God’s Threefold Blessing

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Lord, may I receive Your blessings, and may I pass them along to others. Help me to embrace Your Word, keeping it close to my heart, so that Your truth would seep deep within me. (Amy Boucher Pye)

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “’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 towards you and give you peace.”’ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
(Numbers 6:22–27 )

GOD’S THREEFOLD BLESSING: A SONG

I logged onto Facebook one day during the pandemic and was surprised to see over a hundred of my friends sharing the same video. When I started watching it, I knew why. I choked back tears as I let the words of the “UK Blessing” settle deep within me. Then, I too shared this video, hoping that others would be blessed as they watched and worshiped God.

This song, first sung by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, is based in one of the most famous passages in the Hebrew Bible. It’s this blessing that Moses instructed Aaron (signifying the Israelite priests) and his sons to pray over the Israelites. Its threefold format has suggested to some Christians that it foreshadows the Trinity – God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Indeed, this blessing is often known as the “three-in-one” blessing.

GOD’S THREEFOLD BLESSING: EXPLANATION

The Lord wanted His people to receive His blessing, and so He instructed His priests how to extend it.

• The first clause (“The Lord bless you and keep you;”) reminded the people that they were God’s chosen and loved ones who would know His protection.
• The second clause (“The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you;”) could have brought to mind the experience Moses had when he met with the Lord on Mt. Sinai, received the book of the law, and then descended with His face aglow. Similarly, the Lord wants to meet with His people.
• The third clause (“The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”) is the climax of the prayer. The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom, which is not just the absence of conflict but the fullness of life and a state of well-being. This is what the Lord wants to give His loved ones.
• The blessing concludes with the Lord putting His very name on his people—they will be known to Him and by Him.

A BENEDICTION

The priests in the temple would use this prayer of blessing as a benediction, a practice which continues in many churches today—and in many homes as a night-time prayer. Binding these words on our hearts will help us to embrace them as the gift that they are.

Lord, may I receive your blessings, and may I pass them along to others.
Help me to embrace these words, keeping them close to my heart,
so that the truth of them would seep deep within me.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

• If you heard one of the renditions of the Blessing song during the pandemic, how did it affect you?
• When you consider God’s desire for shalom for his people, how do you think He wants that for you today?
• When have you sensed God’s peace, even in times of turmoil?