Today's Quick Word
Today’s Quick Word
Numbers 6:22-27 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 […]
Numbers 6:22-27 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 on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
The Levitical/Aaronic priests were set apart and anointed to bring the people to God through the sacrificial system, and thus to be the channel of God’s blessing to the people. In all this they they pre-figured Christ the true Messiah (‘Anointed One’). ‘The LORD’ is God’s special covenant name (Jehovah/Yahweh/I AM) which was both applied to, and assumed by, Jesus during his earthly ministry.
Jesus’ frequent ‘I AM …’ sayings, especially as recorded in John’s Gospel (“I am the bread of life”, “I am the Good Shepherd”, “Before Abraham was, I am”, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, etc), as well as the times he said “It is I” or “I am he”, which are literally just ‘I am’ in the original Greek, were obviously correctly interpreted by his Jewish hearers as an unambiguous claim to be their Promised Messiah (see, for example, their hostile reaction in John 8:58-59, and the shocked reaction of the Temple Guard in John 18:6). All these make it very clear that Jesus knew exactly who he was and why he had come to earth.
So, clearly, this Aaronic blessing in Numbers was the foreshadowing of the blessing of salvation Jesus would bring to his Church: safe-keeping, the light of God’s presence and favour, grace, and peace. Yes, in Christ we have everything we need when we turn to him in repentance-and-faith as our Saviour and Lord. How comforting it is to know, in this troubled, hostile, confused world that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”, and that, “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:28, 38-39). Why would we not take firm hold of this promised blessing?
– Bruce Christian
