Numbers 6: Wilderness Blessing

Key Verses
23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
 
​Meditation
The Lord delights to bless His people. Today’s reading reveals both the sufficiency of God and His invitation for personal blessing.

The Nazarite vow (vv. 1-21) was a voluntary act of consecration. Men and women vowed to willingly deny themselves to be "holy to the Lord" (v. 8). Their sacrificial lives demonstrated that God alone was enough. Set apart from ordinary pleasures, they proclaimed with their lives that the Lord Himself is the greatest treasure.
 
The chapter climaxes with one of Scripture's most recognized blessings (vv. 22-27). The Lord commands Aaron to place His name upon His people, declaring His desire to bless, keep, shine upon, be gracious to, lift His countenance, and give peace. Significantly, each "you" in the blessing is singular. Though spoken over the congregation, God's blessing is deeply personal. 
 
God's blessing is wonderfully practical for weary pilgrims. 
 
As our Shepherd, He keeps us. 
As our gracious King, He forgives us and gives us peace. 
As our loving Father, He places His name upon us, declaring that we belong to Him.

The Aaronic blessing finds its fullness in Jesus, the consecrated One who was perfectly devoted to the Father. At the cross, Jesus bore the curse we deserved so that in Him believers might receive "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). From union with Christ, God's face shines upon His children.

Whatever wilderness you are walking through, God has put His name on you. In Christ, you are known, kept, blessed, and loved. His presence is your greatest blessing, and His peace will carry you safely home.
 
Today’s Reading
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

5 “All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

6 “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord.

9 “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. 10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day 12 and separate himself to the Lord for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

13 “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 14 and he shall bring his gift to the Lord, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings. 16 And the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, 17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 And the priest shall take the shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration, 20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. They are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 “This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the Lord above his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite.”

Aaron's Blessing
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the Lord’s blessing from His people in the wilderness?
 
-Why is it significant that God Himself is the source of His blessing? What does this reveal about where our satisfaction should be found?
 
-How can you grow in satisfaction in Christ, declaring He is enough and that His grace is sufficient for your soul? Be specific.
 
Key Verses
23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.