God’s Face Shining on His People Brought Them the Blessings of God and Peace
The Face of God is something we often don’t think about much. God instructed the priests who were descendants of Aaron, the first high priest, to speak a blessing over the people of Israel. The face of God is mentioned twice in these verses. These verses are still spoken often over Jews and Christians by their rabbis and ministers when they are dismissed from gathering together. These verses are also commonly called the Aaronic Blessing.
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. (Numbers 6:22-27 NIV)
This is how God put his name on Israel to bless them. He instructed the priests to speak God’s blessings over the people of the nation of Israel. The Priests asked the Lord to bless and keep Israel. They asked for the Lord to make his face shine on them and be gracious to them. The they asked the Lord to turn his face toward them and give them peace.
The Lord’s face shining upon and turning toward his people brought them his favor, mercy, and blessings. When Israel followed his words and commandments, they were blessed and had peace in their land. When they disobeyed his words and commandments, they got into trouble as a nation—and the people of Israel suffered.
Blessing Israel and the Jewish People Will Bring the Blessings of God to You
The Lord told Abraham that those who blessed him would be blessed, and those who cursed them would be cursed. God made a covenant with Abraham that could not be broken that would last forever. The blessings of God were part of the covenant God made with Abraham.
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 12:3 NIV)
Abraham’s covenant was passed on to his son Issaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob became the father of twelve sons. The twelve sons of Jacob’s were the heads of the tribes that became the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel inherited God’s covenant blessings from Abraham.
This covenant promise of Abraham’s blessing on the nation of Israel was spoken again in the book of Numbers.
God brought them out of Egypt; He fights for them like a wild ox. They devour their enemies, Crush their bones, smash their arrows. The nation is like a mighty lion; When it is sleeping, no one dares wake it. Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.” (Numbers 24:8-9 NIV)
It would be better for you and me to bless the Jews and the nation of Israel than to curse them and hope for their destruction as many are doing today. Those who curse Israel will be cursed by God. It will go better for the nations and people who bless the Jews than the nations and people that curse them.
The Promised Blessings of God t Include the Promise of the Holy Spirit, Salvation and Peace Through Faith in Jesus Christ
Those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ are called by his name. Believers are part of the body of Jesus Christ. Believers must speak the words of the blessings of God over ourselves and our nation. The blessings of God will come on believers who continue in faith and follow his commandments.
The Apostle Paul said this great truth about Jesus Christ making a way for the blessings of God to follow those who believe in him.
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14 NIV)
Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, the blessings of Abraham can come upon people of other nations also called gentiles by the Jews. Gentiles can receive the promised blessings of God by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every believer in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to receive the blessing and promises of God in our lives when we receive and act on his words of blessing and divine favor by faith.
As the New Year 2024 Begins Speak the Blessings of God over Yourself and Others
We desperately need God to bless and keep our nation and other nations of the world in peace and freedom. If we obey God and speak God’s blessings over our nation and people, he will bring us peace and many other blessings. If we refuse to follow God, things will get worse for us, and we will not receive God’s blessings in our lives. Everyone should turn to God and speaks God’s blessings over our nations and people.
Here are three blessings you can speak over yourself and others from the book of Numbers.
- May the Lord bless you and keep you.
- May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
- May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
You can also personalize these blessings.
- May the Lord bless me and keep me.
- May the Lord make his face shine upon me and be gracious to me.
- May the Lord turn his face towards me and give me peace.
You may put someone else’s name or organization in these verses.
- May the Lord bless you and keep ______________
- May the Lord make his face shine upon__________and be gracious to ______________
- May the Lord turn his face towards _____________and give ______________ peace.
As this new year begins, you can by faith speak these blessings over yourself, your friends, family, and loved ones. The blessings of God and his favor are what the people around the world are starving to receive. Having faith in God’s word makes all the blessings of God possible. Faith in God enables you to have his face shine upon us and turn toward us and bless you and keep you.
May God’s Peace Bring You Wholeness with Nothing Missing and Nothing Broken in the New Year 2024
Faith in Jesus Christ brings you the blessings of salvation and peace. Faith in Jesus Christ gives you dual citizenship in heaven and earth. Faith in Jesus Christ, and obeying his words, will transform your heart, mind, and body. This is done by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
When you tell someone else about Jesus Christ, they can be changed and blessed forever. We must encourage those who do not have faith in Jesus Christ as God’s only son to turn to him and put their faith and trust in him. Peace in the world is increased by helping people to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Jewish rabbis interpret peace in a much broader sense than most people. They interpret the word as wholeness. To them, peace means everything is made whole with nothing missing and nothing broken.
I believe God wants your life to be whole with nothing missing and nothing broken. I believe you can find his wholeness and peace even in the middle of various trials in life. May this year of 2024 be a year when you have God’s face shine upon you and God’s face turns toward you so you can receive peace and wholeness. May the peace of God given to you by the Holy Spirit go beyond anything you can imagine or understand in 2024!
The First Step to Receiving the Blessings of God and God’s Peace Is Salvation by Faith in Jesus Christ
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord, you can find out how to be saved by clicking on this link to the article The ABCs of How to Be Saved—How to Have Faith in Jesus Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ will reconcile you to God and bring peace and wholeness to your heart, soul, and life. Faith in Jesus Christ is an important first step in receiving the blessings and promises of God in your life.
About James Strand
James Strand has been writing for several years. His new book Armageddon—The Great Winepress of God’ Wrath will be published by Word Catcher Press (www.wordcatcher.ws) in February 2024. The book will be available on Amazon.com. This exciting new book is about how to be on the winning side during the end of the age battle of Armageddon. This battle will occur soon after King Jesus Christ returns to earth from heaven to crush evil, wicked, dark forces and rule the world.