The Aaronic blessing was a priestly blessing for Old Testament believers. It encapsulated the heart of God toward His people and toward the nations of the earth. It is a blessing extended to worshipers of God that, with outstretched priestly arm, people would live within the context of the blessing and peace of the Lord, their God. We see this blessing foreshadowing the Messiah, His coming bringing ultimate peace upon the people of God.
This blessing is inaugurated in Genesis 12:1-3, repeated in the Psalms, pointed to in the epistle of Jude in the New Testament, and fulfilled in the book of Revelation. It is an important extension of God’s will for His people throughout the Scriptures.
The Bible includes the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26, “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.” This blessing is also repeated, in parts, throughout the psalms—evidence that the people of God would sing pieces of this blessing in their times of corporate worship.
The Aaronic blessing retells the covenant passage of blessing in Genesis 12:2:
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
The Aaronic blessing is a further definition of this covenant blessing of the Lord made to Abram. And, a purpose of this blessing and covenant was to extend the greatness of God’s name into all the earth.
Consider Genesis 12:3: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Also look to Psalm 67:1-2: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.”
God wanted the praise of His name to extend throughout all of the peoples of the earth. Surely, the Messiah to come would be the fulfillment of this promise. Through Him comes our blessing, grace, hope, and peace. The Lord’s countenance was literally upon the people of the earth to bring our salvation, while the Lord was incarnate on this earth. And, in eternal glory, the face of the Lord will forever shine upon His people.
In Old Testament times, tradition holds that the Aaronic blessing was used at the end of sacrifices, in the morning and the evening. It was a holy benediction of worship, a blessing from the heart of the Lord to the people. Like Aaron, the priests were charged “to pronounce blessings in the LORD’s name” (Deuteronomy 21:5).
In the New Testament, the epistle of Jude concludes with a fitting, similar benediction, which pastors today often used to conclude worship services: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25). This benediction speaks in worship to the Lord as the one who can keep the believer—similarly to the Aaronic blessing.
Also similar is that the Lord is the focus on each blessing. In the Aaronic blessing, it is He who does the blessing, the keeping, the making His face shine, the giving of grace and peace. And, in the benediction of Jude, it is also the Lord who does the keeping and the presentation of the believer in blamelessness because He is the strong, mighty, and able God who deserves all glory now and forevermore.
The Aaronic blessing is also still, at times, used as a benediction to conclude a worship service—the pastor sending the congregation out into the world with the blessing of the Lord of Israel upon them.
This blessing foreshadows eternity with God. In addition to the Aaronic blessing and Psalm 67 above, various passages of Scripture speak to God’s face shining upon us:
These passages also predict a coming time when the beatific vision will be ours as believers. For Revelation 22:5 speaks of a time when night will be no more and when sun or lamp will no longer be needed. For, in that time, the Lord will be the light of His people. He will literally shine His face upon us.
Eternity, then, is like an eternal benediction. It is like an eternal conclusion of graciousness and peace that the people of the Lord will experience. Light and salvation belong to the people of God forever. The Aaronic blessing predicts this blessed truth.
God wants us to dwell within a framework of His blessing. As this blessing was used to conclude morning and evening sacrifices, He wants us to know that obedience brings about His blessing. The priests saw fit to give this blessing as a conclusion of their obedience to the sacrificial system of God. The obedient life is the blessed life.
Yet still, God’s graciousness precedes our blessing. He wants His people to know He is present to bless and keep His people. He is the one who sought out Abraham to give the covenant and blessing, and He is the one who graciously gives the sacrificial system and law so that the people can know more about who He is. Further, He is the one who outstretched His arm so that His people would be saved from Egyptian oppression. Our obedience is in response to His graciousness.
In His blessing, the Lord is present to shine His face upon His people—presently from glory. Scripture teaches: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He wants peace to reign in the hearts of His people, and for us to be strong in the faith because He is with us and watching over us.
It is comforting to the heart of a believer that God wants His blessing to shine upon His people. Throughout the Old Testament, we see that Israel’s heart was often far away from the Lord—for they were rebellious toward the Lord. He sent prophets to warn of the resulting destruction. But, just on the other side of that warning is a choice of obedience for the people of God—a choice to return will full heart to the God of salvation who so dearly wanted His people to live within the context of His blessings.
In eternity, this desire of the Lord will be fulfilled when people from all nations, tribes, and tongues will see His face, will be personally given eternal peace, and with live within the blessings of God’s grace to us in Christ forever and ever. Surely, it is a blessing to the Lord for us to know Him and always trust His heart toward us pronounced in the Aaronic blessing—that no matter what comes into our lives, He is proclaiming His grace and peace over His people, now and forevermore.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Ben185
Lianna Davis is author of Keeping the Faith: A Study in Jude and Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss. She is also a contributor to We Evangelicals and Our Mission with Cascade Books. Lianna is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She lives in Illinois with her husband and daughter. You can learn more about her writing at her website.
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