Articles
Aaron’s Blessing
Aaron’s Blessing
“The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
Aaron’s blessing in the book of Numbers has been applicable from the time it was given, but its fulfillment is especially easy for us to see because we can look to Jesus. These are not just sweet or hopeful sayings, Aaron’s blessing describes what a life with God looks like for us on this side of the cross. This article will look at a verse from the gospel of John for each part of Aaron’s blessing, showing how Jesus fulfills that aspect of the blessing.
The LORD Bless You, and Keep You
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27-28).
We can have confidence that the Lord will bless us and keep us because we have Jesus as our Shepherd. He says no one will snatch us out of the Father’s hand if we follow Him. We are kept by Jesus our Shepherd in this life, and because of Him we will have eternal life.
The LORD Make His Face Shine on You
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father… Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” (John 14:9-10).
God has made His face shine upon us by giving His Son who is the true light of the world. In John 14, Philip struggles to grasp that in seeing Jesus he is seeing the Father. While we do not stand face to face with Jesus like Philip did, we still see Jesus today through His words. By knowing His words we know Him, and by knowing the Son we experience the blessing of God’s face shining upon us.
And Be Gracious to You
“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17).
Throughout the Old Testament God is described as being gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). God has been gracious since the beginning, but His grace is realized through Jesus. When we think of blessings like Aaron’sthat ask for God’s grace, we should think of His Son who is the realization of God’s grace. Because of Jesus, the grace of God that is declared throughout the Old Testament is made visible in the New Testament.
The LORD Lift Up His Countenance on You and Give You Peace
“Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
Returning to John 14, Jesus is explaining that He is going away, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will come to teach them all things (John 14:26). God has given us peace by giving us His Son and His Spirit. This blessing to know God and have access to Him gives us the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7).
By looking at Aaron’s blessing in Numbers, we can see more blessings in Jesus. When we live our life for Him, the Lord will bless and keep us, shine His face upon us, be gracious to us, and give us peace.
–William Speer
