Numbers 6:24-26. 24The Lord bless you and keep you; 25the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Everyone wants to feel blessed. Who doesn’t want to experience the peace that comes when we feel like life is good? That things are going to be alright. That in the end, we’re going to be okay. The truth is that we all just want to be happy. This “High Priestly Blessing” found in Numbers 6 proves that God wants you to be happy too.
But how? How do we find blessing and happiness? Where does it come from?
In the East they might say that happiness comes through self-denial. Religions like Hinduism or Buddhism tell us to forsake love. By not loving anything too much you will never be hurt. Peace is found in disconnecting our hearts and forsaking our desires.
In the West we might tell someone to make your own blessing. The Declaration of Independence tells us to pursue our own happiness. We have become our own source of blessing and peace. We will be okay if we seize the opportunities we have to be okay.
The religious might say that blessing comes from God when we obey. So we count our blessings and name them one by one as a source of pride. If it looks like God hasn’t blessed you yet, try looking harder. Turn over some more rocks. Remember that things could have been worse. You’re not as bad off as that poor guy over there. And voila, you’re feeling blessed again.
The problem with all of these is that blessing is connected to the temporal and earthly things of life. Even as Christians we have turned God’s blessing into just another version of wish fulfillment. But these earthly things were never meant to sustain our peace and happiness. So here’s the big question – can we be blessed by God even without all of these earthly blessings?
What exactly is the blessing that the High Priest is offering the people in Numbers 6? The answer is God himself. The Lord will keep them. The Lord is the light that shines upon them. The Lord will live face to face with them. The Lord’s grace toward them will never end.
God’s greatest blessing is not the things of this earth. Not even the good things like friendships, and family. These are all just shadows. Pictures of the true blessing of the life of God. Every good blessing on this earth will eventually end or let us down. But not God. Will he ever let us down? Will a life lived face to face with God ever cease being a blessing? Will we ever get bored with it? Will it actually make us number and dumber over time? Does it have an expiration date?
Or is it possible that the life of God is infinite? That it will never stop bringing us joy, peace, love, and grace? Is it possible that the eternal life of Christ isn’t just really, really long but also truly eternal? That God’s wisdom is higher than the heavens (Isaiah 55:9) and that his love is too (Psalm 108:4)? That we will never stop mining the depths of his truth and mercy and we will never stop climbing the mountain of his grace? That the face of God will never stop satisfying us? That nothing can quench God’s love in our hearts, not even eternity?
To live is Christ is the actualization of the priestly blessing of God in us by our union with our great High Priest, Jesus. God has blessed us in Christ. God keeps us in Christ. God shines the face of Christ in our hearts. God lifts his countenance toward us by the indwelling Spirit of Christ. And we are eternally blessed with the peace of Christ beyond everything in this world.
You: In what earthly ways are you seeking blessing or happiness? Have they been satisfying?
You in Christ: How would it change you to believe that the greatest blessing of God was his internal and eternal presence in your life?
Christ in you: Where will the blessing of God’s presence shine through you today?
To Live is Christ 