“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” – Numbers 6:24-26
Precious Words
I am not sure that there are more precious words ever written than these (I know that is subjective). I realize that John 3;16 and Psalm 23 may be more familiar, but there is something about this blessing that touches the heart and soul. We commonly refer to this as Aaron’s blessing, but that doesn’t do it complete justice. Listen to verses 22 and 23. “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,…'”. Don’t miss the importance of these verses. The blessing does not originate with Aaron or Moses, or any other man. This beautiful blessing originates in Heaven from the throne of God. This isn’t man’s hope that God will bless. Nor is this man begging for Divine blessings. Rather, this reveals the heart of the Sovereign God of the universe. It is a reflection of His character. It is an extension of His Grace. He wants to manifest His love to His children through blessings. It is His desire to bless us. I find this very comforting. I find this very humbling.
Priestly Channel
By any measure, Moses was a great leader. He was a humble man (always a plus). He was handpicked by God to lead His people. He intimately communed with God. He was used of God to confront Pharaoh. God enabled Him to lead Israel out of Egypt. But God did not ask Moses to pronounce this blessing on His children. That privilege went to Aaron and his sons. The blessing had to “flow” through the Priests. The male descendants of Aaron are referred to as Kohanim. Traditionally, the priests blessed the people every morning after the sacrifice at the Temple. When reciting the blessing, the priests would raise their hands, palms outward, and with their fingers form the letter Shin, an emblem for Shaddai (Almighty). When the blessing was being recited, the congregation did not look at the priest or his raised hands, rather they looked down and concentrated on the words of God as recited by the priest. It is said, “When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the Divine Presence would shine on the fingers of the Kohanim as they would bless the Jews, and no one was allowed to look out of respect for God. Today Orthodox Jews continue this practice as a reminder of what praying was like in days past.”
Divine Source
According to Jewish tradition, in the beginning only God could bless other people. God first blessed Adam and Eve (Be fruitful and multiply…). Later God blessed Noah and his sons when leaving the ark (Be fruitful and multiply…). God blessed Abraham and gave our “spiritual father” the power of blessing. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each had the “power” to bless. Jacob (Israel), blessed his twelve sons before he died. Subsequently, God taught Moses that the power to bless others would now come from His appointed Kohanim. The priest is to perform the blessing joyfully. If unable to do so (i.e. if mourning the death of a loved one) the priest is not to say the blessing. Rather, he is to leave while another priest, who is able to recite the blessing joyfully, does so. His downcast spirit is not to influence the recipients of the blessing. Not only is the priest to recite the blessing joyfully, he is also to do so out of love. He is supposed to represent the love of the LORD for His people. The blessing is not to be done mechanically, but with heartfelt emotion. There is to be a “state of kavanah” (intention, sincere feeling, direction) in the heart. This requirement is implicit in the original language but lost in the translation to English. The priest is to sincerely desire to see the people blessed, and the hearers should sincerely desire to receive the blessing.
I don’t share this detail to bore you, but rather to lay the groundwork for a more detailed look at these precious verses. I would encourage you to memorize these verses and to keep in mind the basic truths behind them.
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”
In the midst of laws and regulations, this ray of Grace shines. Perhaps it is implicit that if the laws are kept, the blessings of God will follow.
Note: Hebrew for Christians was used for historical background.