God Bless You

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

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According to my friend (Wikipedia) there are several explanations as to why we respond (with “God bless you”) to a sneeze. This is my personal favorite:

“Gregory (The Great) became Pope in AD 590 as an outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing (‘God bless you!’) became a common effort to halt the disease.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you)

In the book of Numbers, God tells Moses to Instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NLT)

Why does he do this?

“This is how Aaron and his sons will designate the Israelites as my people (Hebrew: will put my name on the people of Israel), and I myself will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27 NLT)

God wanted to put his name on his people. He wanted to let them all know they are His Beloved and they can believe, without a doubt, that he will take care of them. What an amazing model of love and encouragement. This blessing continues in my life, today. He blesses me (His child through Jesus’ sacrifice) with the hope that God will:

(1) bless and protect me

(2) smile on me (be pleased)

(3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate)

(4) show his favor towards me (give his approval)

(5) give his peace.

This Christmas season, each day that my kids open another door on their Advent calendar, instead of wishing for more chocolate, my kids and I will take a moment to pray this blessing for one individual in our lives that God has blessed us with.

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Dear Lord, thank you so much for putting your name on me. I am so blessed to be yours and to know that you want to bless me not because I am on a nice list or a naughty list, but because you created me and love me. I pray that everyone I encounter today and every day may be blessed by your presence within me. Thank you for teaching me how to care for others through your blessing. Amen.

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