There is such a simple power in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:
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.
But like any blessing, there is the danger that we start thinking that our blessing is the final goal. But it’s not.
In the words of Genesis 12, we have been blessed to BE a blessing to all nations of the world, since God’s concern is for all of creation.
So Psalm 67 borrows that old priestly blessing and adds a “so that” — just in case people start thinking that the final goal of faith is for us to be satisfied with how our life is turning out.
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us –
so that your ways [note that God is now addressed in 2nd person] may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
He prays for the blessing of God — however that may look (and I doubt that it always looks like what’s described in pop theology) — so that God’s salvation may be spread among all nations.
Wow. I was just talking about this very thing with some guys yesterday afternoon…
I also love reading about the blessings in scripture, especially in the Psalms. The continuing nature of the blessing is our responsibility. I like that. Our response to the blessing is to bless. Our response to what God has done is to tell it and show it. I like how Psalm 78 puts a family spin on it:
Stories we heard from our fathers,
counsel we learned at our mother’s knee.
We’re not keeping this to ourselves,
we’re passing it along to the next generation—
GOD’s fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done.
He planted a witness in Jacob, set his Word firmly in Israel,
Then commanded our parents to teach it to their children
So the next generation would know,
and all the generations to come—
Know the truth and tell the stories
so their children can trust in God,
Never forget the works of God
but keep his commands to the letter.
(Psa 78:3-7, MSG)
What do you mean, it’s not all about me me me?
I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
OH, the Old Testament is so rich in language and texture and so meaningful in our ultimate understanding of the Father and His will for us. We are blessed to bless. Too bad that so many miss out on the blessings by making so many things about themselves. Too bad that I do it so often too.
One other “so that” that has always struck me as important (though often overlooked) is in Hebrews…
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14
It seems the point of being washed clean–and especially the cleaning of my conscience– isn’t really about me either, it is “so that” I can serve the living God!
Can I really serve God with a conscience full of guilt? Maybe not… at least not to the degree that God desires. Christ’s blood helps me let it go “so that” I can be of eternal use to God and of eternal benefit to others!
Makes me think of Genesis 11 and the tower of babel. I always thought God scattered them because of their desire to make a name for themselves until my wife showed me that it was also because of their desire not to be scattered. That flew in the face of God’s plan that they fill the earth. I sometimes want to stay where I’m comfortable in place of being scattered.
Another note… Mike, I’ve been wanting to thank you for your comment the other day about why Jesus came… to die for sins or to reveal God’s kingdom. That comment just keeps coming to mind and continues to frame my goals and ministry. Thank you.
The congregation repeated that blessing to my wife and I at the end of our wedding ceremony. As I couple, my hope is that with every blessing we will be able to see and be the “so that.”
That’s why I like collects so much.
b blessed
russ
I’ve not felt well at all the past several days (and have been confined at home longer than that, unfortunately, again) and so when I just now read the first few words of your post here I felt blessed, Mike. Thank you.
We just moved in a small rental while we build a new home, so don’t have our speaker system hooked up (and won’t), but Tom unpacked most of our CDs yesterday and I (blessedly?!) just found my ACU Alumni Choral Reunion! 1989 CD with “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” and am listening to it on my computer speakers here over and over as I write. Such beautiful music, magnificent four part harmony and glorious amens.
Harking back to last week’s posts, this is a cappella singing at its finest and truest. (And I’ll give you another example below.)
As for the Numbers 6 blessing (and all the others), I’ve always thought of it more in the context of us bringing God’s blessings and trying to be a blessing to others because of God’s blessings upon us.
For that reason, when our dad died in 1996 in Abilene and we planned his funeral (at Highland), we choose (the ACU alumni singing) “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” as the “benediction” as those gathered left. It was in appreciation for them being there to remember with us our dad and that they might be blessed as they went on their way.
Last fall right after Katrina, the husband of one of Tom’s employees was killed helping a neighbor cut damaged trees down. They hadn’t gone to church anywhere for a long time, although she had been raised Baptist. She didn’t have anyone to be with her or to help her, so I went and stayed with her, planned the funeral with her, helped her pick scripture, picked the music and even spoke at the funeral in remembrance of her husband.
I took some CDs with a cappella hymns and songs by Harding chorus that we listened to and chose some to play for about 20 minutes prior to the service (in the funeral home chapel). We then picked a few other selections for the service itself. At the end of that service, too, we had the minister read the Numbers 6 blessing and we played the ACU “Lord Bless You and Keep You” as the service was over.
Everyone there was very moved by the a cappella singing and felt blessed in their presence there. Many people commented on the music and asked about it.
THOSE are the kind of things we need to be about in this life. Practicing “practical” Christianity toward all others rather than sitting around waiting for OUR next blessings to be bestowed upon US, you know?
I’m now listening to the ACU alumni singing “In Heavenly Love Abiding.” May it ever be so and we we always walk this earth with heavenly love in our hearts toward each other and all we meet.
Thanks for the reminder, Mike.
“MAY” we always walk this earth with heavenly love in our hearts . . .
Thanks for convicting me to open my summer home in Morrocco up for others to use.
Oh wait, I don’t have a summer home in Morrocco. Dang it.
Okay, thanks for convicting me to use whatever time, treasure or talents that I’ve received from God for the purposes of blessing others.
FYI: All the time, treasure, and talents that I created on my own, I will be keeping for myself.
And sometimes God’s graciousness to us doesn’t fit our preconceived notions, either…
but it is SO THAT…
Thanks.
and may our children see this in us so that they may bless others in ways would could never begin to imagine…
shalom
In recent years, I’ve learned that blessings come in strange packages sometimes. With the diagnosis of breast cancer several years ago, my wife and I went through some of the most anxious, scary and sprirtually enriching times of our lives. We experienced love from God thru people and circumstances that I could not have predicted, honestly. After surgery and 5 years of meds, she is well and she is now a children’s minister at our church, something she was not trained for but for which she felt called after all the medical stuff. Since then, she has had the opportunity to share her story with several others who have struggled with the same disease. I am, by nature, and probably by genetics, a very selfish person. But this experience has served to open my eyes more fully to those around me. My wife and I have had several discussions revolving around this biblical precept of being blessed to bless. It continues to be a daily journey of discovery and challenge. He has blessed us in so many ways since that diagnosis(and if the true were known) since i was born but I was too focused on self to notice. And I have recently noticed that (sometimes) with great blessings either physically or spiritually, there seems to be so many opportunities to bless:)
I love the priestly blessing. I think we all should start using it!
What do you all think when people say, “We bless you, Lord?”
That just sounds weird to me. I think, “Do I even have the ability to bless Him?” I dunno, just a random thought!
I’ll never forget my first Zoe conference. They invited a messianic jew, a Rabbi, if I’m not mistaken, to speak. He gave a very inpirational talk about Israel and the church. The part that made it so memorable was at the end when everyone stood up and blessed him by singing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” as he stood there with his eyes closed, arms raised and soaked it all in.
It kinda goes around full circle when you pass the blessing on to others - because that in and of itself is a blessing as well. How much we miss when we stop at soaking up the blessings for ourselves and not passing them on!
There’s a flower shop in town that I drive by about once a week. Their signboard reads,
DRAW NEAR TO GOD
AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU
AND LIFE WILL BE WONDERFUL
I always cringe when I read it. As if the only reason we turn to God is so he can make all our problems go away. How incredibly selfish.
It’s the same issue I have with the Prayer of Jabez and other Health and Wealth theology. It’s true that life in God is wonderful, but it is not true that he works everything out for my personal comfort and happiness. You just have to visit Africa or Venzuela or Cambodia to see that God doesn’t always give material wealth, or health, or long life to his people.
I think we’ve been given an immense responsibility to be conduits of God’s mercy, not merely reservoirs.