“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).
itsawonderfilledlife 