Receive A Blessing From The Lord
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing. Numbers 6:22-23
After making the preceding statement, the Lord followed up with the words of the blessing.
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Numbers 6:24-26
During an archeological dig, one of the workers dug up an artifact inscribed with that blessing. This indicates how much this blessing from the Lord meant to His people.
Today, however, we have reduced those powerful words to a benediction. What usually happens when a pastor or priest offers this blessing at the close of a service?
People begin picking up their belongings in preparation to leave. Many don’t give those words another thought. Before you hear those words spoken again, consider where they came from.
The first few chapters of Numbers contain job descriptions for performing different tasks assigned to specified groups.
It seemed like God stopped in the midst of what He was doing to offer this blessing. Then, He gave Moses more instructions to pass along to His people.
Please note that neither Moses nor Aaron made up this blessing. It came from the heart of the Lord. Thus, it should mean as much to us today as it did when God first offered it.
The Priestly Blessing Instructed from the Lord.
The Lord instructed Aaron and his sons to offer this three-part blessing to the people of Israel. It begins with, “May the Lord bless you and protect you.” Some versions say, bless and keep you.
What does it look like when we receive a blessing from the Lord? At creation, when God made the living things, including humans, He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply”.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Genesis 1:28
The Lord also told Noah and his family the same thing when they got off the ark.
God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. Genesis 9:1
According to the Bible, many of God’s blessings begin in the home and with our children. Only infants are usually considered a blessing. Remember, even an adult is someone’s child.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
Words often associated with blessings throughout the pages of scripture include peace, joy, love, contentment, and protection. The Lord’s blessings usually work from the inside out.
In other words, our circumstances may not change, but how we handle them will. So, how can we receive a blessing from the Lord? The Psalmist shed some light on receiving God’s blessings.
He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 115:13,15
God’s Grace
So, the first part of the blessing tells us that the Lord will bless and keep us. That statement spills over into the blessing’s other two statements. Next, it says, may the Lord smile on us.
The Lord smiling on us is in itself a blessing. The Psalmist spoke about the Lord’s face shining on us. Psalm 80 repeats the following verse three times.
Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. Psalm 80:3,7,19
When someone receives something special, their face will often light up with gladness. Because Jesus died for our redemption, God smiles when we receive His grace for our salvation.
This part of the blessing ends with the phrase, (May the Lord) be gracious to you. We experience God’s grace, which He planned to give us from the beginning, because of His gracious nature.
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:9
God’s Favor
Have you ever wondered what this next statement looks like in our lives? May the Lord show you his favor. Often, we think this way: do me a favor, and I’ll owe you a favor.
God doesn’t need us to do Him any favors. I’ve heard people say things like, “Chalk one up for me; I just did God a favor.” When it comes to the Lord, His favor is always one-sided.
First of all, we don’t receive favors from God. We receive His favor. Before discussing His favor, let’s see how this three part blessing from the Lord works together.
When we believe, God blesses us and protects us from the eternal curse. God smiles on us because He sees Jesus in our lives. Thus, we freely receive His favor, which is His grace.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9
When living in God’s favor, we have no problem honoring Him with our time, money, service, and sacrifice. God looks for obedience and humility as we build kingdom relationships.
Now, what better way to end this important blessing from the Lord than with the assurance of peace? We often wonder where that peace came from as we look at our circumstances,
Receive the Blessing from the Lord
So, the next time you hear a benediction, stop what you are doing and listen to the words. Then, receive the blessing the Lord wants you to have.
I may or may not be your pastor, but God has called me into the pastorate. Therefore I would like to pray this blessing over you. Read the words slowly and let them sink into your heart.
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.
Numbers 6:22-23
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