December 8 – Numbers 6
Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.
This beautiful blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26 comes to Aaron from God for the blessings of God’s people. It is an incredible testimony to God’s great grace! For it comes after God spoke about the shame of sin. And then afterward, He goes on to declare, explain and set the Nazirite vow. The Nazirite vow does not overtly apply to today’s New Covenant Jesus followers, so how can this blessing be ours, too? Let me share with you what I have gleaned for myself as applicable.
God values, demands really, and expects His children to keep themselves set apart for God and God only. Not only are we to be separate from the world, but we are also set apart for and to God. As God’s people, our actions, our lives, and the way we speak are to be noticeable. We are
to grow and arm ourselves with the fruits of the Spirit.
With this blessing comes the promise of a name. He names us as His! Our obedience to Him brings His blessings to us, the blessing of peace and “total well-being.” When we come to Him, recognizing we are sin full and in need of forgiveness, we repent and ask for that forgiveness.
And He is faithful to forgive us and give us that salvation from the sins that separate us (Acts 2:38; John 14:6; 3:16-18). After declaring our belief in Him, it will lead to a vow that our lives from then on will be different and set apart for His glory and will.
This really is the most comforting and encouraging blessing. He blessed the Israelites with a peace that was so deep that their souls were well. The God who blessed Israel blesses us, too, because of the cross. It was as though God hid His face and cursed Jesus and took any smidgin of
peace that could have been left after the atrocities Jesus faced. For our sake, Jesus’ died. For our sake, Jesus came. This Nazirite blessing was a beautiful foretaste of the Jesus to come.
Peace be with you as you turn your face towards His, may He bless you with comfort, and may He be gracious to you.
My Verse: “the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:26
My Response: Lord on high, shine Your face upon me and give me peace! May my feet ever wander towards Your face and my eye be kept above the waves that threaten to drown me. May my days be spent glorifying and praising You. In faithfulness, I give my life to You for Your will. You have given me a name, and that name is Child of the Living God. Oh, how I worship and adore You!!!!
Further Reading: Luke 24:50-51; 2 Corinthians 13:14
What’s next? As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below. Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.
1 Comment. Leave new
Evening thoughts from Sharon: I love the definition of peace/shalom as “total well-being”. That absolutely resonates, Melissa! Every part of me exactly right – at rest – whole. That’s the kind of peace HE gives. Hallelujah!
Thoughts on Nazirite vows: No wine or grapes, no cutting of the hair – says to me it’s time to get serious and not worry about appearance or appreciating food. I have a single-minded focus and want God’s help with it. It was a “set apart” time for someone to complete a mission or an action of some kind and these rules kind of kept that commitment at the forefront – cemented it as it were. It was fascinating to read about it.
My verse: Numbers 6:25 “May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.”
My response: I love this! You, Lord God of all the Universe, smile on us. We smile at people we love. 🙂 Whenever I see pictures of my grandchildren, my smile appears. Can’t help it. There they are and they are SO precious. This is how You see Your children, Lord. Amazing. And … what a great blessing to pray over a child as well, that You, Lord, would smile on them and that You would extend Your grace to them all the days of their lives. Thank You for smiling on me, Lord.