Verse for the Day, 30 April 2015.

Numbers 6:25, “…the LORD make his face to shine upon you…”

What exactly is meant by this phrase? The phrase, “…the LORD make his face to shine upon you…”, speaks of favour, of God turning towards us, of God extended favour upon us, of God extending blessing. It speaks of God making Himself known, revealing Himself and in so doing making known His goodness, love and majesty. God looks upon us with favour, and when we look up to God we find favour in His eyes.

If we consider what kind of people the Israelites were, it is a remarkable testimony to God’s goodness and grace that He would cause His face to shine upon them for so many years and generations. God continued to make His face to shine upon them even in times of rebellion and great disobedience. God is indeed grace, slow to anger, patient and abounding in steadfast love!

This phrase is not unique to Numbers 6, it also appears in several other places in the Old Testament, which help us to understand it more fully:

Psalm 31:16, “Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!”

Psalm 67:1, "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah.”

Psalm 80:1-3, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.  (2)  Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!  (3)  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

Psalm 80:19, “Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

Psalm 119:135, “Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.”

Daniel 9:17, “Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.”

In these passages this phrase is used in several different ways. There is the request for God’s face to shine upon His people so as to save them, restore them, so as to teach them His Law and so as to pour out His favour and blessing upon the temple.

All of this points us to the act of God drawing near and then working in grace and favour for the good of His people. It expresses that God hears their prayers and responds favourably by coming near and answering them. It also expresses that God is constantly watching over His people, that God is amongst His people. His throne may be in heaven, but that doesn’t mean that He is distant and detached from them, rather His face shines upon them, He is near and present, He is looking upon them, and doing so with favour. Furthermore He doesn’t just cause His face to shine upon them, He doesn’t just come among them or extend favour to them in the good times. God’s face shines upon them, He is among His people and He extends favour to His people in times of great distress, when they are in need of help, of salvation, and when they find themselves in a foreign land and the temple destroyed. God’s face never ceases to shine upon them, and as they cry to Him so He draws near and answers favourably.

Thus as we consider this blessing, there is the promise of God to bless His people, to bless them in every area, to prosper and provide for them in all ways. God promises to keep them, to protect them from all harm, to be their shield and defender. And now He promises to draw near to them, to hear their prayers and to cause His goodness, grace, faithfulness, love and mercy to shine down upon them in abundance. He promises to look upon them with favour and for them to look upon Him and find favour. God promises to shine upon them making Himself, His Word and His salvation known to them. He is the God who draws near, He is the God who reveals Himself and He is the God who shines us His people at all times, in all circumstances and in any place.

As with the first two aspects of this blessing, this phrase, “…the LORD make his face to shine upon you…”, also finds its greatest fulfilment in Christ and then in the lives of those who believe in Christ. For it is in and through Christ that God has revealed Himself in the greatest sense. Christ didn’t just make known God’s word to us, He is the Word of God, He spoke the very words of God. Jesus is the one who draws near to us bringing salvation and restoration. Jesus is the one who brings us into the favour of God and causes us to find favour in the eyes of God. It is through Christ that God now hears our prayers and answers them in His rich grace. And, finally, it is because of Christ that we shall one day be brought into the presence of God, where we shall see His face shining brighter than the sun in full strength. But until that day we have the comfort of knowing that God’s face is shining upon through all things, He is always near to us and He is always extending undeserved favour towards us.

Father of light and glory, we thank You that today we know Your face is shining upon us because of Christ. We thank You that we can feel and know the warmth of Your presence and favour upon us. Thank You that You are the God who draws near, the God who saves and restores us, and the God who both hears and answers the prayers of His people. May we rejoice in this truth and live in such a way so as to reflect the light of Your glory, grace and holiness. We look forward with great joy to the day when we shall finally see You face to face and rejoice in the light of Your glorious presence. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 29 April 2015.

Numbers 6:24, “The LORD bless you and keep you…”

This wonderful blessing grows, as it moves from God’s promise of provision and prosperity, to the promise of God’s divine protection.

The word used for keep is a word that paints a picture for us, as it expresses something of value being guarded, something of value that has a hedge of thorns placed all around it. God is promising to keep the people of Israel in safety and security from those who seek to harm them or attack them. The Israelites will have the assurance and comfort of knowing that God is their protector.

This is a truth would have already known. God had brought them out of Egypt safely, protecting them from Pharaoh’s army and opening a way through the sea for them to walk through. They saw the pillar of cloud, or the pillar of fire, which reminded them God was present amongst them. Their God, their protector what at hand, ready to act and defend them.

Numerous passages of Scripture in the Old Testament speak of God’s hand of protection being upon His people. Think of the well-known and much loved Psalm 91 and Psalm 121. Why not take a few moments now to read those wonderful Psalms.

Psalm 121 speaks of God never sleeping or slumbering, and we see this reality in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, which remained among the people of Israel throughout those 40 years. Psalm 91 tells of the confidence the people of God have in the midst of a fierce battle against a formidable opponent, or the safety they will know as they journey through the wilderness where numerous wild animals roam. All this the Israelites came to know the full truth of as they journeyed to the Promised Land, and continue to know as they lived in the land.

In Zechariah we see God making this promise of keeping and protecting His people who have returned from exile. Zechariah 2:4-5, “and said to him, "Run, say to that young man, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.  (5)  And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"”

Finally, in the New Testament we see God’s protecting and keeping hand upon God the Son, the Apostles and the early Church. Numerous attempts were made upon Christ’s life, yet none of them succeeded until the appointed time. The Apostles were protected time and time again, God opened jail cells, sent earthquakes, kept them alive in the midst of fierce persecution, kept them from harm from wild beasts and from venomous snakes and even kept them when shipwrecked and left floating in the open sea.

There can be no denying that God has been faithful throughout the ages to this promise of protecting, keeping His people, placing a divine hedge of protection around them. This gives us great assurance, hope, comfort and peace, for God still remains faithful to this promise. In fact several passages in the New Testament letter reflect this truth. 1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  (4)  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  (5)  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Jude 1:24-25, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  (25)  to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

What a joy it is to know that God is keeping us, each and every day He has His hand of divine protection upon us, and will do so until He calls us home. This is all part of the reason why God promises to keep us, so that He will also fulfil His promise to bring us safely into His Kingdom. Note what Peter says, we are being kept for heaven and heaven is being kept for us. Jude tells us that we will be kept from stumbling, from falling and will be presented to God in glory.

Our God is truly good and gracious to us, we agree with the hymn writer who tells us:

A sovereign protector I have,
Unseen, yet forever at hand,
Unchangeably faithful to save,
Almighty to rule and command.
He smiles, and my comforts abound;
His grace as the dew shall descend;
And walls of salvation surround
The soul He delights to defend.

(Augustus Toplady)

Our divine and sovereign Protector, we worship and adore You today for Your hand of protection that rests upon us day after day. Thank You that we have the comfort of knowing that You in Your omnipotence are able to protect us from all things, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can pluck us from Your hand. We rejoice in the truth of the words spoken by God the Son, John 10:28-29, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” Thank you that we have the assurance of knowing that You are keeping us for eternity and eternity is being kept for us, and the fact that You WILL bring us safely into Your glorious presence. We pray that we would rest in Your protection and we pray especially for those today who are under attack because of Your name, may they know Your presence, protection and strength. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 23 April 2015.

Numbers 6:22-27, “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (23)  "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,  (24)  The LORD bless you and keep you;  (25)  the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  (26)  the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.  (27)  "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."”

This blessing is a blessing that teaches us so much about the character of God, who God is to us, and the many ways in which God bestows His undeserved favour upon us.

When we read this blessing we notice that there is a repetition in it. The LORD, the LORD, the LORD. Why is there this repetition, surely mentioning the LORD once is sufficient, why repeat it three times?

There are two reasons for this repetition. The first being to emphasise that this blessing is not just a general blessing, it is a divine blessing, it is God’s blessing that He is giving to His people. It describes the relationship that God is going to enter into with His people, the special position and privileges they will enjoy as a result of this blessing. Furthermore the various aspects of this blessing, that which is being promised, they can only be truly and fully performed and carried out by God Himself. No man can offer us this kind of blessing, keeping, favour, grace, relationship and peace. It all comes from God, it is a divine, God-centred, God-given, God-fulfilled blessing.

Secondly, it is thought that this three-fold repetition represents the Trinity, to God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Whether that was God’s deliberate intention and what He intended us to see when He gave this blessing, we cannot know with certainty. But what we do know is that this blessing definitely points us to the Trinity. How so? All three members of the Trinity are at work in seeking to apply, uphold and fulfil this blessing in our lives. The Father protecting us and prospering the work of our hands, the Son extending the grace and favour of salvation to us, and the Spirit applying the presence and peace of God in our hearts and leading us to prayer. We are witnessing again the depths and wonder of this blessing, all three members of the Trinity at work in our lives so as to fulfil this blessing.

It is tragic that we can become so caught up in the worries of this life, that we forget the incredible ways the Triune God is at work constantly in our lives. We need to remind ourselves that if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, then this blessing not only becomes ours, it is also ours every moment of every day, for all eternity! What a wonderful reality! The Triune God is working, daily and for eternity so as to lavish His grace and mercy upon us in this blessing. He will all through this day, and forever more, be at work so as to be blessing and keeping us, shining His favour upon us and extending grace upon grace, upon grace, inviting and receiving us joyfully into His presence and filling us with His abiding and unfailing peace. What goodness and grace we have received from our God, let us rejoice in this today and glorify His great name!

Our great and gracious Triune God we bow in adoration before You today. We stand amazed at the blessing and favour that You bestow upon us, that You, Father, Son and Spirit are constantly at work in our lives. Thank You that because of our salvation in Christ, we know the truth of this blessing now and evermore. Help us not to lose sight of this blessing by being overwhelmed by the worries of this world, or this life. Help us to remember that we have the Triune God at work in us, around us and working for us, for our good, a work and a blessing that will never fail. We thank You once more and praise Your most glorious Name. Amen.