Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 5-6.

I want to write about the blessing which priests were to say over the Israelites.  We should especially place this blessing upon our brothers and sisters in Christ.  However, if we understand it correctly, also upon everyone we encounter.  The first aspect of this blessing, “The Lord bless you and keep you;” means that we ask God to bring good things into the life of the recipient.  And what could be a better thing than for an unbeliever to become a Believer?  We are also calling on God to care for them and protect them.  Next we ask, “the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;”.  When I try to think about what this means, I think about a cat lying in a beam of sunshine, feeling its warmth and basking in the light.  When God’s face shines upon someone it dispels the darkness of any evil which might be around them.  The root word of “gracious” is grace, so asking God to be gracious to someone is once again asking Him to give them His grace and draw them into a relationship with Him and His Son.  Finally, we have, “the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’  Asking God to turn His face toward someone is asking Him to watch them so that He can come to their aid when they stumble or when enemies attack them.  With God watching, He can, and will, discourage enemies from approaching them and can give them the peace not to worry about what may go wrong.

So,I will leave you with the 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.”’

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.