Do You Embrace True Blessing?

I want the Lord's blessing. I do. Whatever great things God has to pour into my life, I want him to bring it. I'm not switching my theology to health and wealth or anything crazy like that. But if God gives out good gifts to his people so that they will use them to worship him, magnify his glory, and find their greatest joy in treasuring him, my answer is "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"

But I don't understand what I'm asking for, and perhaps you don't either. When I think of God's blessings, I think of stuff I enjoy: Good food, money to pay my bills and buy other stuff too, a happy family, vacation time, etc. In the picture album of my mind, God's blessing looks a awful lot like the dream life of your average materialistic hedonist. There's nothing wrong with anything I've mentioned, and indeed God does give us those things in order to worship and enjoy him. But there is something wrong with interpreting God's blessings entirely as stuff we would give to ourselves.

Consider Aaron's Blessing

Here is the blessing God instructed Aaron to speak at the dedication of the tabernacle:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

"So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
Numbers 6:24-27

What an incredible promise. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard or seen this blessing in sermons, benedictions, weddings, coffee mugs, etc. God's blessing is graciousness, peace, and his promise to stand in our presence.

But notice the phrase "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel..." "They" are the priests, and the priests will put the Lord's name on the people who will, in turn, recieve God's blessing. But what does it mean to wear God's name?

Here is the part of the blessing I would never give myself. This short speech falls in the middle of a load of instructions on how to live faithfully before the Lord as his people. Chapter 5 instructs people to confess their guilt and repay those they wrong beyond the offense. It also has a method for exposing adultery that would never pass today! Chapter 6 contains instructions for sacred vows and the aesthetic discipline necessary to carry them out. Chapter 7 calls for the sacrifice of material possessions by each tribe in order to dedicate God's temple. And right in the middle of all of this sacrifice, piety, and confession, God says, "Wear my name, and I will bless you."

God Knows What Blessing Is

My conception of God's blessing in my life needs to include all of the ways he makes me more like Jesus, including the discipline that strengthens me, the confession that rights wrong relationships, and the punishment he uses to correct and guide me through my sin. It includes the way he calls me to sacrifice my money for his glory. God is truly gracious and brings us peace through Jesus. And he knows just how to bless me.

Holy to the Lord

Having now completed my Worthy: A Celebration of Jesus sermon series, I've been reflecting on the gift that Jesus is to me and to all of those who know and follow Jesus. My devotional reading is in Exodus right now, and this morning I read a passage in Exodus 28 that stood out to me more profoundly than ever.

"You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

Exodus 28:36-38

Aaron wore a sign that declared he was holy to the Lord, and represented all of the people by bearing the guilt from the holy things that the people brought as gifts (read: sacrifices).

Aaron bears the guilt, so that the people are declared holy and able to stand in right relationship with God. We, too, have a great high priest who bears the guilt of the people he represents that we might be accepted before the Lord. Merry Christmas.