Benediction

What a nice word! It comes from the Latin words, bene and dictio. The first means "well" and the second means "speaking." (You find that one in the English, "diction.") You'll find benedictions typically at the end of a public worship service where a short blessing is given -- a good word. Not enough of those these days, is there?

A most popular benediction is the Aaronic blessing. God told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons after him to bless Israel this way:

The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace. (Num 6:24-26)

We've largely lost the meaning of that term, "blessing." God's instructions for this blessing can help us regain some sense of it. We know it's a good thing, but I don't think we know how good. God told His people about "blessings" and "curses." They weren't vague ideas. He listed a variety of very real consequences if they failed to obey Him (and they got to experience them all), and in this text here we learn about the contrast. We think "blessed" means "happy," but it's so very much more. The text is Hebrew parallelism, where the blessing says the same thing over and over, just in different ways to give us a real sense of it. The benediction began with "The LORD bless you" and everything after that explains "bless you." It includes God keeping you. It includes God's face upon you. It includes God's grace. It includes God's peace. "Blessed" here means largely God's face shining on you. That seems odd to us, but it's huge. It refers to His glory, our highest aim and privilege. It refers to His attention, providing joy (Psa 4:6-7). It refers to Christ as "the light of the world" (John 8:12). And, in contrast, it speaks of the absolute terror of God's face being turned away. It was the only moment in which Jesus cried out on the cross (Matt 27:46). It bears the opposite connotations of blessing -- no longer kept, no more grace, no peace, no joy.

As you go about your day today, may the Lord bless you. By that I mean, may the Lord keep you. May the Lord show you His glory and favor. May He give you peace and joy. Is that "happiness"? Well, sure, but it is so very much more, too.