‘The Lord bless you’
When a person sneezes it is still common practice for someone nearby to say “Bless you’. Why do we do this? Originally ‘Bless you’ meant ‘God bless you.’ Are we trying to protect the sneezers from evil spirits? Are we fending off the Devil? Is this a remnant of an ancient recognition that sneezers aren't long for this world, thus we are commending their souls to God? It was taught that this tradition arose in the days when the bubonic plague epidemic was rife. However it started much earlier than this. In Pliny the Elder’s books, ‘Natural History,’ written in 77AD, he said,
“Why is it that we salute a person when he sneezes, an observation which Tiberius Caesar, they say, the most unsociable of men, as we all know, used to exact, when riding in his chariot even?”
Apuleius, in 150 AD, wrote his bawdy novel the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. In this he said
“‘Bless you, my dear!’ he said, and ‘bless you, bless you!’ at the second and third sneeze.”
It therefore appears to have been an empty tradition for many millennia. However the benefit of being blessed by God goes back much further, it originated with something God said to Moses when the Israelites had fled from captivity in Egypt and were travelling for forty years through the wilderness.
“The LORD said to Moses. ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
‘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 towards you and give you peace’
So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27
Today we frequently use empty phrases that sound good:
“How are you?”
“Have a good day.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“All the best.”
This blessing from God is very different, it is full of substance. In those days these words were said by ordinary men but now our priest is much more than a gifted man, he is the Son of God himself who entered his world. The need for God’s blessing is immense and we disregard this at our peril. This blessing is only given to God’s own people, it was then and is now.
The LORD matters
It is obvious that the central theme of this blessing is the Lord himself. He is the source of blessing and the purpose of his blessing his people is made abundantly clear,
“ . . .So they will put my name on the Israelites.” Numbers 6:27
The role of the minister is to remind people that all blessings come from God and his role is simply to remind people of this fact.
How often people say casually, “I’ll pray for you,” or even “Bless you” but the focus is on us as the speaker and not on the Lord! Since Jesus entered this world as the Lord God of his universe, he and he alone is the God who can bless us. In eternal terms the only way we can be blessed, when we come face to face with God at our judgment, will be if we belong to Jesus Christ.
The role of Aaron and his descendents was to remind people of this fact, just as it is the duty of all Christians today to pass on this message to those around us.
When Alexandre Solzhenitsyn was young, he became a communist, a believer in the ideals of Marxism and an atheist. After serving in the Russian army during the Second World War he was arrested by SMERSH, the Russian secret police, simply because he had been captured by the Germans. He was subsequently imprisoned in the Gulag for 8 years. It was there, in spite of all its horrors, that he came to realise that there were real values that matter and that there really is a God who had created this world. He became a Christian and subsequently an outspoken critic of communism. He was later expelled from Russia for his criticisms of Stalin and he moved to live in the United States of America. He wrote some remarkable books such as ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ that have sold in the millions. He analysed much of what has gone wrong in Russia since the revolution and said,
“Over half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia.
‘Men have forgotten God, that’s why all this has happened.’
But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat,
‘Men have forgotten God, that’s why all this has happened.’
He subsequently analysed the problems facing countries in the west and came to precisely the same conclusion,
“Men have forgotten God.”
To forget God, to leave him out of our lives, is indeed the most catastrophic mistake a person can make. We do this because were are self-centred and stupid. It was Albert Einstein who said,
“Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
God is largely irrelevant to most people today. Even some of those, who say they believe in him, live during the week as practical atheists.
The Judgment
In the parable Jesus told about the ‘Sheep and the Goats’ he is describing this final judgment when all people will be separated, the saved ‘sheep’ on the right and the damned ‘goats’ on the left. The Lord then says to the sheep,
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:34
The greatest blessing we can have is to be accepted by God into his ‘kingdom’, to be adopted by him into his family and to receive an inheritance. The alternative is dreadful:
“Then he will say to those on on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41
The Blessing
When the Lord chose Abraham to head up a special people for himself he said to him,
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3
God’s blessing is fundamental but it can be passed on to others by passing on the faith that Abraham had. Paul understood this clearly,
“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:7-9
The bible is clear that the only way we can be blessed by God is to be followers of the Lord Jesus, God’s only Son. It was this understanding that thrilled the early Christians,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3
The Protection
We are all very weak people, we desperately need help to keep going on the path God has set before us. This is how the Lord blessed Abraham:
“The LORD bless you and keep you,” Numbers 6:24
God’s people are not only blessed by being given the status of ‘children of God’ but we are also given God’s power, his Holy spirit’ to keep and protect us.
Isaac’s ‘prodigal son’ Jacob fled from the anger of his brother Esau because he had cheated him of the birthright and had received God’s blessing from his father This blessing meant that he would be kept by God. He then had a vivd dream of a stairway to heaven and the Lord promised him,
“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13-15
As we journey to the heavenly city we will inevitably face what Isaac Newton in his hymn called ‘many dangers, toils and snares’. How we all need this same protection from our Lord.
Psalms 120 to 134 are a series of short psalms that Jewish pilgrims used to sing as they travelled towards Jerusalem. They are repeatedly reminded of the protective blessing God will give to his people. For example:
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:1-8
What a great reminder this is for christians who are on this same difficult journey through life. The blessing given by God through Moses to the children of Israel when they fled Egypt was conditional. This blessing is not a magic spell that is valid whatever the state of the receiver. The whole of the Old Testament reminds us that God’s covenant is one of blessing for those who do not rebel against him through disobedience. Similarly we must remain close to the Lord Jesus today if we are to remain under his blessing.
“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 20-21
We keep ourselves in God’s love by being outward looking, we must care about the eternal salvation of others whilst remaining godly in our personal lives.
“Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 22-23
This is why all christians need to develop strong habits that keep reminding us of God’s grace, We need to be regularly meeting up with other Christians to encourage them and learn from God;s word, we need to read God’s Word and to be praying regularly that we can help others find the blessing that we have received through the Lord Jesus. We are responsible for fellow Christians to protect them from falling away from their only hope.
The Enjoyment
Blessing is nota theoretical concept, it brings tangible benefits and one of these is joy. When a person is blessed by God they become a ‘somebody’, a child of God and part of his family:
“. . . the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;” Numbers 6:25
A repeated prayer in the Old Testament is for God’s face to ‘shine on his people’. This phrase is frequently associated with the need for salvation. King David wrote,
“Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.” Psalm 31:16
Another psalmist prayed,
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.” Psalm 67:1
When his people were facing difficult times they begged of God, who they recognised to be increasingly powerful:
“Restore us, O Lord; make you face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:3
“Restore us, O Lord God; make you face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:3
“Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make you face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:3
When the Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon of the Mount are read, the phrase ‘Blessed are . . .’ can be translated ‘O the bliss of those’! Salvation is meant to be a vivid joyful experience.
Unfortunately this is not every Christians experience. I had a phone call this week from an elderly lonely lady who no longer had this peace and joy. This can be for several reasons. Loneliness, a lack of fellowship, can bring this dismal state on. Another possible cause is sin – putting myself at the centre of my thoughts instead of my Lord. In the New Testament Peter wrote,
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ear is attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:12
When we die our experience of God will become vivid, either in a wonderful way for those who belong to the Lord Jesus or in a horrendous way for those who, however important they were on earth, rejected his reign:
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” Revelation 6:15-17
The eyes of God are now the eyes of Christ. He is either our greatest friend who will look on us as a fiancee looks at her fiance or he will be our dreaded foe. When Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James and John, they saw his radiance.
“There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Matthew 17:2
When the apostle John described the risen exalted Christ he records,
“His face was like the sun, shining in all its brilliance.” Revelation 1:16
When Paul wrote to the troubled church at Corinth he reminded them of one of the opening verses in Genesis but gives this a spiritual meaning:
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
What a wonderful experience awaits those who love the Lord Jesus. John wrote in his ‘revelation’ to members of the suffering church, to remind them that a day was coming when their devotion to the Lord will be rewarded, they will be thrilled to be knwn as followers of the Lord Jesus.
“They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night.” Revelation 22:4-5
Fanny Crosby wrote over eight thousand hymns in spite of being blind because of a mistake made by a quack doctor when she was just six weeks old. She later wrote,
“When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour.”
God’s Grace
No-one can see God so we are dependant on him revealing himself to us if we are ever to know him. If he has done this then he must want us to be able to relate to him. The character of the God of the Bible is abundantly clear – when he revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai he described something of his nature:
“Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Exodus 33:18-20
The Lord then continued to describe his character,
“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favour in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.” Exodus 33:6-9
The Lord has revealed himself and shown us his character. This is further demonstrated by Jesus, God’s only Son. The apostle John introduced Jesus in these terms at the beginning of his gospel,
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:14-18
Paul summarised the great news about Jesus and the fact than any person can not be credited with God’s righteousness if they commit themselves to be Christ’s people. This is grace indeed, it is a gift that we could never deserve.
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. Romans 3:22-25
Paul frequently wrote about this astonishing grace of God,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
One of the great dangers of being religious is that we can drift into thinking that it is how I live that makes me acceptable to God. Jesus was clear that we must never drift from a reliance on God’s grace to us sinners. Outside of Christ there is no salvation.
“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
Self-righteousness is very ugly. For salvation we are utterly dependent on the grace of God fulfilled in Jesus.
God’s interest in us
The atheist Richard Dawkins says that the universe has ‘no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.’ How different his view is both to that of the Bible and to the values that we all admire. We instinctively feel that our lives have a purpose, that some things such as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or Hitlers extermination of the Jews are evil, we admire those people who do good deeds and caring for others is highly appreciated.
In God’s blessing to his people he included,
“ . . .the LORD turn his face towards you . . .” Numbers 6:26
When the going is tough, how reassuring it is to know that our heavenly Father not only knows about all our problems but cares passionately for us. How comforting a friendly smile can be when we are in trouble, so how much more will an appreciation of what God thinks of us give us strength. David was going through a bad patch and he describes this in a psalm, but then he comes to his senses and remembers that he has a loving heavenly Father:
“I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths . . . For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
Lord, when you favoured me, you made my royal mountain stand firm but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.” Psalm 13:1-7
This understanding is repeated by David in another psalm. He knows how dependent he is on God but then remembers that he has a responsibility to seek him and follow him.
“Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. . .
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path . . .
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:7-14
How easy it is for our feelings to spoil a close relationship with God. Whatever the circumstances, even when everything appears to be going pear-shaped we still have a loving heavenly Father who longs for us to trust and obey him.
God gives his people peace
Some philosophers, such as Hegel, have summarised the world’s history as man’s search for freedom. The problem is that individual freedom can also be a snare. Freedom to do what I want can so easily lead to alcohol and drug addiction, broken relationships and divorce. What God offers his people is great peace. Even when facing a terminal illness we can know this peace because we know God has promised us a great reward at the end of the journey.
The Hebrew word for ‘peace’, shalom, means the sum total of all god’s good gifts. We can only experience this partially on this earth but in the next we will experience it in abundance. This experience can only be found in a relationship with God.
“ . . . the LORD . . . give you peace.’ Numbers 6:26
‘Grace’ and ‘peace’ are intimately linked in the Bible. It is present in this Mosaic blessing,
“ . . .the LORD . . . be gracious to you; the LORD . . . give you peace.’ Number 6:25-26
The majority of the New Testament letters (all except Hebrews, James, 1 John and 3 John) begin with a greeting linking ‘grace and peace’ echoing the blessing in Numbers.
Peter began his first letter to scattered Christians who were facing tough times:
“ . . . who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” 1 Peter 1:2
Essentially all peace ultimately comes because we have peace with God, because we have been forgiven because of what the Lord Jesus did for us on that cross. When Peter first explained the gospel to the Gentile centurion, Cornelius and his guests he summarised the gospel in these terms,
“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” Acts 10:36
The apostles did not hesitate to remind their readers that this peace is at heart ‘peace with God’ which comes as a result of our commitment or faith in the Lord Jesus. It is a gift of God and not a quirk of our psychological makeup.
Firstly this peace is ‘peace with God’. Paul wrote,
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1
Secondly there is an inner tranquility that people cherish. In March 2020, during the global Covid pandemic, sixty-five British churches combined to sing the numbers blessing. The video has had around five million hits. People love the thought of being ‘at peace’ but too often fail to recognise who this peace is promised to. In the Numbers 6 blessing the word ‘you’ comes six times in the three verses. The blessing of God is only given to those who are his chosen people. It is only by learning to trust our Lord that we can experience this inner peace and a lack of anxiety. Paul wrote,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Thirdly there is a peace between rivals. In the early church there was a deep tension between the Gentile Christians and those from Jewish backgrounds.
