#thelordblessyou | itsawonderfilledlife

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The Return of the Blessing

Posted in FAMILY, GOD, WONDER, tagged #aaronicblessing, #andtheirchildren, #benediction, #elevationworship, #theblessing, #thelordblessyou, #thelordturnhisfacetowardyou, #thereturnoftheblessing on March 8, 2020| 4 Comments »

and guess what?

it never went anywhere

“The Lord bless you
and keep you
make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

The blessing given by the Lord to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel” (v. 23). It is known as the Aaronic blessing and, although said to many people at one time, is believed to actually be received by each person as a personal blessing from God, himself (they are his words, after all).

This blessing has such meaning to our family.

It has been the blessing of dedication for each of our children (the one we, as parents whisper into the night), one that was a nightly lullaby when they were so very wee (above) and the benediction of blessing that hubby offered to congregations for so many years …

I cannot hear it, read it, without seeing him, in my mind’s eye, lifting hands and repeating this blessing to the “people of God” (POGs, as I would joke).

The thing is … it has become harder for me to hear, to receive, even to speak since that season of life came to an end.

Then I heard a new song (like only days old, kinda new … video below) that somehow helped me to hear and receive this blessing as, I believe, God wants us to hear it …

as a blessing, from God, spoken to Moses, for each of the children of Israel, but also for me … for you … right now, wherever we are.

There was something about this line:

the Lord turn his face toward you

The Lord turn his face toward you …

Remember, these are his words, so there is no mistaking them. He wants us to be blessed by his turning to us …

He, the God of creation, of this world and the one to come …

turns to us …

think about this …

think.

about.

this.

God is turning his face towards us.

Like a parent who looks into the face of their child to assure them that they are not alone, to remind them of how loved they are, to bond and attach to the one who is theirs …

This is part of the blessing.

Today our fab five family will reunite after almost six months apart … a fresh reuniting. And my momma heart will be receiving and sharing the blessing that has been here all along … just like a parent who ever turns their face to their child … the blessing … it never went anywhere.

“May His favor be upon you
and a thousand generations
and your family
and your children
and their children
and their children”

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The Eternal Blessing

Posted in GOD, life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godblesseshispeople, #theeternalblessing, #thelordblessyou, #thepriestlyblessing on March 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”

I hadn’t read, heard of thought of those words in months … months.

A common benediction, a blessing that hubby would frequently give at the end of a Sunday sermon, a church service.

Here it was, on a Monday morning, in a classroom devotion.

The blessing is not owned, not possessed by my hubby alone. It is known as the Aaronic or Priestly blessing, given, by God, to Moses, to instruct Aaron and his sons on how to bless the Israelites.

This was a great honour, for the Priests words were viewed as God’s message to them.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says “though the priests could do no more than beg a blessing, yet being an intercessor by office, and doing that in his name who commands the blessing, the prayer carried with it a promise, and he pronounced it as one having authority with his hands lifted up and his face towards the people.”

You see, the blessing was not one from the Priests, but through them, from God himself, for the Israelite people … in a sense skipping the Priests completely, as if they were just the vessel through which God lay his hand of blessing, on his chosen people.

But it was not necessarily a group or community blessing, but one through the lips of the priests, directly to each individual, from God. It was a personal and individual blessing … a whisper of the personal and individual Blessing (Blesser) to come.

The Lord bless you

Three times the Lord is mentioned. Representing God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Likened to 2 Corinthians 13:14:

“The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.”

This blessing is also an endless, eternal blessing. It is not solely present tense, but also future, as if it were to say: the Lord will bless you.

What a good reminder of the story and blessing of God on and for his people, available now for all people (Jews and Gentiles).

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