Saturday, June 21, 2014
Numbers 6:22-27 Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
"So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
MY NAME UPON THEM
When Moses wrote: "In the beginning God created ..." (Genesis 1:1), he did not debate the existence of God or give a lengthy explanation of His attributes. He simply launched into the creative work of God.
And when Jesus instituted Baptism "into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19), there was no long explanation of the Three-One (Triune) God. The three persons of the one God are adequately revealed in other Scriptures, and reflected throughout the Bible. Here we see Him reflected in one of the most beloved benedictions --
Jehovah -- bless and keep -- reminding us of the Father to whom Jesus called to on the cross to keep His spirit.
Jehovah -- make his face shine; be gracious -- to make the face shine is a Hebrew way of describing a smiling face. In Jesus Christ, the Son, God smiled upon us and saved us by His grace.
Jehovah -- lift up his countenance; give peace -- in the inspired Word God's face is turned toward us and speaks forgiveness in Christ and peace to our souls.
Lest we take credit for:
+ creating and keeping ourselves, we learn of the Father
+ saving ourselves, we learn of the Son
+ believing the truth, we learn of the Spirit.
And this same God who put His name upon Israel has now put His name upon us in Word and Sacrament!
