June 10, 2001 Numbers 6:22-27
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. (KJV)
Have any of you ever heard of the “Prayer of Jabez”? It is a very popular book out on the market today. In the book, the author writes about a very obscure man in the book of Chronicles by the name of Jabez. The verse goes as follows: Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. The author makes the point that since Jabez prayed for blessings and God gave them to him. Thousands of people have been reading this book. There are some good and bad points and applications in the book.
Today’s text is similar to that prayer - but thousands of people are not reading this blessing. We hear this blessing every Sunday, but how often do we really think about what it’s talking about? Instead of asking for personal blessings - the priests were supposed to bless the people. This blessing was more of a pronouncement than a prayer. Just as there’s a lot to learn from Jabez’ prayer - there’s a lot more to learn from this blessing. So today we are going to attempt to -
Catch the Concepts Behind the Aaronic Blessing
I. It is a command from the LORD
Notice first of all that the LORD commanded Aaron and his sons to pronounce this blessing. It reminds us of the times that God commands us to pray. There are many commands in the Bible. In the Sunday School lesson for this morning, Samuel commanded Saul to completely wipe out the Amalekites - their women, children, donkeys, and cattle. When he didn’t do this, God ripped the kingdom from him. As we sat in the Sunday School teachers’ meeting, we had a hard time comprehending why God would order such bloodshed. Sometimes we just have to put our reason in a drawer when it comes to God’s commands and say, “you just stay there while I do this. You can come out when I’m done.” But when God commanded Aaron to BLESS the Israelites - was this a difficult thing? Was it hard for them to understand? When the LORD commands us to pray, is this a difficult thing? Is it a bad thing? Is it a difficult thing to comprehend? Of course not.
Why did God command Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites? Why does he command us to pray? Why did the Grinch’s friend demand that he eat green eggs and ham? Why do you make your kids do chores? Why do you make them eat vegetables? Is it because you love to torture your children to death? Of course not. Stick with me here - God commanded this blessing because he WANTED to BLESS His children. Deep thought, huh? It would seem obvious, wouldn’t it. It bears repeating, however - because our LORD gets a bad rap - as being a LORD who demands too much from us - as only WANTING to WORK us to death. Do these phrases sound familiar to you? “What, I have to learn another Bible passage? Do I HAVE to go to church this morning? I know I SHOULD pray, but I’m just so tired at night. I know I SHOULD have devotions, but I just can’t spare the time. I don’t want to give God my first fruits - that’s too much.” We act like God is asking us to put a nation to death - (which was also a BLESSING on the Israelites). Our LORD’s command shows us the simple concept that our LORD is a loving LORD that wants to bless his children. He wanted the best for them. And he wants the best for us. When he commands us to obey our parents - he does it for our good. When he commands us to pray - he does it because he wants to bless us.
Unless you live with this belief - you will constantly question every thing that happens in your life. Why did God allow me to sick? Why did God ruin my car? Why oh why? You will fear the future because you do not believe that God wants the best for you. But when you believe that the LORD wants what is best for your soul - you will live at ease. This blessing shows us first of all that the LORD WANTS to BLESS us.
II. It reminds us of our needs
If you could have three blessings from the LORD, what would they be? Imagine if you were Solomon, and God appeared before you tonight - and gave you such an offer. Solomon asked for wisdom - and God was pleased with his request. I think we all realize that asking for riches would have been foolish. We know that riches are temporary. When it comes down to life, there is a difference between what we NEED and what we WANT.
Aaronic Blessing reflects what we really need. There are basically three blessings that we can’t go without in this world - that are covered in this blessing. The first blessing is for the Lord to “KEEP us.” This word basically means “to exercise great care over.” Like when you take care of and tend things such as a garden, a flock, or a house. It may involve guarding against intruders, like the cherubim guarding the way to the tree of life - or gatekeepers or watchmen. God used it in his injunction to Satan not to touch Job’s life. That’s one thing we need in life - for the Lord to keep us. It wouldn’t matter how much gold we had - how many friends we had - or how great of insurance - if we didn’t have good health. If God didn’t bless us with his protection every day - we wouldn’t be able to enjoy any other physical blessings. This protection is generally ascribed to God the Father.
The second blessing is for the LORD to be “gracious” to us. This word depicts a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need. Even more important than good health, we need the blessing of God’s grace - for God says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We need our Lord to graciously forgive us. That’s what the work of the Son was all about. When Jesus came and lived and died in our place, He graciously provided us with God’s forgiveness. Every day he pleads for us with his blood and righteousness. Every day that God listens to our prayers then, God is being gracious to us.
The third blessing is a result of the first two blessings - that the Holy Spirit would give us peace. How often is it that those who are granted riches only end up worrying about them. As Ecclesiasties 5:12 says, the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. What a blessing it is when the Holy Spirit enables us to believe that our LORD will take care of us - it gives us peace. What a blessing it is - when the Holy Spirit assures us that our sins our forgiven - that God loves us? How many millions of people are there in this world that are driven by either hatred, fear, or guilt? They don’t know how to cope with guilt, so they abuse themselves. They don’t have the peace of knowing they’re forgiven - so they beat their bodies and try and do all they can to get to heaven. What a blessing it is when the Holy Spirit assures us of our status with God!
This blessing that the LORD commands to be spoken - was to remind the Israelites of what their blessings really were. The illustration that God draws before His people is that of the LORD “lifting up his countenance” and making his face “shine” before his people. In the Old Testament - they grasped this concept very well. When your face would “shine” it meant that you would be happy. It works the same today - we can tell the emotions of people by the looks of their faces. When they aren’t happy with you - they’ll often times look down or be “downcast.” The blessing envisions God lifting up his face and letting it shine upon his people. That God would be able to look at His people and show them His glory. When Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai with the Lord - he requested that he could see the LORD. He wanted to see the glory of God’s face. When Jacob and Gideon saw the Lord’s face, they realized what a privilege and blessing it was to see such glory. When Peter, James and John were able to see the glory of the Lord - it was a special blessing. It made them thankful to be given such a view.
Every time we hear this blessing - God wants us to catch the concept behind it. God wanted to give the Israelites these blessings of peace, security and forgiveness. And he wants to do the same for you. The LORD wants to give us what we really need in this life. God wants to give us the peace of knowing that He loves us. He wants to give us His grace through the forgiveness of sins in Christ. He wants to protect and keep us through all things. He wants to take you up on Mt. Sinai - lift up his face and give you a special view of His glory!
III. It assures us of how the LORD works
Now, the question is - how can God convey his glory to us? Wouldn’t it be neat if our LORD would show us his glory with a miraculous vision of him - as he did to Jacob or Moses? Consider the fact, however, that the Israelites had that very opportunity. When they were at the foot of Mt. Sinai - the glory of the LORD was rumbling and roaring from the top of the mountain. The LORD himself was speaking from the mountain. A glorious occasion for the Israelites? Not really. Instead, Exodus 20 says, They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” They were too afraid to have God show them His glory in this limited way. And so, God devised a different way to reveal His glory to them. He had Moses go up Mt. Sinai and bring His Word down to the people.
Today’s text reveals another method that God would bring His presence to His people. What would be the result of this Aaronic blessing? And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. Instead of directly blessing them through a wonderfully glorious vision, the LORD promised that through the blessing of Aaron and His sons He would bless them. This blessing would be the vehicle through which the LORD would bless His people. As a result of this blessing being spoken - the LORD would put His name on them - and take ownership of his children.
This concept is important to understand. The LORD does not usually choose to directly convey his glory to us - as he did to Paul on the way to Damascus or Moses on top of Mt. Sinai. Time and again God stands among His people and blesses His people through means. He cleansed Naaman of his leprosy through the waters of the Jordan. He healed people through handkerchiefs that Paul had touched. He uses the things that are taken for granted and despised - that people blow their noses in - to provide miracles through. This blessing - the simple words coming from mere men - may not have seemed like much to some of the people - but to those who believed in God’s promise - it was a miraculous thing.
Just as the LORD would take ownership of people through this blessing, the LORD uses similar means today. For instance, think about baptism. In Acts 2:38 Peter promised the people Acts 2:38-40 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Through the means of baptism God promised them the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul said in Romans 10, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. The Holy Spirit only chooses to work the Word of God. Whether that Word is in baptism, the Lord’s Supper, or preached - that’s what He works through.
It seems so simple - so basic, doesn’t it. Just listen to the Word - and God will work faith in you. We don’t have to climb Mt. Sinai for God’s blessings. We don’t have to have a special vision. We don’t need to search endlessly or do one thing for his blessings. They will come to us through His Word. But isn’t it a great thing? Isn’t it just a great thing what blessings we live with every day through the Word? We don’t have to search for our security in guard dogs or security systems - we know the LORD and his angels are protecting us. We don’t need to hear people flatter us or have someone buy us things to feel loved. We know God loves us. We don’t have to live our lives punishing ourselves for things we’ve done - we know Jesus was punished in our place. We don’t have to run to a bottle for comfort when we can pray to the Lord. We have every blessing that is necessary to survive in this world. And it all comes through the Gospel - the simple good news found in the Bible. That’s why God says “DO THIS.” Take the Lord’s Supper. Get baptized. Listen to the Word. This is not a command that is difficult to obey. It’s an invitation for our own benefit. When we do these things - our LORD blesses us. That’s how our Triune God works.
When I was young I went to a church with over 400 people. When we had communion it would sometimes take an additional 45 minutes to get through it all. On occasion, my parents would allow me to go across the street to the park and play during it. But I can recall that I was always hesitant to do that, because I wanted to hear the blessing. I didn’t understand it all - but in a child-like way I knew that I wanted the pastor to bless me. When you hear the blessing at the end of the sermon - catch the concepts of it. Remember about what a blessing we have through those words. We are blessed with the Father’s care. We are blessed with the Son’s grace. We are blessed with Holy Spirit’s peace. Through the words of this blessing the LORD is making you His child - by lifting up His face and exposing you to the light of His grace and forgiveness in Christ. Amen.
