Monday
NUMBERS 6:22-24
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. Read the text until you can understand what it says. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- “The LORD bless you and keep you;” The blessing of God is the goodness of God in action, by which a supply of all good pours down to us from His good favour. To keep you is to protect you and hold fast to you. How does it feel to be so blessed?
- “This is how you are to bless the Israelites.” Often called the Aaronic Blessing, this is how God wants us to bless one another: to call on the entire goodness of God upon each other. This is what He wishes to be to us and to do for us. And so this is a blessing we know God will truly grant us. Write down a prayer in response.
Tuesday
NUMBERS 6:22-24
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- Read the passage. Review the answers/thoughts you wrote down yesterday. Is there anything that you need to respond to?
- Review the past day. What concerns/joys/events occupy your heart?
- Write down a prayer in response.
Wednesday
NUMBERS 6:25-26
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. Read the text until you can understand what it says. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- “The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;” When the LORD turns his face towards you, you become the focus of his attention. In this blessing, the face that gazes upon you is one that is shining (not dark or grim) and gracious. Take some time to imagine this. How does it feel to know that God gazes on you with love and grace?
- “The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Peace (shalom), is not just a state of mind but a state of blessedness. It implies the fullness of life, the abundant life that Jesus speaks of. His gaze is upon you. His face is kind and gracious. He gives you your shalom. Write down a prayer in response.
Thursday
NUMBERS 6:25-26
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- Read the passage. Review the answers/thoughts you wrote down yesterday. Is there anything that you need to respond to?
- Review the past day. What concerns/joys/events occupy your heart?
- Write down a prayer in response.
Friday
NUMBERS 6:27 (24-26)
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. Read the text until you can understand what it says. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” To bear the name of God is to be blessed by God. In Christ you bear the name of God and so you inherit this blessing. What does this mean to you?
- In Ephesians 2:14-18, Paul writes “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” In Christ, we have access to the Father. This is the true fulfillment of the Aaronic Blessing. We are blessed by a blessing God himself gives. How do you feel about this?
- Read the full Aaronic Blessing again, thinking over each phrase and what God intends to be to you and to do for you. Write down a prayer in response.
Saturday
NUMBERS 6:27 (24-26)
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- Read the passage. Review the answers/thoughts you wrote down yesterday. Is there anything that you need to respond to?
- Review the past day. What concerns/joys/events occupy your heart?
- Write down a prayer in response.
Sunday
A BLESSING FROM GOD
God does not fail to fascinate.
“I want you to bless the people and this is how I want you to bless them: Bless them with an overflowing goodness from me, my graciousness towards them, and my gift of peace. This is how they will bear my name — that I am a God of goodness; a God of grace; a God of peace; that my desire is to bless.”
Through the centuries, through the history of Israel, through the many books of the Bible, God has remained constant: I am a God of goodness; a God of grace; a God of peace; my desire is to bless.
We would never imagine that God, with all the power available to Him, would choose to be such a generous God. And yet he does, right to the cross: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Even in his hour of greatest pain, his thought is for us.
And so as you meditate on this blessing, know that it carries the full weight of God. The blessing is truly yours; thanks to our Lord we bear the name of God and possess his blessing.
“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.”
- Take time to be quiet, until you can focus on being in the presence of God. If you have any initial thoughts, write them down.
- Review the answers/thoughts you wrote down in the past week. What conclusion can you draw from the passages of Scripture you have been considering? Is there anything that you need to respond to?
- Read the short sharing above. Does it add anything to your conclusion?
- Review the past week. What concerns/joys/events occupy your heart?
- Write down a prayer in response.