READING: Numbers 6:1-27, 10:1-36
I’m often struck by how churches close their Sunday morning worship service. Some end with a benediction prayer. Others conclude with congregational singing. Some finish with announcements (in my opinion, sometimes unintentionally pulling people away from the message they had just heard). I’ve also visited churches that ended their service with the pastor or another staff member saying the blessing of Aaron found in today’s reading: “May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26).
The prayer is a blessing on God’s people, but they are not the focus—God is. He is the one who blesses His children. He is the one who protects them. He is the one who makes His face shine on them. He is the one who is gracious to them. He is the one who looks on them with favor. And, He is the one who gives them peace. Clearly, He is the source, the sustainer, and the goal of their lives, displaying His steadfast love for them all along the way.
Because of His grace, He looks on us with love, with “the beaming face of a parent for his beloved.”* That’s amazing to me. But then again, that’s exactly what grace is.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Do you daily sense the Lord’s protective and guiding care?
TODAY’S PRAYER: “Lord, bless us and protect us.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Numbers 11:1-13:33