“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).
In certain cultures blessing one another is not normal. You get a sense of that with their naming. For example, certain names are actualy given like to spell an omen on someone. When examined there are multiple names here in Africa and in Uganda in particular which literally spell a curse on someone or even pronounce death. You may ask around!
The opposite though was found among the Hebrews. Aware of the power of the tongue we find an emphasis to pronounce blessing not just with names but also events. A case in point is just before she was released for marriage to a far away bachelor, Isaac, the household of Betheul and Laban, “blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies” (Gen 24:60). Rebekah had already received expensive gifts to accompany her, but here was the most important of all. A salutation of blessing was given just before she embarked on a new life journey.
The Apostle Paul often ended his letters in which he had certain admonitions to the church with a note of blessing, as with the church at Corinth, “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” ( 2 Cor 13: 12-14). To the Phillipians he ends his letter with, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” ( Phillipians 4: 19).
As God’s people we should adopt the Hebrew culture of sending off people with a word of blessing. Like Apostle Paul we should be in the habit of closing off any important message with a pronouncement of blessings.
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray for your blessings upon my life and to pass on peace and blessings to those you bring into my life, this I pray in Jesus’s name.
