Pronouncing God's Blessing
God gave Moses a very specific blessing for Aaron and his sons to pronounce on the people of Israel.(Numbers 6:24-27) I believe it reflects God's heart for His people. It shows us what God wanted to do for each of them. However, the blessing did not occur just because a priest spoke these words. A blessing or a curse was only enacted as God decided to act. It was not based on the words of a man. God gave them the words, and He would carry them out in His way.
I guess the reason I feel so strongly about this is that some people believe that simply by saying words they can cause things to happen. That is not Biblical. In that case, we would be God. What we do is believe God and speak in line with His character and His will. Then, God is the One who decides what to do. We can't create reality.
Yes, God desires each of us to be blessed. He wants us to be kept in His power. He wants to smile on us. Yes, He is always gracious to us, because that is His character. He wants to look upon us and give us peace. However, if we fail to believe Him, and we disobey Him, the Bible has curses that God places on us. He does not want to curse us, but He is holy, and He has no other choice than to punish sin. Can you see what I mean?
We can bless people ourselves by praising them, and telling them what they mean to us. We can express our love for them, and it is a blessing that affects their lives in a positive way. We are expressing our heart and our desires for them. However, we can't cause God's blessings to come upon them by our words. We can speak Scripture to them, and we can show them what God wants. They still determine God's actions by their faith or lack of it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 8-11.
I guess the reason I feel so strongly about this is that some people believe that simply by saying words they can cause things to happen. That is not Biblical. In that case, we would be God. What we do is believe God and speak in line with His character and His will. Then, God is the One who decides what to do. We can't create reality.
Yes, God desires each of us to be blessed. He wants us to be kept in His power. He wants to smile on us. Yes, He is always gracious to us, because that is His character. He wants to look upon us and give us peace. However, if we fail to believe Him, and we disobey Him, the Bible has curses that God places on us. He does not want to curse us, but He is holy, and He has no other choice than to punish sin. Can you see what I mean?
We can bless people ourselves by praising them, and telling them what they mean to us. We can express our love for them, and it is a blessing that affects their lives in a positive way. We are expressing our heart and our desires for them. However, we can't cause God's blessings to come upon them by our words. We can speak Scripture to them, and we can show them what God wants. They still determine God's actions by their faith or lack of it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 8-11.