“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying. ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24. The Lord bless you and keep you, 25. The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 26. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.’ 27. So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
I love this special blessing and have used it many times as a final blessing in weddings upon the couple being married and upon the congregation. We might say that it is “a blessing for all times.” It was a particular blessing that Aaron and his sons were to confer upon Israel. According to verse 27, it was a blessing with great power and purpose: “So shall they put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” As I was reading this blessing this morning, I saw Christ all in it. Let me explain what I mean: The blessing began: “The Lord bless you…” The greatest blessing that the Lord has given us is the gift of His Son. Jesus came into the world to bless us with the great salvation which He alone can give. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Those were not idle words spoken in an idle moment. It was the promise of Jesus that He would bless us with salvation. The blessing continued with: “the Lord keep you…” Jesus not only blesses us with salvation, He keeps us saved as well. This is what Jesus meant in John 10:28-30: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 29. My Father, who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30. I and My Father are one.” If Jesus did not mean that He would keep us in His hand, what did He mean? Verse 25 continues the blessing: “The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.” I think that this means that God puts His spotlight on us, and smiles upon us because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” We gain the spotlight of His smile by believing in His “only begotten Son.” It is through Christ that He is gracious to us, for it is by “grace through faith,” that we are saved. We do not earn salvation; rather, it is a gift of God’s grace. The same was true of Israel. They were God’s people by His gracious choice, not by anything that they had done. Verse 26 concludes the blessing: “The Lord lift up His countenance to you, and give you peace.” The NIV translates this: “The Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace.” God’s “turning His face” toward us means that He has looked with favor on us and has invited us into relationship with Himself. We could not possibly earn this, but we receive it by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. With this, comes the peace of God that is given through Jesus. Here is what Jesus said about peace as it pertains to we who believe: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble), but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.” Jesus did not promise us a trouble-free life, but He did promise us peace in the midst of trouble. There is much more about peace as it pertains to Jesus, but we will let this verse suffice. I hope that you have seen what I have tried to convey to you about the great blessing that Jesus is to us. He is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises in the Old Testament, including this one. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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