TUESDAY 6th
Numbers 6:22-27
NIV – ‘. . . the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.’
ESV – ‘. . . the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’
Our final word from this blessing is the word GIVE. I quote the Amplified Bible again here, ‘The LORD lift up his countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’
The people of Israel were going to face a lot as they journeyed, sometimes not knowing who or what they were going to meet around the corner, understandably from the human point of view fear and trepidation would fill their hearts, but in this blessing Aaron and his sons were invoking the peace of God to be given or granted to them. As the Amplified suggests the peace was to be an internal peace – a tranquil heart and an external peace, which would mean peace during external conflict. The people of Israel were going to know conflict, the journey was not going to be a bed of roses, but they could go through it knowing the peace of God was upon them and within them. Sadly, they did not always live in the peace that was available. For example, when the spies were sent to spy out the promised land, it filled the hearts of ten of them with fear – they saw the problems, the giants big and tall, the cities fortified and large, the people who occupied the area surrounding and it was a case of ‘forget it we cannot go up’. But there were two, who quietly and confidently trusted in the Lord, can I suggest they were filled with the peace that the blessing had granted them and they saw beyond the impossibilities to the possibilities because God was in the business. Deuteronomy records their verdict, ‘And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’
Sadly, the fear mongers still rebelled! Fear is a thief; fear will rob us of blessing if we allow it to fester in our lives. The fear of the unknown, the fear of the future, the fear of what if, the fear of stepping out (in faith), the fear of letting go, the fear of moving forward, the fear of change, etc. Fear robs us of peace! Jesus made a statement in Johns Gospel, ‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart (but be of good cheer), I have overcome the world’. (John 16:33) One of the names that was to be given to ‘the Son given and the Child born’ was the Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6), while in discourse with his disciples, the Prince of Peace said, ‘Let not your heart be troubled, Believe in God, believe also in me.’ (John 14:1) He later continued with, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’ (John 14:27) Paul then reminds us in Ephesians 2:14 ‘For he himself is our peace . . .’ and in Philippians 4:5-7, ‘The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’
Whoever you are, wherever you are and whatever you as a child of God are faced with today, my prayer is that the LORD will lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, internally, in your heart and life and externally in the midst of your life circumstances.