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“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon
you
and be gracious to you; the Lord
turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
This passage is special to me. Back
in high school, I heard the choral club sing these words as a closing to their
programs. I loved hearing it.
In
the Old Testament, God gave these words to Moses to pass on to Aaron and his
sons. My Bible carries the heading of The
Priestly Blessing.
“The Lord bless you and keep you” We all, as God’s children, desire
to receive God’s blessings. In addition, we want Him to keep us, and all we
hold dear away from harm and illness.
“the Lord make his face shine upon you”
We like it when God looks at each one of us and guides us through our days.
“and be gracious to you;” We ask for God
to work for us out of His grace for us as well as for those for whom we pray.
the Lord turn his
face toward you Our desire is for God to look upon us and smile. Although,
we have times when we feel He has turned His back on us, we intuitively know He
has not.
“and give you peace” This phrase tells me God will reward us. He
sees us as His children and He delights in us. I love this ending to this
blessing. I have shared it with those whom we visited in the hospital and the
nursing homes. It gives me peace in sharing it. Even in this day, I find myself
f responding to a store clerk’s “Have a nice day,” with “The Lord bless you.”
Some other times I tell the clerks, “Be blessed.”
Are there any passages
of scripture that you share with others? Would you like to share them here?
Oh wow! I just five minutes ago quoted that blessing to my grand-nephew, who just learned that he has received a fully scholarship to the Master of Divinity school at Princeton Seminary. I love that blessing...we used to say it in our youth group when I was growing up, and also I remember our church choir singing it at the close of the service. Love it. THank you!!!
ReplyDeletePam: You are welcome. I love this passage. It helps me to focus on God.
DeleteHi Cecelia! I have always loved this passage. It does bring tears to me eyes sometimes too, such a tender blessing. I can imagine your hospital patients really loving that Scripture too.
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you respond to store clerks like that. I think 'be blessed' is just perfect. Why not bless those who bless us?
May peace be yours today my friend,
Ceil
Thank you, Ceil. It amazes me when I say a blessing on the store clerks, most seem to appreciate my thought. I also know some don't because they might not have been taught about Him.
DeleteThank you! I've always enjoyed that same blessing in worship and in life. I think that God's blessings overflow when we have a moment to notice them.
ReplyDeleteTYrean; You're welcome. I get a good feeling when I read that passage. It helps me through some tough spots. Blessings to you and yours.
DeleteThank you for sharing this, Cecelia. Our late pastor used this sometimes as a benediction after a service. Good memories, good words, and a good reminder. :) Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. I love this verse. I'm thankful that it is one that we rememeber. Blessings.
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