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. Number 6:24-26
Today’s verses show God’s gracious response to his people if they maintained purity in the congregation. The heart-devotion that they showed by their actions was viewed much like that of the Nazirite vow. To “bless” (Hebrew barak) carries the idea that God’s presence, activity and love are brought into a person’s life and environment. (1) This blessing was set before God’s faithful servants under the conditions he had established.
(2) The priestly blessing consisted of three parts: (a) The giving of God’s blessing and his protection from evil forces and all that was harmful to one’s welfare in life. (b) The shinning of the Lord’s face upon them, i.e., God’s favor, goodwill and grace toward the people, which meant that his anger was turned away from them. Grace is God’s mercy, love and saving power. (c) The turning of the Lord’s face toward them, i.e., caring for and giving to them with heartfelt love. What God gives is “peace”. Being at peace (Hebrew shalom) means being complete because God supplies all that is necessary to give life its fullness. This includes hope for the future. The opposite of “peace” is not only lack of harmony, but evil in all its forms.
(3) God’s blessing on his people would result in their being used to touch all the nations. They would reflect the lighted torch of God’s salvation to of humankind.
But now for the big question. Because this blessing was given to the people of Israel does it still apply to us? And the answer to that is that still does apply to us. And the reason for this is because when you accepted Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life, you were then grafted into or adopted into God’s family. Which means that all of the promises that God made throughout the Old and the New Testament apply to you. But you have to remember the key to unlocking all of this is putting your faith and trust in God. And you do that by following this very simply steps:
- We have to recognize that everyone sins.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”-Romans 3:23 NIV
- We have to recognize the penalty for our sin is death.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”-Romans 6:23 NIV
- We have to believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8 NIV
- In order to be forgiven for our sin, we must believe and declare that Jesus is Lord, because our salvation only comes through faith in Christ.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”-Romans 10:8-10 NIV