February 18, 2016
They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Psalm 24:5
Most of us are familiar with the blessing from Numbers: “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.” When we receive a blessing, what actually is this idea and how can we use it in communicating with God and others?
According to one commentator, “a blessing is a hopeful prayer.” In other words, he says this “was one way of asking for God’s divine favor to rest upon others.” He adds that this particular verse can be broken down into five parts: these “conveyed hope that God would 1. bless and keep them (favor and protect); 2. make His face shine upon them (be pleased); 3. be gracious (merciful and compassionate); 4. turn His face upon them (give His approval) and 5. give peace.
The writer goes on to add “Jesus is God’s greatest blessing”. From Ephesians, “Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” is interpreted as possessing “the benefits of knowing God” such as “being adopted as His children, forgiveness, power to do God’s will and the hope of living forever with Christ.”
In turn; as His children, we can bless Him. Several verses in the 103rd Psalm illustrate this: by recalling everything He has done for us (verse 2), fearing Him and obeying what He commands us to do (17 and 18) and accomplishing His will (21).
We bless our loved ones as Jacob did in the closing verses of Genesis These blessings were simply an expression of a parent’s hopes for his children.
In Luke’s Gospel, the command is to bless our enemies. This may be strange but we can by lifting them up in prayer and discovering ways to help them. Look at the best example in that many were and are against God yet He loves all of us.
Prayer: May we remember Moses’ words in knowing we will be blessed everywhere and in all actions provided we obey the Lord. Amen.
Jeff Spang