His Face to Shine Upon You

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, And be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “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.’’ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

This blessing is commonly used today in Judaism and known as the Priestly Blessing. The blessing itself emphasizes that it is the Lord who blesses the people and does for them what they cannot do for themselves.

“The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” This line of the blessing continues the theme of the “face” of God and has the idea of His people receiving His full attention. When we are faithful to God, His “face” is toward us with the result that will have peace.

Peace here is more than just an absence of warfare but a completeness or wholeness and maturity. For us, it’s a peace of wholeness and as we keep our mind toward God it is a peace that passes all understanding.

For ancient Israel, the Aaronic Blessing expressed the highest state of blessing that the nation would enjoy as they were faithful to God. The application is slightly different for us because of Jesus Christ. He has already granted us all of the things that are asked for in the Aaronic Blessing, and they have been granted to us on a permanent basis.

Prayer:
Thank you Jesus, that You have given us this blessing on a permanent basis forever. Lord, we receive it with thanksgiving!