Aaron’s Blessing
Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Lord “Be Gracious To You.”
26th March 2023
The Priestly Blessing Numbers 6:22-27
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Today we are going to consider what it means in Aaron’s prayer, “The Lord Be Gracious To You.” We will first look at the meaning of “Grace” in the Old Testament and then consider what it means in the New Testament.
To begin with we will just have a short recap of last week’s talk, “The Lord Make His Face Shine On You.” We highlighted the fact that when God’s “Face Shines” on you in Scripture it referred to God’s character. Especially His favour towards His people.
If God turned His face against people, then He would withhold His blessing and favour. That is not a good place to be in. This is best and clearly understood in His judgement as described in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 20:11-15 NIV
The Judgment of the Dead
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
To seek God’s “Face” is to seek His favour. That is why it is so important for us to accept Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour.
We looked at several verses in the Psalms noting that the writers were pleading for God to make His “Face” shine upon them. We discovered that each of these requests had a deep and significant faith in God. We considered that to be ‘in Christ’ was to be in a “Covenant Relationship” with God.
We acknowledged that a strong depth of faith and trust in God were essential elements to have His “Face Shine Upon Us.”
We then studied what it means for the “Face” of God to shine upon us today in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, and Saviour, then we considered what John experienced of Jesus in his vision revealed to him by Jesus in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 1:16 NIV
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
This is exactly what Jesus’ face looked like when he was ‘Transfigured’ on the mountainside before three of His closest disciples.
We learned about Fanny Crosby who was blind and wrote over 8000 hymns said, “When I get to heaven, the first face ever to gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour.”
The “Face” of God certainly shines on those who love Him because for His precious gift of His Son Jesus Christ. Something that all Christians delight in.
TODAY’S TALK: “THE LORD BE GRACIOUS TO YOU.”
The theological definition of God’s “Grace” means His unmerited favour, made known through Jesus Christ, and expressed supremely in redemption and full forgiveness of sinners through Jesus Christ.
We will consider “Grace” in the Old Testament first, and then in the New Testament, and then we will dig deeper into our theme for this week.
THE OLD TESTAMENT:
In the Old Testament “Grace” is evident in the special relationship between God and His people.
Deuteronomy 7:7-9 NIV
7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
They say you cannot argue with Scripture, although people try to do so. In this passage we find clear evidence of the relationship of God with His “Covenant People.”
Ezekiel 16:1-8 NIV
Jerusalem as an Adulterous Wife
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.
6 “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a] 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.
8 “‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
There is something very beautiful about this difficult passage. We clearly see how God feels about His people and what He thinks about them.
We also see God’s readiness to forgive.
Micah 7:18-20 NIV
18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.
This is God being “Gracious To His People.” Who could argue with this. Everything about understanding our relationship with God is found within the context of these verses.
THE NEW TESTAMENT:
Grace is demonstrated pre-eminently in Jesus Christ and the work that He came to do.
God’s promise of “Grace” has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 1:8-10 NIV
8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Notice how Paul makes the point that this was “Given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. Our relationship with The Lord has been part of God’s plan since the beginning of time.
Grace was expressed in Jesus Christ’s life and ministry.
Matthew 9:10-13 NIV
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus defines His whole ministry in one sentence. “For I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Vs13b).
Grace is demonstrated in Jesus Christ’s atoning death on the cross.
1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Deliverance through Jesus Christ is the result of accepting God’s underserved favour.
THOUGHTS – REFLECTIONS ON OUR “GRACIOUS” GOD.
The Lord’s “Shinning face” and amazing grace go together. We know that because of our sin, His face can only “Shine” upon us if He is gracious to us.
We cannot see God, and so if He hadn’t revealed Himself to us, we wouldn’t have any idea of what He is like. But we can thankfully say He has revealed Himself, not just in the glory of His creation but in words.
Exodus 33:18-20 NIV
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
His character is seen in His mercy. In this we see His “Grace.” I know people in the world have a different view as to what God is like. But here, with His own words, He tells us what He really thinks. Here we see “Grace” and “Mercy.”
God is a “Gracious” God. If mercy is not giving us judgement we do deserve, “Grace” is giving us the forgiveness and life we don’t deserve. “Grace” is a gift.
We need to give thanks to God that his “Grace” shines the light of His face on people like us who do not deserve it. How amazing is that?
The “Gracious” character of God, revealed to Moses, finds its ultimate expression in “the gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 NIV
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
All Christians must testify to others about God’s “Grace” revealed in His Son Jesus. This is what other verses say.
John 1:14-18 NIV
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
R3omans 3:23-25 NIV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[a] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Titus 2:11NIV
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
In our worst moments we can feel that God owes us, and that the blessings we enjoy are ours by right. He doesn’t, and they aren’t. What God owes us is judgment. Every good thing we have is a gift. Every day we should give thanks to God for His amazing “Grace” given to us in Jesus Christ.
GRACE FOR TODAY:
If we do not hold on tightly to God’s “Grace” in Jesus Christ, we will drift into self-righteousness of the Pharisees in this story.
Luke 18:9-14 NIV
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Self-righteousness is very ugly. God hates it. But, if we’re honest, we may at times see something of the Pharisee rather than the tax collector in our own heart and behaviour. We need to confess to God when such thoughts fill our minds.
CONCLUSION:
Do you know for sure how God has been, “Gracious To You” in your own walk with Him. All of us are different on so many levels, and yet each of us has a distinct experience of God working in and through our lives.
Our stories and experiences may each be different, but what God has revealed in His “Grace” to each of us is priceless and so costly.
To God be the glory. Amen.
Revd Mike Griffin 14th March 2023