Bless & Keep!
This past year, a dream of thirty years came to life when my husband and two youngest girls went with me on a ten-day visit to Israel. I have been twice in my youth and know only too well how such a visit can impact your faith. The trajectory of my whole life was changed as I worked on a kibbutz first and then for five months in Jerusalem, doing various housecleaning jobs and taking care of a lady with MS.
Naturally, returning to the city and the streets I was so familiar with, was both inspiring and emotional. While not much has changed at first glance in Israel, much has changed in my life over the past thirty years. As a mother my aim now was not so much what I wanted to get out of the trip, but what God wanted to do in the hearts and minds of my loved ones. I simply enjoyed their company and savoured their excitement as they physically walked where Jesus walked, David reigned, Hezekiah dug his tunnel, and Herod built his palaces and fortresses. They made music at the street pianos, loved the local food, and browsed crowded shops in ancient alleys. Every day I thanked God who helped me to keep the dream alive.
Years ago, when I was a young mother, one of the traditions I felt God wanted me to pioneer in my family was to bless each of my girls with an unforgettable adventure. Thus, I had the privilege to climb Kilimanjaro with my second adopted daughter while taking my oldest adopted daughter to Katmandu where we joined an intercession team. Both initiatives were part of raising awareness of human trafficking in the world and being a voice for the voiceless in our societies.
While the adventure part always holds a big attraction for me, there was and is so much more to this prompting from God — like helping the next generation to see beyond the temporal and do more things of eternal value, be brave, trust God, take initiative and be active in their communities. Yet, of equal importance for me has always been the fellowship and quality time I shared with each child before, during, and after each of these epic ventures.
This idea to bless the next generation and impart a new legacy before we depart this world is at the heart of God’s people and his instructions to them, both in the Old and New Testament. As Christians, we are heirs of an unfathomable heritage, one that has transformed families and individuals, communities and countries across the ages. Thus, we gift and help; liberate and protect; build and bless others as instructed.
This brings me to the high-priestly prayer of Aaron, sometimes also referred to as “the Lord’s Prayer of the Old Testament.”
The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
As we enter another year and cycle, many will receive this blessing from friends, colleagues, family, and acquaintances from a variety of WhatsApp groups. I grew up in a very traditional and formal church, and while much was lost in translation as a child, I have fond memories of serious men in black, finally looking slightly less stern at the end of the last hymn as they extended their hands from the pulpit to declare this tender blessing over their congregations. It has quite a range of nuances, including wish, desire, prayer, and greeting and I can testify today by the grace of God that none of those were entirely lost on me. Yet, what I did not know is the mathematical precision of these lines, for whenever God speaks, his language is mathematically perfect.
In Hebrew, there are 3 words in the first sentence, 5 in the second, and 7 in the third. There are 15 letters in the first, 20 in the second, and 25 in the third. There are 12 syllables in the first, 14 in the second, and 16 in the third. If you take the word LORD out, you are left with 12 Hebrew words. We are left with the Lord and the 12 tribes of Israel. Even in English, it builds up as David Pawson mentions for there is a kind of crescendo through the lines as each line has two verbs, and the second expands the first.[1]
While there are many aspects to this blessing, I was afresh touched by the following.
The word KEEP in English or SHAMAR in Hebrew, is used as early as Genesis 2 when God instructs Adam to KEEP the garden, meaning to guard it like a military sentinel would guard his post. Clearly, Adam did not do a good job at keeping the garden safe from intruders and was cast out and angels commanded to take over the job. I find it just as fascinating that after Cain murdered Abel, he answered God with, “Am I my brother’s KEEPER?”
While we let that question sink in, I want you to find Psalm 121, where the word KEEP is mentioned six times in 8 verses: He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper… The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going and your coming in from this time forth and forever.
As we scan the mountains on day one of a brand-new year, looking with anticipation into the future, it is imperative that we lift our eyes to the one who created it all. In this ever-changing, technologically advanced world we live in, we need to remember that his protection is perfect and his care divine. Thus, this first part of the blessing — that the Lord bless AND keep us – is a substantial promise, one that makes us rich and brings confidence.
Secondly, I was stirred by the simplicity of a translation[2] that renders the second line, May the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you, as the LORD will smile on you and be kind to you! Oh, as children of The Most High, it is my sincere prayer that you will experience such a shining face this year from your heavenly Father.
Lastly, I want to draw your attention to the words grace and peace as found in the blessing. They are two words from a blessing found in almost every epistle in the New Testament: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [3]Paul writes to several congregations.
In its essence, this mathematically perfect blessing is all about fellowship and quality time with God for it speaks of intimacy and precision, promise and peace, joy and approval all wrapped in one. As I experienced so much of this, not only in Israel but this whole past year, I want to encourage you to eat your fill from these lines of direct inspiration from God and as recorded by his servant Moses.
And while I do not know what God has entrusted to you for safekeeping, I would like to testify today that despite all kinds of opposition over the past years that will fill many pages, God kept me and He kept the dream to take my family with me on what was my third visit to Israel. This supernatural keeping brought great joy to our hearts. When I think back, I think of it as a time when God smiled upon our family and was kind to us!
Thus, it is my prayer that you too will intimately experience this rich blessing in all of its beautiful simplicity and grand perfection this year and the next and the next. Put it where you can easily revisit it, lean into it, muse over it, pronounce it over others and pray it over your loved ones.
The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
AMEN!
[1] Unlocking the Bible, David Pawson, pg. 177
[2] God’s WORD Translation (GW)
[3] Philippians 1:2, Ephesians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:2, etc
