smote him. 64 And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote You?
Acts 2.25 For David speaks concerning Him, I foresaw The Sovereign always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope.
1Cor. 13.12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
2Cor. 3.18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of YAHWEH, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of YAHWEH.
2 Cor. 4.6 For YAHWEH, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of YAHWEH in the face of YAHUSHUA, The Messiah.
1 Peter 3.12 For the eyes of YAHWEH are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of YAHWEH is against them that do evil.
Rev. 20.11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev. 22.3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of YAHWEH and of The Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: 4 and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.