The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Num 6:22-27)
The blessing was the LORD’s idea. The words may have been introduced to Israel by a mere mortal priest, but they were God’s words. God-breathed. From God’s own heart. Spirit-preserved, that you and I might know them thousands of years later. Take a few moments to think about that blessing today.
It stands as a timeless marker. An ever-relevant reminder. Nothing matters more than having a relationship with God. Knowing God is more significant than knowing anything else. The most enduring reality of our existence is the LORD. The most satisfying experience of life is the LORD. Blessed are those who seek his face and hunger for his word. Blessed is the man who thirsts for his blessing and abides in his promise. Blessed is the woman who rests in his grace and enjoys his peace. Nothing matters more.
As your path has crossed by that timeless marker today, be reminded. Your Father in heaven wants to bless you. He is willing to keep you. He makes his face to shine upon his people. He is gracious. As he lifts up his countenance, his heart’s desire is to give peace. Nowhere are these truths more evident than in the face of Jesus. “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus is God’s blessing in the flesh.
As your day quickly moves on and you begin to move away from that ever-relevant reminder in Numbers 6, what if you paused long enough to take those God-breathed words with you? What if they settled like seeds in the soil of your heart? What difference could they make in your perspective? What light might they shine on your path?
What if you shared them with someone else today?
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
In the card to the shut-in. In the email to the dedicated but tired leader. In the comfort for the grieving. In the envelope for the newlyweds. In the text to the struggling. In the encouragement to the graduate. In the prayer for your own children. “The LORD bless you and keep you…”
This blessing was the LORD’s idea. The words were his words. God-breathed. From his own heart. For his people. That his name would be upon them.
We would do well to reflect on those words, internalize them, and share them today.