Our worship gatherings have been so much fun lately!  Even though I hung out with my daughter in the nursery during the conversation time of our meeting, I was told that the adults were having too much fun listening to Pastor Stuart.  Here is a link to last Sunday’s talk.

A Good Word

In our passage, Numbers 6:22-27, the word “bless” occurs three times. 1) God commands the priests to say a blessing over the people, 2) the blessing itself, and 3) the Lord says, “I will bless them.”  This Hebrew word translated bless is interesting.  The resources I consulted simply gave the definition, bless.  There is also another aspect to this word, but I will touch on this later.  Bless is such an over used and under appreciated word.  In order to get another perspective on this word, I looked to the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament from around 200 BC and was widely used by the early church.  The Greek word used for this Hebrew word is where we get the word, eulogy, which literally means, good word.  Do you believe God speaks good words about and over you?  Also, do you believe that we have a part in this good word?

The Lord told Moses that Aaron and his sons were to speak this blessing.  It is a priestly act.  Now since we are under the New Covenant of Jesus, we are a holy priesthood unto the Lord (1 Peter 2:5).  As such, we can participate in the sharing and declaring this good word concerning the people of God.

Lastly, the second aspect of this word “bless” is to kneel.  In former times, if someone was to bless you, you would kneel before them.  We see this with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  (Also, consider the process of being knighted.)  What does this mean for us in a less formal society?  It still speaks of posture.  In order to receive a blessing, we need to stop, listen carefully to the good word, and then act on it, submitting ourselves to the Lord who is the source of the good word we speak.

After meditating on the passage last week, did you hear a good word from God.  When you think of friends and loved ones, do you hear a good word from the Lord for them?  As priests, we have the joy and privilege of serving one another in Jesus by sharing a good word.  I pray you experience this joy soon.

Grace and peace,

Brook