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 has to be one of the most wonderful, encouraging, hope-filled and
comforting passages in the Scriptures. To think that God would give this
incredible blessing to such people as us!
God commands Moses to give this blessing to Aaron and his sons, it
would become their duty, responsibility and privilege to pronounce this
blessing upon the people of Israel on a daily basis.
There is so much that could be said about this blessing that it is
worth spending a few days focusing upon it.
The fact that God gives this privilege to Aaron is in itself
remarkable. Aaron’s track record was not exactly a shining example of
faithfulness and devotion to God. He was responsible for leading the people of
Israel into idolatry, in fact we were told in Exodus that Aaron was the one who
made, fashioned the golden calf. Aaron deserved the judgement and condemnation
of God, he deserved death. Yet God preserves and spares Aaron.
Why does God spare Aaron and then not only make Aaron the high priest,
but also give him the privilege of speaking this blessing to the people of
Israel? The answer to this question is found within the blessing itself. There
is one small phrase that is the centre point of this blessing, in fact you could
say it is the cornerstone, as if you were to remove it the whole blessing would
collapse. The phrase is, “and be
gracious to you.” If God were not a God of grace, and specifically gracious
towards us, then He would not bless or keep us, He would not turn His face to
us, lift up His countenance or give us peace. But the glorious truth is that
God is a God of grace and specifically to us, Aaron is an incredible
demonstration of this fact.
The reality is that Aaron, the people of Israel and us deserve the opposite
of this blessing, for we have all gone astray into sin, and continue to do so.
We worship so many idols and often ignore or even deliberately reject God. We
deserve the curse of God’s judgement rather than the blessing of His grace. We
should have the opposite pronounced over us, saying, May the Lord curse you and
not keep you, may He turn His face away from you and so you no mercy. May the
Lord turn against you and refuse you and may He make you restless and filled
with fear.
How we should rejoice that God doesn’t treat us as we deserve, but is
a God who is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and who is willing to
forgive. God has demonstrated the depths of this through the sending of Jesus
Christ. And it is through Jesus Christ that we are brought into the blessing
and favour of God. For the believer in Christ, this blessing becomes their
blessing, a blessing for this life and a blessing for all of eternity. This is
a blessing we don’t deserve, for we are all like Aaron, but God is gracious in
saving us from our sin and bringing us into His eternal blessing. Let us
rejoice in the infinite goodness, grace, love and mercy of God, of the Lord
Jesus Christ that has brought us into this blessing!
All praise, worship and adoration belongs
to You our most gracious God. Words cannot express the thankfulness within our
hearts towards You for the grace You have shown us through Christ. Thank You
that You have removed our sin, that You have taken out our idolatrous hearts
and given us a new one. Thank You that You have saved us from judgement and
Your eternal wrath, even though we rightly and justly deserved it. Thank You
that You have brought us into Your grace and blessing. Thank You that we know
the truth of this blessing every day of our lives, and shall know it in increasing
fullness until we enter Your presence. May we rejoice in this blessing and
glorify Your great and gracious Name. Amen.
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