Pass It On

 

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face to shine upon us,

 that your way may be known upon earth,

    your saving power among all nations.

 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you judge the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations upon earth.

 Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you.

 The earth has yielded its increase;

    God, our God, has blessed us.

 May God continue to bless us;

    let all the ends of the earth revere him.

 

You may be familiar with this prayer of blessing. Outside of the Bible you might have seen it on a plaque or heard it prayed during a benediction.

 It is a beautiful blessing with a wonderful visual. Gods face shinning upon us.

 Credit is usually given to Psalm 67 for these words, but we can also find them in the book of Numbers (A far less read book than Psalms).

 The reason for the strange title “Numbers” is because the story includes two censuses. We read about the people wandering in the wilderness and how Gods faithfulness continued through the people’s disobedience. 

Some have even said that the book of Numbers is characterized by the whining of the Israelites in the wilderness. The people were doubting God, and behaving badly.

 But yet; in the midst of their bad behavior God gave them a blessing.

 “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

 This beautiful blessing comes directly from God. God spoke this to Moses so that he could speak this over the children of Israel. It is called the Aaronic blessing because Moses taught it to Aaron his brother and it was to be taught to the priests.

It was meant to be passed on.

 A particular part of this prayer is often used on its own.

 “May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you.”

 The Hebrew word for bless has a deeper meaning in the Hebrew language. Its meaning is not just to “Bless” but it means God will provide for his children in their time of need.

 When it asks that the Lord “keep us” the understanding is that God will protect us.

 So together this blessing asks that God protect and provide for his children.

 When God shines his face upon us, he is giving us his favor which is a blessing of peace, grace and goodness.

 If we look at this blessing in Numbers, we see it in the sixth chapter where God is putting his laws out for Moses to share with the Israelites. After the laws are spoken God gives Moses this blessing to also share with the Israelites. (Numbers 6:23)

 This is a blessing that is still used in Judaism as well as Christianity.

When we pray this blessing, we are calling upon God to bless and provide for those who believe in him and follow him. It is meant to remind us that we have a God who loves and cares for us.

 We spoke this last Sunday in service about difficult prayers. We unpacked how we often have a hard time praying for others who have done us wrong.

If you recall I mentioned here that God spoke this prayer for his people…even when they were disobeying him. God gave this prayer to his whining, doubtful, discontented children in the midst of their misbehavior and sin.

 How is that for love?

 When we are faced with the difficulty of forgiveness; when we need to pray for those difficult people in our lives; when we do not have the words to say...God gives them to us.

 Moses was given these words to speak over a difficult people. God laid out his expectations and then he presented this prayer of blessing.

 And here is an important part of this scripture to take note of. In Numbers after the Priestly Blessing is given, God says “Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

 Our prayers and blessings evoke Gods power and blessing.

 So, when we are praying those difficult prayers for others, God is infusing them with HIS power and strength. God’s blessings are healing and the only way to heal and restore this broken world is to pray over it. 

Not because we are powerful enough to overcome it on our own; but because whenever we pray blessing over the broken and the broken-hearted God Himself blesses them.

 “May the Lord bless you and keep you and may 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.”

Pass it on….

-Pastor Patti