The LORD bless you and keep you – Numbers 6:24

This is the first part of the blessing the LORD has instructed Aaron and his sons to proclaim to the Israelites. This is also the quickest blessing we say to our family and friends on their way to a special destination, responsibility, mission, or assignment.

What does it mean to be blessed and kept by the LORD? To be blessed by God is to have his favour upon us. We bear his pleasure and delight. And this is only possible when we carry out his will. God’s will and God’s blessing, of course, are not strange bedfellows. They are twins.

When we submit to God’s will we are certain and confident of His safekeeping and protection. We don’t hide like the fugitives to preserve our lives. We don’t need a band of bodyguards to shield us as we go around. Rather, we go out into the world unafraid of all possible threats to our lives. Such courage is not merely Stoic. It is divine.

The blessing in Numbers is unique because it comes from God Himself. He Himself coined the blessing. It is His utterance. It is His direct speech to humans. Hence, it can be relied upon at all times.

Nonetheless, lest we use it as a kind of magical incantation to assure our loved ones of prosperity, health, and wealth, we bear in mind that the blessing stands amidst God’s commands on how we relate to Him and to one another. In the Old Testament, God’s blessing to Israel is conditioned by the latter’s obedience and faithfulness.

While it is true that in Christ God’s blessing comes to us bountifully and limitlessly, it is equally true that His demand for righteousness and holiness comes to us unequivocal.

The LORD bless us and keep us this 2007 and beyond.

Written by Millicent A. Guarin