Our Priestly Responsibility IV, No. 219

OUR PRIESTLY RESPONSIBILITY

Part 4 

Deuteronomy 21:5, “And the priests and the Levites shall come near, for them the Lord thy God has chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried.” 

We have been learning that it is our priestly responsibility to pray for our children. However, the above Scripture tells us something else we have to do. The primary function of the priest is to minister to the Lord, and then minister to the people. Of course, that means the people who are closest to us first, before we start ministering to others.  

As priests unto God, we have been given the divine mandate to bless our children. It is not an option. It is mandatory. 

To bless means to speak well of, to praise. But it is more than that. We are to bless in the name of the Lord. We are to pronounce God’s blessings upon our children and those around us. That means to speak into them God’s promises and His plan for them; to affirm God’s truth over their lives and to speak God’s destiny over them.  

It is so easy to speak negatively, isn’t it? It seems to come easy. But as priests of the Lord, we must make a concerted effort to get into the habit of speaking blessings. May God bring us to the place in our lives where blessings flow naturally from our lips. 

However, I  believe we should also make specific times for blessing. God’s official blessing, written in Numbers 6:24-26 was traditionally spoken over the people at the end of the evening sacrifice. Perhaps we could follow suit and bless our children at the end of Family Devotions at each evening meal.  

If you feel you cannot do it every evening, what about establishing the Shabbat meal?  This is our favorite meal of the week where we not only light the candles and partake of communion together but where Colin blesses me, our children and whoever is at our table. To learn more about this, go to www.aboverubies.org and check the Archived Devotions for The Preparation Day and The Shabbat Meal. 

You can bless your children by encouraging and affirming them in their giftings and in the good character traits you see evident in their lives. You can also bless them in the name of the Lord with the Word of the Lord. The Numbers 6 blessing is a blessing from the Trinity--the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. 

v.24, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.”What a blessing to be guarded, preserved, protected and watched over by our Father God. And what a wonderful blessing to put upon our children and others. (Psalm 121:3-8) 

v.25, “The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee.” This is the blessing of the Son of righteousness with healing in His wings and who is full of grace and truth. He is the one that has wrought salvation for us and blesses us with salvation. May each of our children receive this blessing.  

v. 26, “The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” This is the blessing from God the Holy Spirit. 

v.27 ends with the wonderful words, “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel: and I will bless them.” It is great to bless your family out of the abundance of your own heart but it is even greater to bless them with the powerful name of the Lord God. What greater blessings could there be than to put God’s name upon our children? 

Another under understanding of the word ‘bless’ is ‘to kneel’. In Biblical times children would kneel to receive a blessing from their father. In some homes, children will kneel before their father to receive the blessing at their weekly Shabbat meal. 

Love from

NANCY CAMPBELL 

PRAYER: 

“Lord, I thank you that you have made me to be a Blesser. Help me to be faithful to this wonderful ministry in my home. Amen.” 

AFFIRMATION:

Blessing God and blessing my children! 

 

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