The Blessing

There is a wonderful passage tucked away in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament of the Bible. You may not be able to recall anything about the book of Numbers but I think there’s a good possibility that you are familiar with this passage. It has been used for centuries to conclude worship services by sending people on their way with a special blessing from God. It has been used thousands of times (maybe millions!). Curious? Here it is:
“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’   Numbers 6:24-26

This final blessing, sometimes called a benediction is known worldwide. It’s visibility was increased by a contemporary Christian singer, Kari Jobs and Cody Carnes from Elevation Worship who recorded a passionate,  fresh, live audio and video version of it. Listen to the whole recording and see how it unpacks the beauty of and significance of the blessing. You can listen to it here:

Perhaps inspired by the Kari Jobs rendition, here is a fascinating version that expands our Christian faith and circle of Christian brothers and sisters to a whole new level. Faithful followers of Christ are everywhere! The church that is responsible for it, the Church of Aotearoa/New Zealand say they were inspired by the many other virtual choir videos that have gone before them, so they decided to add their voices to the “voice” of the global Church to sing God’s words of His blessing over their nation and all people everywhere. It begins with this invitation to embrace the message of the song based on this Numbers passage. It will inspire you!
From heaven to earth
From earth to heaven
Binding us in wellness
Binding us in peace
Binding us in faith

We are blessed indeed!

Aotearoa - Māori is the name for New Zealand, literally translated “land of the long white cloud”