THE BLESSINGS AND CURSES that make our steps through this world towards the next either light or heavy depend upon whether God’s face is turned away from us, or turned towards us. The psalms ask this blessing of God for both the individual and the corporate body Israel. When hard times come, as they always will, anxiety over security becomes paramount. The Psalmist poses a rhetorical question: “Who will bring us prosperity?” (Psa. 4:6a) He answers by pleading, “Let the light of your face shine upon us.” (Psa. 4:6b) He prays for himself, “Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.” (Psa. 31:16) And he implores God for his entire nation, “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” (Psa. 80:3)
The psalms regarding the shining face of God as blessing are founded upon the priestly blessing conferred through Aaron by Moses. “Tell Aaron and his sons,” says the Lord, “bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you, the Lord turn his face to you and give you peace.’” (Num. 6:22-26) This blessing of peace is meant to quell all anxieties, and is all-inclusive. “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.” (Deut. 28:3, 6)
While these blessings are set in the sense of Israel’s obedience to God, by extension they are the blessings of all who are spiritual Israel. Paul quotes Hosea, saying “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” (Hos. 1:10) And Paul says of this people, including you and me, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Rom. 8:14) He adds, “Now if we are children, co-heirs with Christ, we may also share in his *glory.” (Rom. 8:17)
John said of Jesus, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father.” (John 1:14) And also, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness.” (John 1:4-5) Paul adds that we are “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation,” where we “shine among them like stars in the sky as we hold firmly to the word of life.” (Phil 2:15b, c) The light that shines from the face of God is made clear to us in Jesus, and from him we are touched by that light, filled with that light, and expected to “walk in the light as he is in the light.” (1 John 1:7a)
To “walk in the light as he is in the light” is to walk in the blessing of God. So Paul tells us, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8) Part of that blessing is personal—like the Psalmist, we can ask for blessing for ourselves. Jesus promises, “I will do whatever you ask in my name,” but he adds this directive: “So that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13)
We have become priests in God’s kingdom. Peter says that we “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” As such, we become, let us say, adopted into Aaron and the Levitical priesthood, with both the power and the responsibility of blessing. “This is how you are to bless.” (Num. 6:22) And so we say, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-26)
Because of Jesus’ linked commands to “Love God above all others” and to “Love others as ourselves” (Matt. 22:37, 39), his cautions cause us to remember, just as the Psalmist did, to intercede for others, whether that be tribe, church, or nation. “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” (Psa. 80:3) And so Paul adds to the earlier, that God “will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:10b-11)
A spirit-hungry world of tortured souls, fully aware of the pain of their existence—but only dimly perceiving the faintest of light—may encounter, through you or me, the one who is light. Perhaps they will see Jesus, shining brightly in the synagogue of their soul, and hear him say, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) And a few might understand and receive when he rolls up the scroll, looks them in the eye, and says “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:20)
Q. Am I a “curser” or a “blesser?”
*Strong’s 1391 “Doxa” – splendor, brightness.
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