Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, (II Chronicles 20:3 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Set Your Face
Few of us are proud of our Driver’s License photos. Those faces do not look anything like our imagined visage. We either look surprised, asleep, lost, or possessed. If we had the ability to alter those faces, what exactly would we change? Would we choose to look noble? Would we nuance our expression to appear alert? Would we want our photo to be attractive, manly, or cute?
Jehoshaphat set his face to seek the Lord. What does that mean?
We might think it had little to do with his facial features. But I am not so sure. While certainly, the idiom of the Bible here describes a purposeful mix of character, Godly desire, and noble intention. Simply, Jehoshaphat aimed his entire being on the solution to his fear, God Himself.
But idiom usually has roots in reality.
If you could see Jehoshaphat, you would not have seen a man with a goofy grin. You would not have seen him displaying a facial expression of terror, horror, or fear. He would not have appeared sullen, self-pitying, or sad.
He was seeking the Lord… and I expect he looked like it. His external skin mirrored his internal state. He probably set his face with seriousness, with hope, with awe, with humility, with an impatient patience.
I am not sure what that looked like.
But Jehoshaphat’s face mattered. Because it showed what he felt, what he sought, what he needed, what he depended on, what he lived for. His face showed his heart to the world. His face showed his God to the world.
Our faces are yet another one of those things that we claim is our own, and no one else’s business. Our pride of self-expression, self-feeling, self-planning, and self-intentions is still simply that… pride. Jehoshaphat instead set even his face to seek the Lord. Jehoshaphat instead submitted even his own personal face to the Lord. Jehoshaphat instead seems to be saying, my all is his.
Fear not, then set your face.