Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
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.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Num 6:22-27 ESV)
Over the last several months, I have found myself drawn more and more into meditating upon the Priestly Benediction in Numbers. What is perhaps one of humanity’s oldest prayer texts still in use. What has stirred in me is that, although the one speaking these words to Israel are Aaron and his priests, the command to do so is from God. Likewise, the implied subject (“who who blesses”) is God, and the benefiting object, is his people. As the first cycle of Number comes to a close, which has provided liturgical and cultic instruction for the priests of Israel and how they are to lead the religious life of a consecrated people, we find this powerful prayer applying not to the priesthood itself, but to all of God’s people. In the midst of all the instruction God provided his people, this prayer in conclusion makes it clear- this is not God of lists, hoops, and ritual. This is a God who shares and gives for the benefit of His children, and does so because of his loving desire to bless them.
Immediately following is the retelling of the consecration of the Temple. Not long after God has revealed his loving and gracious disposition towards Israel, does he then provide them a powerful and tangible representation of this blessing and favor: that YHWH would make his home, his dwelling, in the midst of the tents of his own people. With the expedition to leave Sinai and to trek across the wilderness of Zin about to begin, God prepares His people with the full assurance of His presence, His affection, His covenant, His protection, and His love.
Meditatively, I have been challenged, in realizing this: of course God would bless Israel. Besides, my heart has been pre-conditioned since elementary school to see them as the object of God’s protection, deliverance, and provision. But… what are the gut reactions of my heart… to think that as a grafted member of God’s people, that He also desires for me to be blessed? That he delights in me. That I too am the object of his countenance, the countenance of a father lifting up his proud infant child above his head, Lion King style, and gazing with delight, and pride, and warmth, into the eyes of his descendant. And, despite the experience of conflict in my life, and that he should likewise desire to bring me peace, the climax of this crescendo prayer.
As one who functions in a church leadership function, it’s easy (and delightful!) to offer this benediction to the flock at the end of a service. However, it is a long journey for me to un-pry fist-clutched fingers, and to accept and believe that this blessing is for me as well.
With Mother’s Day around the corner, may a somber reflection on the compassion and affection we may have received from any motherly and parental figure in our life, be a bride, a stepping stone, to help us consider our heavenly father likewise seeks out best, and longs to be a close and active God of blessing, in our lives.
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