Aaron's Blessing is one of just a few things that God has brought to my attention since I have been journeying through the Bible in a year. Chances are if you're familiar with this bit of scripture it's because you've heard it at the end of a church service used as a benediction to bless the congregation as they head out into the world. What exactly was the purpose of Aaron's blessing? Well, let's take a look.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
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.
So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
-Numbers 6:22-27
The ESV(English Standard Version) Global Study Bible's included commentary states "This famous blessing shows that God's will is to bless every Israelite, not just the Nazirites. The priests offer God's blessing to the people." (As a side note here the Nazirites are people who would make a vow to separate themselves to the Lord. Meaning they separated themselves from wine and strong drink, they could not shave any part of their head, and they did not to go near a dead body even if a family member died until the end of their vow.)Essentially, God is making it known that those chosen to preach are not the only ones who are blessed, but that each person who believes is blessed by God.
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