Embracing God's Eternal Blessings Through Christ

 

Summary

In the passage from Numbers 6:22-27, God instructs Moses to tell Aaron and his sons how to bless the Israelites. This blessing is not just a ritual but a profound declaration of God's favor and protection over His people. It is a reminder that God desires His people to live in the fullness of His blessings, experiencing His peace and grace. The blessing is a divine assurance that God is with His people, keeping them and shining His face upon them.

The role of the high priest, as seen in Aaron, is significant. He was not only to offer sacrifices and intercede for the people but also to pronounce God's blessing upon them. This role is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, who continually blesses His people. Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, has turned the curse into a blessing for those who believe in Him. He is the channel through which all spiritual blessings flow.

The blessing is not just a prayer but an authoritative declaration. It is a priestly benediction sealed with sacrificial blood, emphasizing that blessings come through the priesthood of Christ. Jesus, our High Priest, intercedes for us, ensuring that we are kept and blessed by God. His intercession is powerful and effective, providing us with safety and assurance.

The blessing is also a reflection of the Trinity, with the name of the Lord mentioned three times, symbolizing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This triune blessing assures us of God's comprehensive care and presence in our lives. It is a reminder that God's blessings are not limited by time or circumstance but are eternal and unchanging.

As believers, we are encouraged to receive this blessing personally, knowing that it is meant for each of us individually. The blessing is a divine promise that God will keep us, be gracious to us, and give us peace. It is a call to live in the light of God's favor, experiencing His grace and peace in every aspect of our lives.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Role of the High Priest: The high priest, like Aaron, was appointed to bless the people, symbolizing the role of Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest, who continually blesses us with His intercession and sacrifice. Through Christ, the curse is turned into a blessing for believers. [02:37]

2. The Power of Intercession: Jesus' intercession is not just a prayer but an authoritative declaration of blessing. His intercession is powerful and effective, ensuring that we are kept and blessed by God. This highlights the importance of Christ's role as our mediator. [08:14]

3. The Triune Blessing: The blessing in Numbers reflects the Trinity, with the name of the Lord mentioned three times, symbolizing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This triune blessing assures us of God's comprehensive care and presence in our lives. [27:15]

4. Personal Reception of Blessing: The blessing is meant for each believer individually, encouraging us to receive it personally. It is a divine promise that God will keep us, be gracious to us, and give us peace, calling us to live in the light of God's favor. [37:12]

5. Eternal and Unchanging Blessing: God's blessings are not limited by time or circumstance but are eternal and unchanging. This assurance allows us to rest in the certainty of God's promises, knowing that His blessings are sure and steadfast. [17:40]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:10] - The Priestly Blessing
- [00:47] - Experiencing God's Fullness
- [01:34] - Aaron's Role as High Priest
- [02:37] - Jesus, Our Great High Priest
- [03:27] - The Curse Turned Blessing
- [04:34] - The Blessing for Believers
- [05:08] - The Nature of the Benediction
- [06:30] - Blessings Through Christ
- [07:57] - The Power of Intercession
- [10:16] - Authoritative Blessing
- [12:12] - The Effectual Prayer
- [14:38] - The Certainty of Blessing
- [17:40] - Eternal Assurance
- [22:34] - Continuous Blessing

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Numbers 6:22-27

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Observation Questions:

1. What specific instructions did God give to Moses regarding the blessing of the Israelites in Numbers 6:22-27?
2. How does the sermon describe the role of Aaron as a high priest in relation to the blessing? [01:34]
3. According to the sermon, what is the significance of the blessing being a "priestly benediction sealed with sacrificial blood"? [06:30]
4. How is the Trinity reflected in the blessing mentioned in Numbers 6:22-27, as discussed in the sermon? [27:15]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. In what ways does the sermon suggest that Jesus Christ fulfills the role of the high priest as described in Numbers 6:22-27? [02:37]
2. How does the sermon explain the power and effectiveness of Jesus' intercession for believers? [08:14]
3. What does the sermon imply about the eternal and unchanging nature of God's blessings? [17:40]
4. How does the sermon encourage believers to personally receive and apply the blessing in their lives? [37:12]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you felt God's blessing in your life. How did it impact your faith and actions? [01:34]
2. The sermon highlights Jesus as our great High Priest who intercedes for us. How can you rely more on Jesus' intercession in your daily life? [08:14]
3. Consider the concept of the Trinity in the blessing. How does understanding the triune nature of God influence your relationship with Him? [27:15]
4. The sermon emphasizes the personal reception of God's blessing. What steps can you take to actively receive and live in God's favor and peace? [37:12]
5. God's blessings are described as eternal and unchanging. How can this assurance help you navigate challenges and uncertainties in your life? [17:40]
6. How can you, like Aaron, be a conduit of God's blessing to others in your community or family? [23:58]
7. Reflect on the idea that God's blessings are not limited by time or circumstance. How can this perspective change the way you view your current situation? [17:40]

Devotional

Day 1: The High Priest's Blessing Transforms Lives
The role of the high priest in ancient Israel was not merely ceremonial; it was a profound responsibility that involved interceding for the people and pronouncing God's blessing upon them. Aaron, as the high priest, was a precursor to Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection have transformed the curse of sin into a blessing for those who believe in Him. Through His sacrifice, Jesus continually blesses His followers, ensuring that they live under the divine favor and protection of God. This transformation from curse to blessing is a powerful testament to the redemptive work of Christ. [02:37]

Hebrews 7:24-25 (ESV): "But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

Reflection: Consider an area in your life where you feel burdened or cursed. How can you invite Jesus, your High Priest, to transform this area into a blessing today?


Day 2: The Authority of Christ's Intercession
Jesus' intercession for believers is not a mere request but an authoritative declaration of blessing. As our mediator, His intercession is powerful and effective, ensuring that we are kept and blessed by God. This highlights the importance of Christ's role as our mediator, who stands before God on our behalf. His intercession is a source of comfort and assurance, reminding us that we are never alone and that God's blessings are always available to us through Christ. [08:14]

Romans 8:34 (ESV): "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."

Reflection: In what specific situation do you need to rely on Christ's intercession today? How can you actively trust in His authority to bring about God's blessing in that situation?


Day 3: The Triune Blessing of God's Presence
The blessing in Numbers 6:22-27 reflects the Trinity, with the name of the Lord mentioned three times, symbolizing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This triune blessing assures believers of God's comprehensive care and presence in their lives. It is a reminder that God's blessings are not limited by time or circumstance but are eternal and unchanging. The presence of the Trinity in this blessing emphasizes the depth and breadth of God's love and care for His people. [27:15]

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV): "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Reflection: How can you become more aware of the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in your daily life? What practices can you incorporate to experience this triune blessing more fully?


Day 4: Receiving God's Blessing Personally
The blessing pronounced in Numbers is meant for each believer individually, encouraging them to receive it personally. It is a divine promise that God will keep them, be gracious to them, and give them peace. This personal reception of God's blessing calls believers to live in the light of His favor, experiencing His grace and peace in every aspect of their lives. It is an invitation to embrace the fullness of God's love and to walk confidently in His promises. [37:12]

Isaiah 26:3 (ESV): "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to personally receive and embrace God's blessing in your life? How can you live in the light of His favor and peace?


Day 5: The Eternal and Unchanging Nature of God's Blessing
God's blessings are not limited by time or circumstance but are eternal and unchanging. This assurance allows believers to rest in the certainty of God's promises, knowing that His blessings are sure and steadfast. The eternal nature of God's blessing provides a foundation of hope and security, encouraging believers to trust in His unchanging character and to rely on His promises in every season of life. [17:40]

James 1:17 (ESV): "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you experienced God's unchanging blessing in your life. How can this memory encourage you to trust in His eternal promises today?

Quotes

The Lord has blessed his people and he would have them know it he has blessed them with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus and it is his wish that they should experience the fullness of this blessedness are any of the Lord's people without a sense of his Blessing it is not the will of God that you should continue in this low condition if you are cast down he has said to His prophets Comfort ye Comfort ye my people speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem have you sinned and wandered into the darkness the Lord bids you return and encourages you to pray turn us again oh God and cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved. [00:41:57]

Our God has appointed one above all others to bless his people even our great high priest the Lord Jesus Christ he is the antitype of Aaron and his sons and in the exerise of his high office continually blesses his people he began his ministry with The Sermon on the Mount and the word blessed his whole life was a stream of blessing for he went about doing good when he rose to Heaven having completed his ministry it was as he lifted up his hands and blessed them he shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven bringing blessings with him even gifts for men in the name of the Triune God the Lord Jesus from the highest Glory effectually blesses us today. [00:51:44]

From which I gather that we can get no blessing from God except through the priesthood of Christ there must be the sacrifice and the sprinkling of the blood before the music of the blessing can sound in our ears God bestows all spiritual blessings upon us in and through the Lord Jesus who died for us and is ordained to be the one mediator between God and man Christ as the great high priest who offered himself without spot unto God is the Divine channel of blessing do we know the Lord's anointed are we resting in the sacrifice which he has presented even his own blood without Christ no blessing can come to us. [01:06:28]

We have a high priest through whom all that come to God will be accepted seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them never forget that he made intercession for the transgressor he has moreover a special pleading for believers concerning them there is a peculiar exercise of intercession for he says I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which thou has given me the high priest Had A peculiar office in reference to the seed of Israel and our Lord makes special intercession for his Saints he is exercising that office now now how much we owe to his intercession no tongue can tell. [01:21:39]

Now this benediction wears the form of a fat as well as of a prayer the priest here speaks the blessing for which he asks turning to the father our lord Jesus cries father keep through thine own name Those whom thou has given me turning to us he says the Lord bless thee and keep thee what he prays for of God he distributes among men by an authority vested in him by the father for it pleased the father that in him should all fullness dwell my heart Delights to think of the Lord Jesus Christ at this hour not as a Gethsemane pleader with groans and Agony and bloody sweat but as one who has finished his work and who now Reigns in the glory of the father having all power in heaven and in Earth he sends the blessing to those to whom it comes. [01:56:32]

Notice in the next place that this blessing is sure Aaron did not bless the people of his own will he did not utter good words words of his own composing but there went forth a divine power which made the form of blessing to be a blessing indeed there was power in the Priestly benediction first because Aaron was appointed by God himself to bless the people and when he produced the benediction over the assembled multitude it was not Aaron's blessing but the blessing of Jehovah who had sent him the God who set him apart to bless the people in the Divine name was by that very act and deed engaged to make good his servants words. [02:08:12]

The blessing of the Lord Our God was upon his ancient people but it is also Upon Us on whom the ends of the world are come that blessing fell Upon Us in the beginning when we were converted and it has never ceased the blessing of the Lord falls on us now as a refreshing Dew or as the Golden Rain when the corn is springing the Saints are forever the Blessed of the Lord He blesses us today there was a day when you felt very near to the Lord your God and you remember the hermans and the hill misar with regretful fondness you enjoyed the divine blessing more that day than perhaps you do this morning but in very truth the blessing is always the same. [02:31:04]

The Lord bless thee what a blessing the Lord gives have we not heard a mother say to her little child bless you what a wealth of meaning she threw into it but when God says bless you there are infinity and immutability in it there can be no limit to the Good Will of the infinite God our gifts are like a handful of Pence God's gifts are so rich that I dare not liken them even to silver or gold when Jehovah blesses it is after the manner of his Sovereign almightiness his benediction sheds joy and Glory over our entire manhood the Lord bless thee what an ocean of blessedness is in it and keep thee what safekeeping is that and be gracious unto thee what Grace is that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. [02:49:19]

The Lord bless thee and keep thee may he do this when thou art in great Temptation that thou yield not may he keep thee from thine own evil heart of unbelief that thou turn not aside contending with the sinful world may he keep thee from its snares marching through a region full of seductions to error may he keep thee from quitting the truth even as he keepeth his own elect the Lord bless thee with all good and keep thee from all evil they are well kept whom God keeps and none are kept besides there is no keeping like Divine keeping he saith I will be a wall of fire round about them and again he kept them as the apple of his eye. [02:58:59]

The blessing is meant for the appropriation of each one while it Embraces the whole church in one word it yet distributes a full portion to each individual we may each one take to himself the whole of this great benediction more I might have said Upon This Old Testament benediction but time fails me and so I must conclude by a word or two in the third place upon the Divine amen the Divine am men is in the last verse and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them only two or three words will suffice here is the authority repeated by way of confirmation of what has been said they shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them. [03:47:28]

Christ is authorized of God to put the name of God upon his people it is a delightful thing for the Lord to call us by his own name as it is written I have called thee by thy name Thou Art mine it is even more so enriching to have the Divine name put upon us so as to be called sons of God joint HS with Jesus Christ hearing is condescension on God's part and honor and security for us when the lord's name is named upon anything he will guard his own dedicated things the name of the Lord is a strong tower and within it we are safe I think I see here a confirmation of those blessings which are produced by Good Men they shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them. [03:56:38]

The world may curse us but if God blesses us the curse will be as the whistling wind friends may become enemies or may forget us but if God blesses us we can bear the wound God blessed us when we were young he kept us in the giddy Paths of Youth he blessed us in our hail manhood and helped us when our family cares were upon us and he will still sustain us now that we lean heavily on the staff and find the grasshopper to be a burden he will bless us when sickness lays us low and when we come to die Jesus will bless us with dying Grace for dying moments and hand us out our best things last we shall wake up in the likeness of Christ and then we shall be satisfied with his Blessing being transformed into the image of him by whom the blessing comes. [04:09:00]

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Transcript
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