Author: scott

A Lifted Countenance

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“The LORD lift up His countenance upon you.” – Numbers 6:26

Men & Children

For many young children, men can be intimidating.   With their large statures, deep voice and scruffy faces, they might as well be Jack’s giant.   They grunt and sigh but seldom speak.  They are always gruff and always angry.  They spank all children and eat the bad ones.  So I’m exaggerating, but only a little.  When it comes to relating with children, there are barriers to break through.  When the giant cares enough to break through it is memorable for both Jack and the giant.  Despite the intimidation, our children crave our attention.  Despite the barriers, our children need our love.

New Heights

As fathers, we like to face our children and lift them up in the air.  As we hold them up roles are temporarily reversed.  Now we must lift our faces to look them in the eyes.  As long as we are lifting them they can reach new heights.  We watch them as they are thrilled at the ability to touch the ceiling.  Perhaps we fly them around the room as imaginary planes and let them see familiar items from a new perspective.  My children are too old to do this with any longer, but I have graduated to doing it with my Grandchildren.  It is good not only for breaking down barriers but for making memories as well.  When conveying love words aren’t always necessary.  Sometimes the best way to spread joy is to pick up our children and lift up our faces towards theirs.

In today’s verse, that is what God is saying to His children.  I want to take you in My hands.  I want to pick you up.  I want to lift my face and look into your eyes.  To the children of Israel, God was that fearful giant on the mountain.  Remember?  They wanted Moses to talk to God and relay the message.  If God talks to us we will die!  When it comes to relating with children there are barriers to break through.  Even for God.  No one breaks through them better.  Your loving Father wants to lift you up so you can reach new heights.

Humility & Exaltation

When we looked at verse twenty-four of this blessing, we talked about the image of God blessing His children by getting on His knees and giving them gifts.  In doing so God was humbling Himself by getting on his knees and coming down to our level.  How amazing it is that our God would do such a condescending act.  At first glance, it might seem that this is similar to what we are looking at today.  Some might say it is two sides of the same coin.  I’m not so sure.  While verse twenty-four shows us the humility of God, today’s verse shows us the exaltation of man.  In the spiritual realm, one must precede the other.

When Jesus was on the cross, God was on His knees.  Our Father looked down from heaven and saw our hopelessness.  He saw us in our misery and showed us mercy.  God came down to our level and gave us a gift.  He humbled Himself.  We must do the same. We must lift our faces to the Savior on the cross and humble ourselves in repentance.  We must get on our knees and accept the gift God has offered us.   It is said that the cross is God’s greatest display of love and wrath.  It is also the best place for God and man to meet on their knees.  God’s arms are outstretched.  He is offering a gift.  Let’s reach out our hands and accept.  Humility precedes exaltation.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” – James 4:10

The cross wasn’t the end for Jesus.  It was the humility that preceded His exaltation.  “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore, God has exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:8-9).  When we are washed by the blood of Christ we are adopted by God.  We are His children.  The fear of His wrath is gone.  He is delighted in us.  He holds us up in divine joy and lifts His face upon us.  As He lifts us up we can reach new heights.  In the outstretched arms of God there are no ceilings.  Only endless joy.  Amazing the heights we can reach because of humility.  If we lift our eyes to Jesus, God will lift His face upon us.

God is not distant.  He is not aloof.  God came down to our level to lift us up to His.  Because of Jesus, the barriers are gone.  God is approachable.  He longs to embrace us.  As God holds you up and lifts His face towards yours may you be overwhelmed by His love and overflowing with joy.  May the experience enable you to see things from a new perspective.  Through Christ God has enabled us to see Himself more clearly.  We can see Him from an exalted position.  That is why He blesses us.  That is why He holds us up and lifts His face to us. When we are in His hands and He is looking into our eyes we have His undivided attention. What a great way to convey love.  What a blessing.

“The LORD lift up His countenance upon you.”

The LORD be Gracious to You

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“The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.” – Numbers 6:25

The Grace of God

The LORD be gracious to you.  As we continue to look at this blessing, we continue to see the character of God revealed.  Today we look at the attribute of graciousness.  We have no claim against the grace of God.  We do not deserve the mercy He shows us.  If we did it wouldn’t be grace it would be merit.  To show grace to someone implies a relationship involving an inferior and superior party.  When it comes to man and God the gulf couldn’t be greater.  The universe and everything in it belong to our Creator God.  Us, we are just empty vessels with open hands.  Helpless creation dependent upon a benevolent Creator.  Where would we be without the grace of God?  Dead in our sins!

The Love of God

God is love.  Because He is love He showers His grace.  Even if He is not loved in return it is His nature to love.  Unconditionally.  No man loves with a love so pure.  No man loves with such an unconditional love as God does.  It’s not possible.  God blesses us.  He kneels, coming down to our level, to give us gifts.  He keeps us.  He places a hedge of thorns around us to protect us.  He makes his face to shine upon us.  He favors us with a smile to lift our spirits.  God is gracious to us by manifesting His love to us.

The Compassion of God

God is compassionate.  He not only gives us what we do not deserve, He withholds what we do deserve.  “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will no always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:8-10).  God does not dismiss our sin.  Our sin deserves judgment.  Our disobedience grieves our Heavenly Father.  Because He is gracious He exercises patience.  He gives us time to repent.  When we do, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, or repay us according to our iniquities.”  Instead, He punishes His Son.  God is gracious to us by manifesting His compassion to us.

Hhanan

The word translated gracious in the original is hhanan.  According to Ancient Hebrew Research Center this word, “Is often paralleled with other Hebrew words meaning healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength, and rescue.  Our needs are many.  Think of this list as it pertains to our needs and compare with Biblical references that pertain to God’s meeting those needs.  We need healing, God is the great physician.  “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).  Help?  “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).  We need lifting up.  “I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure” (Psalm 40:1-2).  Need refuge or strength?  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).   Need to be rescued (of course you do)?  “For thus says the Lord God:  Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep and will seek them out.  As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Ezekiel 34:11-12).

God is gracious.  The above list is by no means exhaustive.   Neither in regards to our needs or God’s grace in meeting those needs. I am sure that as you look at the list other verses probably came to your mind.  I hope so.  We are empty vessels with open hands.  God’s grace cannot be exhausted.  He can feed multitudes with a couple of fish and a few loaves and still have plenty left over.  Even after everyone is satisfied (that’s the real miracle)!

Grace & The Cross

We can not talk about the grace of God without talking about the cross.  When our need was greatest, God’s grace shone brightest.  The great gulf that separated us from God was sin.  God spanned it with the cross.  We were the scattered sheep lost in clouds and thick darkness.  God searched us out.  The Lamb of God hung on the cross for the lost sheep.  “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By His wounds you have been healed.  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25).  “For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).  “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”  (John 12:32)  “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Matthew 23:37).  “In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge” (Psalm 57:1).  “I  can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom.  To Him be the glory forever and ever.  Amen” (2 Timothy 2:18).

“The LORD be gracious to you.”  A once empty vessel with open hands, now overflowing with the Grace of God.  Like the story of Elisha and the widow, there is more oil (grace) than there are vessels to hold it. (2 Kings 4:1-7)  Thank God for His graciousness.  In His grace He meets our needs.  Even those we are unaware of.  When we were dead in our sins, He made us alive in Christ.  Amazing Grace.  How can it be?  Christ bore on sins on Calvary!

The LORD’s Shining Face

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“The LORD make His face to shine upon you.” – Numbers 6:25

Morning Sun

One of my favorite things to do is an early morning run.  I enjoy being on the road as the sun is waking up.  I like to see the sun breaking the horizon in all of her splendor as the veil of night is withdrawn.  I like to feel her first rays kissing my cheeks.  Her radiance not only warms my face, it also warms my soul.  I don’t want to read about or hear about a sunrise, I want to experience it.  I want to be engulfed in her glory.  So it was with Moses and God.  Moses wanted more of God.  He wanted to more fully experience God.  He made the bold request, “Please show me your glory'” (Exodus 33:18).

God’s Glory

God is holy.  God is light.  The sun in all her splendor can not compare to Him.  Moses could not see God in all of His glory and live, so God “veiled” His glory and gave Moses a glimpse.  Moses was placed on a rock, and as God passed by Moses could look at His back, but not His face lest he die.  When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, God was enshrouded with a thick cloud.  Yet, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai his face was shining.   Moses had been in the presence of God (though limited) and God’s glory was now reflected on the face of Moses.  Even this reflection of the glory of God was awe inspiring.  The Israelites were afraid.  They were intimidated.  Now it was Moses who had to veil his face because even a reflection of God’s glory is so intense.   Man would have a better chance surviving on the surface of the sun than standing in the unveiled presence of our Holy God.  Yet God wants to make His face shine upon us.

In Psalm 67 verse one the Psalmist prays, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us.”  In Psalm 4 verses six and seven, David prays, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?  Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!’  You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”  God, show us your glory in a special way.  God, show us your approval.  God, bless us with your smile.  May your glory kiss our cheeks.  May your smile touch our souls.  We don’t just want to read or hear about you.  We want to experience you.  “The LORD make His face to shine upon you.”  There is no greater honor.

My Beloved Son

“Please show me your glory.”  Some fifteen hundred years after Moses’ request to see the glory of God, it was granted.  Jesus took Peter, James, and John high up on a mountain and Jesus was transfigured before them.  “His face shone like the sun”.  Moses, along with Elijah, were there to see and speak with Jesus in all of His glory.  Once again, God spoke out of a cloud, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”  In Jesus, God makes His face to shine upon us.  He shows us His glory. He shows us His approval.  He smiles upon us.  In Jesus, we experience God in all of His fullness.

When God shines His face upon us He shows us His mercy.  He fulfills an inner longing.  He meets a deep need.  We are relational beings.  We crave attention.  We need affection.  To be loved is a fundamental necessity.  Watch a couple with a newborn baby. They tenderly embrace it.  They affectionately nurture it.  When they look at the offspring God has blessed them with their eyes twinkle and their faces shine.  The smiles on their faces look permanent.  But they are not.  Time will turn them upside down.  Trials will bring frowns.  Disobedience will bring discipline.  Disillusionment will bring discouragement.  But behind the visage of the parents, the child still anticipates and craves the shining.  The twinkle in the eyes.  The approval of a smile.  So much is expressed in the face of a person.  Words are not needed to convey mood, emotions or sometimes even thoughts.  We want to know that they still love us despite our inadequacies and the fact that perhaps the infant they held didn’t meet their expectations.

Adopted & Loved

Israel was that adopted baby.  The apple of God’s eyes.  God lavished His love on them.  He showed them His mercy.  And so it is with His church.  God has adopted us into His family.  He lavishes His love on us.  He has shown us His mercy.  Despite our weaknesses, He makes His face shine upon us.  Every day the Sun of Righteousness kisses our cheeks.  His radiance warms our faces and touches our souls.  We don’t even need to tie on our running shoes to enjoy the experience.  In Christ, God will make His face shine upon us wherever we are at all times.  If we think the faces of parents shine in the presence of a newborn, how much more so the Bridegroom upon seeing His Bride on their wedding day.

“In them He has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man runs its course with joy.  Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” – Psalm 19:4b-6

Christ has made His circuit from Heaven to earth and back to Heaven again.  Through the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief, God made His face shine upon us.  When we needed a Savior, God did not turn His back on us.  With His back to the cross He let us see His glory.  With blood on His brow and a tear in His eye, God smiled upon us.  There is no greater honor.

“The Lord make His face to shine upon you.”

The LORD Keep You

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“The LORD bless you and keep you.” – Numbers 6:24

Shamar

The LORD keep you.  The word translated keep in the original Hebrew is shamar.  Literally, it means to guard or protect.  Being nomadic, the Hebrews were a livestock raising people.  In order to protect their flocks in the open, the shepherds would construct a corral of thorn bushes.  A hedge of thorns.  As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word for thorn is shamiyr, a word derived from shamar.  We see an illustration of this in Hosea when the prophet wants to “corral” his wayward wife, “Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.”  As wayward sheep prone to wander and susceptible to dangers, it is comforting to know that our great Shepherd wants to protect us.  He wants to put a hedge of thorns around us.

Jesus our Guard

In John chapter ten Jesus uses this illustration of a shepherd guarding His sheep, “So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.'”  Jesus, our Shepherd is in an open field with His sheep.  He has built a hedge of protection around them.  Instead of putting up a door, Jesus Himself acts as the door.  Nothing can enter the fold without going “through” Him.  Jesus says He is not a hired hand.  Instead, the sheep belong to Him.  If a wolf comes He will not flee.  No wolf will be snatching any sheep from His fold.  He will indeed keep them.  I feel sorry for any predator that tries to harm His sheep!!

As a child, nothing drives away fear like the presence of our father.  We view our fathers as flesh and blood Supermen.  In their presence, ghosts disappear.  Storms seem to calm.  Spooky sounds are quieted.  We have the confidence our fathers can protect us no matter what the threat.  With the passing of time, we progress from protected to the protector.  As a father, perhaps nothing is so “ingrained” in us as the desire and passion to protect our children.  Even a man with a reputation for being mild will become animated if he feels his children are threatened.  If you think I am exaggerating open your Bible.  Even Jesus used pretty strong words in defense of children, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).  Threaten my children? Happy swimming.  Not exactly Mr. Rogers.

Cannot Fail

To this day this is the area I struggle with most in regards to losing our daughter.  I “feel” like I failed her as her protector.  I still replay the decisions that were made throughout her struggle to survive.  Logically, I don’t know what, if anything, I could have done differently to save her life.  Yet this inherent passion trumps logic.  We may fail our children in other Fatherly “roles” in other areas, but to fail as their protector leaves a scar like nothing else.  A good father, like the Good Shepherd, will lay down his life for his children.  We not only want to guard them physically but more importantly, we want to protect them spiritually.  We pray for their spiritual protection.  We pray a hedge of thorns around them to keep them from wandering.  We try to shelter them from ungodly influences.  We pray that they will be protected from the evil one.  While we may fail as earthly fathers, our Heavenly Father never will.  As strong as our passion to protect and guard may be, His is even greater.  His words as always are backed by action.

In order to “keep” us, God had to “sacrifice” our Great Shepherd.  Our Great Shepherd, laid down His life for us.  When He did so He went to Calvary wearing a crown of thorns.  How ironic.  Even on the cross, our Shepherd wore a crown twisted from the thorns a shepherd would have used as a hedge of protection.  Christ died wearing our “hedge of protection.”  He bore our sins.  He rose from the dead.  He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.  Guarding us.  Protecting us.  Keeping us.

There is no danger our Father cannot protect us from.  Our Father that has the humility to get on His knees and present us with gifts, has the strength to protect us as well so we can enjoy the blessings He has bestowed upon us.  When it comes to keeping His children, He will never fail.  No more need for thorns, He has placed His Spirit within us to make sure we arrive safely home.

The LORD bless you and keep you!

“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life.  The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” – Psalm 121:5-8

“Keep them in your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.  While I was with them, I kept them in Your name, which You have given Me.  I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” – John 17:11b-12

The LORD Bless You

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“The LORD bless you.” – Numbers 6:24

Divine Words

As mentioned previously, these are the words of God.  Words He commanded Moses to have Aaron and his sons recite over the children of Israel.  What a contrast from the scene at Mt. Sinai, when the Ten Commandments were handed down.  “Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.'”  With the thunder and lightning the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain, it is no wonder the people were afraid.  Could this God who is giving these laws to us under these conditions really love us?  Law after law, and litany regulations.  He must be angry with us.  Don’t let Him speak to us or we will surely die!  We need an intercessor.  Please, Moses, you tell us what God wants to communicate to us.  We know you.  We feel safe with you.  But God…?

Barakh

The word translated bless in the original is Barakh.  It literally means to kneel.  It is the same word used in Genesis 24:11 when Abraham’s servant has the camels kneel down by the well.  The form used here in Numbers typically means respect.  It is natural to think in terms of man kneeling before God out of reverence such as in Psalm 95:6 which says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”  Because God is worthy, He deserves our respect.  Because of His character, He deserves our reverence.  Why shouldn’t the created kneel down before it’s Maker?  In today’s passage, however, God shifts the imagery.   Instead of man kneeling before God, God says He will kneel before us.   Why?  To bring us a gift.  That is the literal meaning of the text.  The LORD bless you.  God offering a gift, out of respect, while on His knees.  Is this the God Israel feared?  Is this the God who would kill them by speaking to them?

Childhood Memories

Perhaps like most people in our culture, some of my fondest childhood memories are of Christmases. As children, we nearly burst with anticipation as Christmas approaches.  The Christmas tree stands sentinel, holding its ground until the presents are safely delivered.  Mitch Miller and the Gang ride a vinyl merry-go-round non-stop (surprised the needle never wore through).  Their only respite was the break offered by the Chipmunks Christmas eight track.  Christmas cookies to be washed down with milk, (which went down easier listening to the smooth voice of Mitch versus the squeaky little squirrels).  Friends to share the season with.  Parties to make sure we were well fed.  There is always a special “spirit” that seems to put everybody in a good mood for the season.  Perhaps it is facilitated by the manger scene with baby Jesus in the hay and the three wise men on their knees adoring Him.

Coming Down to Us

Of all these Christmas memories, one stands out above the others.  Under the Christmas tree was a gift that really excited my older brother and me.  It was a fort.  Nothing fancy.  Just some blocks to be stacked so we could be enclosed and safe from our imaginary enemies.  I still remember putting them one on top of the other and watching our fort take shape.  Our hands were busy and our hearts were merry.  I am sure that over the years we received “better” gifts than that fort.  What made that Christmas so memorable was our father.  He “blessed” us by getting on his knees and joining us.  To a child, there is something special about an adult getting on his knees and coming down to our level.  How much more so when it is our Heavenly Father. How much more son than when the gift He bestows is His son.  That baby in the manger scene.

We can’t turn back the clock.  We can’t go back in time.  We can count our blessings.  They are many.  God has blessed me with a great wife.  He has blessed me with precious children.  He has blessed me with the cutest grandchildren (no you can’t debate that)!!  I have been blessed with loving parents and siblings who helped to mold me.  God has blessed me with a job I enjoy and co-workers I consider my friends.  He has blessed me with health and I have never gone in need.  The list could go on and on, but nothing can compare to the spiritual blessings.  When I deserved to be struck and judged by the fear-inducing God of Sinai, God got on His knees and gave me a gift.  Salvation through His Son.  One who could intercede where Moses could not.  Dwell on the condescension of God to meet us at our level.  The love of God to give us a gift.  What a Christmas present.  What a blessing.  “If you knew the gift of God” (John 4:10).

The LORD bless you!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 1:3

Blessings

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“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.

The Arm of the Lord

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“And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” – Isaiah 53:1a

Suffering Servant

After asking this question, Isaiah portrays a suffering Servant.  The description is not impressive.  A young plant growing out of dry ground.  No form or majesty.  No beauty.  A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  The reaction?  Men don’t want to look at Him.  Men don’t desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men.  Men hid their faces from Him.  He was despised (repeated) and was not esteemed.  He was esteemed stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  He was oppressed, he was afflicted. By oppression and judgement He was taken away.  He was cut off out of the land of the living.  His grave was made with the wicked. He was numbered with the transgressors.  His sorrowful condition must have been a punishment from God for His sin.  Appearances must be right.  Right?  Wrong!!

The truth.  Isaiah further says, “He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.  He was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace.  With His wounds, we are healed.  Like sheep, we have gone astray, we have turned-every one- to his own way, and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  He was stricken for the transgression of the people.  He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.  His soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see His offspring.  He shall prolong his days.  The will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.  Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied.  He will make many to be accounted righteous and shall bear their iniquities.  He bore the sins of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”  Things aren’t always as they appear.

Our Salvation

The Suffering Servant is our salvation.  In His suffering, He reveals His humanity.  He reflects us.  It is we who are frail.  We are sorrowful and acquainted with grief.  We are subject to God’s wrath because of sin.  We are oppressed.  We are afflicted.  In His servanthood, He reveals His divinity.  He bears our sorrows and griefs.  He is pierced for our transgressions.  He is crushed for our iniquities.  He brings us peace.  We are healed by His wounds.  He makes us accounted righteous.

The Arm of the Lord

The Suffering Servant is the arm of the Lord.  The arm of the Lord is the revelation of God’s strength.  Born in a manger to a lowly couple.  A wandering teacher with no place to lay his head.  He made His triumphal entry on a borrowed donkey.  He was betrayed by the kiss of a friend.  In His hour of need, He was denied by his “bravest” follower and abandoned by most of the rest. He was savagely beaten, He was mocked, and He was crucified naked on a Roman cross.  The cruelest form of execution.  When dead He was buried in a borrowed grave.  “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”  To those that claim this Suffering Servant as their Savior.  Before we can recognize the true identity of the Servant, we must recognize our sinfulness.  When we think of a strong arm we envision one that is flexed with a clenched fist.  God’s strength was revealed in humility with extended arms and open hands.  Nailed to a cross.  When we are so proud, how could we expect to see a Messiah as a suffering Servant? Never confuse humility with weakness.

The stone was rolled away.  The borrowed tomb is empty.  Sin and death were defeated.  Captives were set free.  The Holy Spirit was “unleashed”.  The Church was born.  That baby in the manger was God in the flesh.  That wandering teacher was the living Word.  On earth, He had no place to lay His head until the cross, because Heaven is His home.  When He returns the borrowed donkey will be exchanged for clouds and angels. Instead of being betrayed, every knee will bow before Him.  That is the proper reaction to the arm of the Lord.

We could have never imagined the arm of the Lord revealed as a Suffering Servant.  Wouldn’t fit our “style”.  But a drowning man is in no position to critique life preserver fashion.  Drowning in sins we couldn’t save ourselves, only God could.  In our weakness, He revealed His strength.  He stretched out His arms and opened His hands.  Grab them!

“He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was on one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and His righteousness upheld him.”  Isaiah 59:16

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?…For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” – 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, 25

Griefs and Sufferings

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“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” – Isaiah 53:3a

Somber Description

“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”  Not the words I would want on my tombstone.  Not that I want a tombstone.  Certainly an appropriate description of Job.  But this isn’t about me.  It isn’t about Job.  This is how Isaiah portrays our Savior.  Part of his theme of the Suffering Servant.  But this isn’t a reflection of Jesus’ disposition or character.  He is not painting Him as a melancholy person or a man “down on his luck”. Rather, Isaiah continues to show our Savior in the light of a servant.  Look at what he says in verse 4.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”  That is quite a picture.  The source of His griefs and sorrows is not internal but external. When Isaiah tells us that the Suffering Servant is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he is not criticizing an internal flaw but rather exalting a vicarious or selfless nature.  Unfortunately, the world doesn’t recognize this. Rather, Isaiah tells us, “He was despised and rejected by men.”  Now that is a reason to be sorrowful!

Bearing our Burdens

Who doesn’t have sorrows?  Who doesn’t have griefs?  When weighed down by problems who doesn’t want a place to run to for relief?  Maybe a shoulder to cry on?  How much better, a friend to bear our sorrows and carry our griefs?  Or how about taking them to a God who cares?  Sound too good to be true?  Test Him.  This Man that men deemed to be weak can bear anything we take to Him.

Maybe you have lost a parent, spouse or child.  Perhaps you have lost a job.  Maybe your reputation has been tarnished.  Possibly even undeservedly.  Maybe your marriage is on the rocks.  Perhaps it was shipwrecked long ago.  If you’re not grieving a lost loved one maybe you are grieving a lost relationship.  A best friend has become a bitter enemy.  The child you nurtured will no longer speak to you.  Could be your sorrows stem from financial concerns.   Maybe you have lost your home.  Perhaps your retirement has been wiped out.  A savings nest has been depleted by an unexpected expense.  If we are following Job’s list, perhaps your burden is health related.  Cancer.  Heart condition.  Blood sugar.  Blood pressure.  Infertility.  Emotional stress.  Maybe you’re grieving over something you have said or done to someone.  Maybe you’re grieving over something someone said or did to you.  The source of your sorrows and griefs isn’t the issue here. The sources are infinite.  The issue is the only solution. Our suffering Servant.

Sin’s Children

When Jesus carried the cross to Calvary, He not only bore our sins, He also bore sin’s consequences.  Such are sorrows and griefs. They are sin’s children.  Jesus not only carried them on His back, He covered them with His blood.  The world may despise and reject Him, but He wants us to come to Him.  Just as we are.  That is why He came to us.  On His heavenly throne, He would never be described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  But He left Heaven because we needed Him.  He left Heaven because He loves us.  “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Wow.  Come to me.  Exchange your heavy burden for rest.  How?  He is going to bear your heavy burden.  We just need to go to Him and let go.  The troubles won’t necessarily disappear, but they will become much lighter as Jesus carries the weight.  “Take My yoke upon, you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  (Matthew 11:29)  Our Savior has taken on flesh and blood.  He has stooped to our level, so He can get under our sorrows and griefs and bear them for us.

“A man of sorrows acquainted with griefs.”  What a Servant.  “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”.  What a Savior.  “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).  What a promise!

Who Has Believed?

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“Who has believed what he has heard from us?” – Isaiah 53:1a

Hard to Believe

What a gold mine is Isaiah chapter 53.  With every shovel we turn over more treasure is exposed.  In this chapter, Isaiah gives us a portrait of a Suffering Servant.  A servant we can observe, but would not embrace with our own reasoning.  Who could have imagined a Messiah that would lead as a servant?  Or one with common parents?  How about a Messiah with no “special” physical attributes?  Who would have imagined a Messiah that would be despised and rejected by men?  Or one of sorrows and acquainted with grief?  A Messiah that men would despise and hide their faces from?  Only God.

“Who has believed what he has heard from us?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  For He grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” – Isaiah 53:1-3

Too Familiar?

Familiarity can be a dangerous thing.  How many blessings are missed or joys deprived because of it?  Jesus was a known entity.  People knew His parents and siblings.  They watched Him grow up.  They saw Him when He was sick, or when He fell down.  “He grew up before them like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground.”  When our eyes have seen this, how can we believe what we have heard?  “Is this not the carpenter’s son?”  Nice guy perhaps.  Messiah, no way!  Messiah, God’s way!!

This young plant growing out of dry ground is actually the Holy Seed (Isaiah 6:13) and Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10).  He is the vine with whom we are to abide.  His parents are not “common”.  Our suffering Servant is actually the Son of God through the Holy Spirit.  He is our source of life.  To those who believe, our source of abundant life.  May we strive to learn more about Him without becoming too “familiar”.  May we work over His word with pick and shovel, mining the blessings and joys He has “buried” for us to lavish in.

Foolish Yardsticks

If familiarity can be dangerous, physical “yardsticks” can be deadly. How many feelings have been hurt or spirits crushed by these measurements of worth?  Too big. Too small.  Too fat.  Too skinny.  Too short.  Too ugly. Who ever came up with these?  Not God.  “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”  No form?  No beauty?  The yardsticks reveal that we are too shallow.  God has a better way of measuring worth.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him.”  “You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.”  “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”  “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works.”  Wonderful are your works!!!  No mention of appearance or physical attributes and their association with worth.  Good time to throw away the shallow yardsticks.

Despised & Rejected

“He was despised and rejected by men.”  Sad commentary.  Logical conclusion.  Proof that the combination of fallen man’s emotions, mind, and will cannot be trusted.  Isaiah continually turns up gold, the people only see dust.  Too often men can only see what they are looking for. When they don’t like what they see, they turn their faces.

The human mind will never believe using rational.  Divine revelation is necessary.  Only the remnant will see Holy Seed while the world sees a root out of dry ground.  Only His true Brothers and Sisters will seek His face and find beauty, while the lost will hide their faces and despise Him.  His disciples are willing to walk away from their boats and tax booths to follow Him.  They esteem Him of greater worth than family relationships and even life itself.  The world esteems Him not.

God sent a suffering servant.  Isaiah exposed His majesty.  Believing what we have heard is more precious than gold.

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” – Matthew 17:5

Crushed for Our Iniquities

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“He was crushed for our iniquities.” – Isaiah 53:5

Christ Crushed

He was Crushed.  “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain” (Leviticus 2:14).  In Leviticus chapter two, the grain offering is instituted.  The grain offering is a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.  When Isaiah wrote of the suffering Servant, he did so seven hundred years before the birth of Christ.  Yet his words are written in the past tense.  The fatal decision in the Garden of Eden led to the struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane.   Satan would bruise the heel of Jesus.  Jesus would crush the head of Satan.  But Jesus also would have to be crushed.

Our Iniquities

For our iniquities.  “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  “Sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”  “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’  “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars.”  Mankind has a terrible disease.  Sin.  Iniquities. Written with a pen of iron, engraved with a point of a diamond on the tablet of our deceitful and desperately sick hearts.  Examine your thoughts for one day and take note of the sinful ones.  When it comes to our iniquities does the Bible exaggerate?  We might deceive others.  We might deceive ourselves.  We will never deceive God.  He searches the heart and tests the mind.  His verdict?  Guilty.

God’s Will

Will of God.  “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him” (Isaiah 53:10).  “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).  Jesus committed no iniquities.  He was sinless.  The only one qualified to be our sin bearer.  The only one qualified to be our Savior.  The consequence of our iniquities?  Jesus was crushed by the millstone of God’s wrath.  A righteous God has to judge sin.  Punishment must be meted out. We deserve it.  It was the will of God to crush Him!  Eden’s ban became Gethsemane’s invitation.  The desire of the forbidden fruit led to the necessity of the crushing of our Firstfruits.  The disobedience of Adam brought death, the obedience of the last Adam brought a life-giving spirit. Because of Adam’s sin, he would eat bread by the sweat of his face.  Because of Adam’s sin, the Bread of Life would sweat drops of blood. The temptation yielded to in Eden led to banishment.  The submission offered in Gethsemane led to restoration.  “It was the will of the Lord to crush Him.”  Jesus surrendered to God’s will.  He drink of the bitter cup.

Firstfruits

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive…And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.”  Christ was crushed for our iniquities.  He was crushed for our redemption.  When our “kernels of grain” are buried in the ground, our souls will join Christ.  Because He has been crushed, we have been made pure.  The angels that guarded Eden will welcome us into Heaven.  Our crushed Savior will be sitting at the right hand of the Father who crushed Him.  The millstone of God’s wrath will not be there, because our iniquities have been crushed and cast to sea.  Crushed by God’s steadfast love.

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance?  He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.  He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot.  You will cast all of our sins into the depth of the sea.” -Micah 7:18-19