Weekly Reflection – The Power of the Blessing

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall 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 lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”

— Numbers 6:22-27

The prayer of Numbers 6 is known as the Priestly Blessing and is one of the oldest and most treasured prayers in the Jewish and Christian faiths. There is great power in the Priestly Blessing, for it is declared over us by an all-knowing, all-powerful compassionate, and loving God—a covenant God who keeps His promises. God’s Name occurs three times in this poetic prayer, pointing to the future revelation of the Trinity, and it contains 12 words in the original Hebrew, harkening back to the 12 tribes of Israel—the number of government. There is no end to the imagery of this life-changing prayer which calls on God’s presence to be revealed to His people.