PLACING YOURSELF UNDER THE BLESSING OF GOD
After giving Moses the rules for taking a Nazarite vow; God told Moses how the Aaronic priests should always remember to bless the people.
The first line of this priestly blessing says (in Numbers 6:24) “The Lord bless you and keep you.”
Sounds like a nice enough greeting; right?
I’m afraid we often think of it that way; like kind of a goodbye greeting; or maybe just a vague afterthought as we are leaving a place where we have worshiped.
Yet; it isn’t a “goodbye” or an “after-thought” at all. It is a “hello – I’ll go with you all through the week until you return here again!”
It is the blessing of the love and protection of God that goes with you wherever you go.
INTRODUCTION
Thanks for joining our once a week on Thursdays bible study called COME AS A CHILD. We are on lesson 265 and we are continuing to walk through the Book of Numbers together. Today we are studying the end of Chapter Six.
THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU
Actually; this blessing means so much more than a simple greeting at the end of a sermon.
Just exactly what DID God intend for this blessing of the people from Aaron and his sons to mean to the congregation that had gathered to worship at the wilderness tabernacle?
What were those ancient priests really proclaiming when they said “The Lord bless you and keep you?”
The words can get to sound too familiar can’t they?
That makes us forget how important the meaning really is to us.
A DEPARTING PRAYER/BLESSING
These days we hear these very familiar words almost every time a group of Christians gather to worship. It is usually a concluding prayer/blessing that is given out to many congregations across the globe as they are departing from their local places of worship and preparing to go about another week of daily life.
I think it would be safe to say that this blessing is known universally and used almost everywhere by all denominations and congregations.
Some call it the Aaronic Blessing or the Priestly Blessing; because it was originally intended to be stated by Aaron and his sons to the wilderness congregation as they ministered as the priests of Israel.
If we truly followed God’s specific instructions today; we would only let direct descendants of Aaron pronounce this blessing.
Fortunately; in the modern worship services of today; we are living in a period of grace, and if we forget or do not pay attention God forgives us when we made mistakes.
A VAGUE REMEMBRANCE SEEMS TO EXIST TODAY
In today’s world though; many are not even aware that this prayer/blessing actually came to us from the scriptures.
People sometimes think the passage is simply a very old and ancient song; as it has been composed and set to musical arrangements from various musicians and used in musical forms in congregations over and over throughout the years.
One such popular musical arrangement was composed by a famous musician named John Rutter. His arrangement became very popular, and that particular musical style has lasted through many generations of worshipers.
These words of the prayer/blessing have been so loved that they were even chosen to be sung at the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth and at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Windsor Castle.
Many wedding services choose to close with this prayer/blessing as the benediction after the vows of the bride and groom are recited.
FROM GOD’S MOUTH TO MOSES
Of course we know that the very popular and widely repeated words all came originally from the records of the writings found in the book of Numbers; directly from God’s mouth to Moses, then to Aaron and his sons, and the prayer/blessing was to be given out to the chosen People of God beginning in the days that Israel was being molded and formed into a nation in the wilderness.
This was the special blessing from God that would carry them through their days!
So; the next time you hear this blessing; remember it is actually worded from your Heavenly Father.
If you call yourself His child; He wrote the words intimately from his own heart as a poem and a love song specifically to you as a special gift and a reminder of his promises.
Can your heart open up and receive the blessing that God is passing on here?
WHAT IT MEANS TO RECEIVE THE BLESSING
Exactly what should those words “the Lord bless you and keep you” mean to us today?
Many have picked up on the fact that this language is expressing a form of heavenly protection.
Shall we consider the fact that when The Lord “keeps you;” he protects you?
GOD PROTECTS HIS PEOPLE
God has placed a seal over the hearts of those who belong to him.
It is their own individual identity in God’s Kingdom; so he can find anyone of these that belong to him within a crowd, and he can always prove they belong to him. His mark is placed over their hearts.
THREE BLESSINGS
There are three blessings given out in this whole prayer of blessings which starts out with the words “The Lord bless you and keep you” as the very first blessing.
All three parts are often associated with The Father, Son and Holy Spirit aspects of The Trinity.
This first part of the blessing that we are considering today is clearly speaking of God the Father from whom all blessings flow.
He is the Giver of all Giver’s.
ALL blessings come from God.
The next two lines remind us of Christ (the Son,) and the third part reminds us of The Holy Spirit; in that they reflect the aspects of those personality traits in the characteristics of the One Godhead in their words and descriptive messages.
THE LORD’S PRAYER OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
Many people have called this old, old prayer The Lord’s Prayer of the Old Testament.
The blessing and the prayer go all the way back to the days in the wilderness; and history has proven how old they truly are.
In 1970 some archaeologists unearthed an amulet that had this blessing etched upon it. It dated all the way back to the seventh century B.C. which made it one of the oldest known remnants of scripture we are aware of.
So; when you hear these words pronounced; you are hearing one of the oldest blessings ever pronounced over mankind.
THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF THIS BLESSING
The Hebrew culture calls this blessing the “Nesiat Kapayim.”
It is performed routinely in the Jewish synagogues by the Kohanim; the priests who are the direct descendants of Aaron.
When the priestly blessing is given out into a Jewish congregation it is called “duchaning.”
Those Hebrew words for the blessing, “Nesiat Kapayim” actually mean “the lifting up of the hands.”
IT ISN’T A DR. SPOCK BLESSING!
You have probably seen this particular hand sign of the lifting up of the hands used in a television show called “Star Treck: without even knowing what it was originally intended to be.
When Leonard Nimoy played Dr. Spock in Star Treck; he used the sign as a Vulcan salute. When asked where he got the idea he explained that he had seen it being used in shul as a young boy when he visited with his grandfather.
He had been enchanted by the way the priests stood on the bema with their tallits over their heads chanting and reciting this blessing.
The whole idea is for the priest not to look at the people and for the people not to look at the priests; but Leonard Nimoy peeked! He saw the hand sign that the priest were required to make with this blessing.
When done properly both hands are outstretched at shoulder height under a tallit, with the fingers spread apart as the Kohen blesses the congregation.
The Kohen’s face is covered.
THE LIFTING OF THE HANDS
The hands in the position of the priestly blessing are often used on jewelry or the tombstones of a Kohen.
The hands are held with the fingers straight ahead with the little finger of each hand separated from the ring finger and a space between the second and third fingers. There is a further space between the two thumbs of the hands making a total of five spaces. The palms are faced downwards. Also; the right hand is placed slightly above the left.
The raising of the hands during the blessing is called “Nesiat Kohanim.”
The priestly blessing is called “Birkat Kohanim (also known as Nesi Kapayim) or “the lifting of the hands.”
Synagogues use this during the holiday musaf service, and the congregations perceive it a lot like receiving a divine hug.
DISRESPECTFUL TO PEEK AT THE BLESSING SIGN
In ancient times the priest would recite this blessing every day while standing on a duchan.
Today it is incorporated into the congregational prayer services during the repetition of the Amidah.
Always before performing this blessing, the priest washes his hands and removes his shoes. The priests come to the front of the synagogue and cover themselves with their tallits first before delivering the blessing.
It is disrespectful for the congregants to look at the priest and for the priest to look at the congregants while the blessing is being delivered.
LOOKING FROM THE WINDOWS; PEERING BETWEEN THE CRACKS
The openings in the hand sign are said to be like windows and it is said that the Shechinah – the divine presence of God – peers through the fingers of the Kohenim during the priestly blessing because of the verse in scriptures (from Song of Solomon) that speaks of these words:“behold he is standing behind our wall, looking from the windows, peering between the cracks.” (five cracks in the wall) and this is symbolized by the five openings between the fingers during the blessing.
When I first heard this I was reminded of Leonard Cohen’s famous lyrics; “there is a crack in everything; that is how the light gets in.” He may have been thinking of this Aaronic benediction as he penned those lyrics.
RESERVED FOR AARON’S DESCENDANTS AT APPROPRIATE TIMES
This Torah instruction was presented strictly to Kohanim. This would mean that no one else is allowed to pronounce this same blessing without the direct permission of God.
A person who isn’t a Kohanim priest should not recite the blessing because it is reserved exclusively for the Kohanim at only the appropriate times.
BOB DYLAN USED THE WORDS IN HIS LYRICS TOO
Leonard Nimoy wasn’t the only one fascinated by the blessing. Bob Dylan used the words of the blessing in writing his song called “Forever Young.”
That song begins with the words “May God bless and keep you always.”
Mankind has always been fascinated and blessed with the mysteries of this blessing that God proclaimed for Aaron’s sons to share over God’s people in the Book of Numbers.
We must be careful though in using such things. They are not to be taken casually or without respect and obedience.
ONE RABBI’S REASONING
One Rabbi was know for noting that when the Kohen raised his hands to bless the congregation – the people must never look. He noted this because of his belief that the Shechinah glory rests on the hands of the blessing.
He attributes this to the belief that the ten divine names of God are alleged to be symbolized in the fingers of the hands and any person standing before the divine name should be in awe with their head bowed down in reverence.
The ten fingers that refer to the ten divine names of God also correspond to the ten sefirot, which are the ten divine modalities by which God is known in this world, corresponding to God’s ten names. The hand sign representing this in the blessing by the priest is said to come from a passage of scripture found in Leviticus 9:22.
THE THREE-FOLD BEING OF GOD
For those of us who know Christ; this benediction given with the proper raising of the hands of the priest giving the divine blessing, can be seen as symbolic of a declaration of the three-fold being of God.
The Jewish participants will not see this; but those who are Christians will notice it. So many things are repeated three times; including the name of Jehovah.
OLD PROMISES BEING FULFILLED IN TIME
This old prayer is still used as a Benediction at the end of many modern day worship services.
The request for the Lord to bless us summarizes our covenant with God.
Our participation expresses that we trust God to keep his covenant and promises to us.
He has promised to do this and it serves like a constant reminder from God’s people to his ears.
GOD KEEPS US
Today we know that God “keeps” us as “the redeemed.” This is just as he kept Israel in the wilderness as he was beginning to form the holy nation that would show us the way to freedom and set the example for the ten best ways for us to live our lives before God.
God “keeps” us within the safety and the security of these laws that he gave for our own protection and safety.
He also “keeps” us as those who have now received the blessing of forgiveness; those for whom Jesus died to save. We are kept in grace and mercy.
CLEAN HOLY HANDS
God “keeps” us with his blessings of grace and mercy when we choose to come before him and repent of where we have gone wrong; and he helps us to get back on track and to walk before him in acts of worship with clean and holy hands.
Jesus draws us to his side and we are accepted by God because of him and his love for us.
KEPT THROUGH A PERFECT SAVIOR
This is what the beginning of this beautiful, poetic prayer should mean to us. God has “kept” us through our Savior. This is how God has honored and kept the promises of the covenant with us.
Like a Father he loves us and protects us.
ALLOW GOD TO “KEEP” YOU
Let the words sink down into your very being and let go of your own control and allow God to “keep” you .
There is no safer place to be.
If you are anxious; this is the cure.
When you are afraid; this is the place to find your calm.
If you need nourishment; this is your food.
When darkness overcomes you; this is your light.
If you find yourself lost and alone; he is your guide and companion.
Let God bless you and keep you.
Give your life over to him and see how amazing it is that things will change for the better.
Come under the blessing.
IN AWE OF THE GOD OF THE BLESSING
So let us remain in awe of the God of the blessing, the One who keeps us.
It is our place of safety.
It is our place of renewal.
It is our place of hope.
It is our promise from God forever.