The Lord’s Blessing
A blessing for you today
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The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV)
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We commonly use these verses as a benediction.
A way to bless people as we leave from a gathering, such as church.
Maybe your church pronounced this blessing over you this past Sunday.
Anyway, I want to dig into it a little.
It begins with pronouncing the Lord’s blessing and protection on you.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He watches over us, sustains us, protects us, keeps us safe.
It then moves into this picture of God’s glory, that His face would shine upon us. Do you remember the story of Moses on the mountainside? How God passed by him and the Lord’s glory was so great that even though Moses only glimpsed from behind, his own face shown so bright the Israelites needed to put a veil over his head.
And that’s not even God’s face.
Then, amazingly, it asks for God’s grace to be on us.
Which makes some sense, because we know that God told Moses that he would die if he saw God’s face. His glory is too great for our broken, sinful bodies.
Lastly, countenance and peace.
This is a big word meaning the appearance of the face. So, in context, this is asking God to smile at us and give us peace.
What a wonderful picture, to think of God looking down from heaven with joy in His face as He smiles at His children.
That imagery should be a blessing to you today.
It is for me.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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