Numbers 6:24-26 The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace. This is the blessing that Aaron was to give the children of Israel (which, if you accept and obey Yeshua you are grafted into the covenant, and I think this blessing is for you, too). The LORD bless you and keep you; The first part is blessing and protections, that I understand. But what does it mean for G-d’s face to shine upon someone? The LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. … Okay, did a little research and found that G-d’s face shining on someone meant salvation in the midst of battle – rescue when all else seems lost and when failure is sure without reinforcements [1]. So the second part is about rescue from certain defeat and showing mercy towards them. The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. Here’s a random thought, what if “lift up” actually meant to carry or bear continuously (that is part of what this word means in Hebrew) and “countenance” (being the same word as face in the previous part of the verse) meant before and behind or forward (this is the adverb meaning of the word)? I can’t read Hebrew, but it would certainly give meaning to this phrase… The LORD carry you forward/before and behind and give you peace (completeness, safety, health and welfare). That’s a lot more significant as a blessing. To receive this spoken from a priest, directed by G-d… that would be like G-d speaking it over you. It’s a beautiful blessing about protection and blessing. I wish we used it more often now. [1] Moen, Skip. “Back To The Beginning.” Hebrew Word Study | Skip Moen . N.p., 22 Apr. 2010. Web. 2 May 2010. <http://skipmoen.com/2010/03/22/back-to-the-beginning/>.
I was reading a note on Skip’s website regarding some of the crazy things that have happened lately – mainly that everything has broken this month (and really, it has) and has been incredibly expensive to fix (and it has to get fixed). It’s things like that that pull at my heart and make me want to do something or give something. And it’s so frustrating because right now we have nothing to give, no comfort other than words that I hope are encouraging. I realize that God knows what He’s doing. He is HOLY. He is sovereign. He reigns over all those details. And they’re important to Him because He knows they’re important to us. But that doesn’t make it any easier when we’re in the middle of it all. I hope that some day my family has enough financial freedom that we can be an extension of the hand of God and pour back a little of the blessing that He’s given us.
Galations 4:7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. I don’t really have a lot to say about this verse since so much has already been said… but I really like this verse. I like the picture of me as God’s child. I like the promise that because I am His child, all that He has is also mine. Earlier Paul makes a good point though, that just because it’s mine, too, that doesn’t mean I have it all right now. It’s like if a parent dies and leaves their child a good deal of money that parent (or maybe the court) appoints someone to watch the child and the child doesn’t get all that money until they reach a certain age and can be responsible with it. Maybe part of our trouble is that we’re not mature enough to handle God’s many blessings responsibly, so He’s waiting for us to grow up before showering those on us. It’s like the teachings on stewardship and money – he who can be faithful with a little can be trusted with more. So maybe the reason we don’t have more of the blessings from God is that we, like children, haven’t learned to be responsible enough to handle the blessing in a good manner. It’s an interesting thought…
Zechariah 1:3 Therefore, say to the people, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty. I liked how this commentary by Chuck Smith puts it: “This basically is God’s message to the people through the ages. “If you’ll turn to Me, I will turn to you.” When the king Asa had come back from great victory over the Ethiopians and the Nubians, the prophet of God came out to meet him and he said, “The Lord is with you while you are with Him, and if you seek Him, He will be found of you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (II Chronicles 15:2). Through the ages this is always the case. God is always waiting for man to come. And if you will come to God, you can have fellowship with God, and the Lord will be with you. But the Lord does not force Himself on people. God does not force you to love Him. God does not force you to come to Him. He does not force you to serve Him. He just tells you of His love for you. And because of His love for you, this is what He will do for you if you’re walking in fellowship with Him. But when it comes right down to it, you are the one that has to make the decision. God has done all that He will do to save you. He has provided all that you need. But you must initiate now. God has already done all the initiating He will in providing the way. Now He waits for you to come, and He invites you to come, but you have to do it.”
Haggai 2:18-19 “On this eighteenth day of December–the day when the foundation of the LORD’s Temple was laid–carefully consider this: I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn, before you have harvested your grain and before the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have produced their crops. From this day onward I will bless you.” The Israelites laid the foundation for the new Temple and that same day God gave them a promise to bless them! God didn’t wait until the Temple was finished, nor did He wait until it was partially done. All that had been done was the foundation… but isn’t that the most important and most difficult part? When you build a building it always seems that the foundation takes the longest. The digging and preparing and all that seems to take forever. Then they have to pour the concrete for the foundation to make it strong and firm so the house doesn’t fall over. But once that foundation is done, the rest seems to go much quicker. Once that foundation is laid, there’s a commitment to finish. Maybe it’s the same with us. Building the foundation for growth is probably the hardest because it requires us to go through testing and difficult situations so that we soften up enough for God to work in us. We have to learn it’s not about us and that we can’t do it all alone and that we aren’t the center of the universe. But if we’ve committed to getting through that really painful part of the process, we show that really do want to grow. So, God doesn’t wait until we’re finished. He doesn’t wait until we’re perfect and all that growth is done. He doesn’t wait until the walls are up or until we’re making it all look pretty. The base foundation has been laid, the commitment is there, and God blesses us in the beginning. That’s pretty cool, I think. It’s a little encouragement to go on.
Daniel 1: 17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. Daniel wasn’t born with the ability to interpret dreams. He was given this gift when he needed it, when he was older. Even though he was in captivity and in the service of a Godless king, God still blessed Daniel and equipped him for the job at hand. He even gave him a special gift. God loves us and prepares us when we need it. He doesn’t do it in advance. He waits until the time is right and the need is there. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to trust sometimes. We’d like to have it in advance, but God says, “wait.” He provides it at just the right time, at the moment when we need it. And it doesn’t matter the circumstances as long as we are walking in His will.
I need to preface the verses today with a small comment: I woke up this morning struggling not to worry about our finances this next school year. I found out that we won’t be getting our annual cost-of-living raise (no surprise there), but they would be increasing our insurance rates, again. As it is, we struggle to make ends meet, and the prospect of having our income cut even more is a little overwhelming. So, this was the burden of my heart as I sat down this morning. And here is what God gave me: Philippians 4: 4, 6-7, 13 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice!… Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus…For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. I can see God up there smiling as I read this morning. These verses aren’t anything new. I even have them memorized. But, for them to be part of what I’m reading this morning, when I’m trying not to worry, when I have a great need, when I greatly need peace, and when I have no idea how to be strong, is such a huge affirmation that God does care about my feelings and about the situations that I find myself in. So, I will find joy in Him, I will thank him for His many blessings (and they are numerous), and I will tell Him what I need (or what I think I need). He knows, He cares, and He’s got all the resources of this universe and millions of others at His fingertips. He sends rain to thirsty flowers and gives food to hungry birds. How much more does He love me and take care of me? I can’t decide if I want to laugh or cry. Yeah God!