The 6^th Sunday after Epiphany

February 14, 1999

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WELCOME in the name of our Savior God Who by grace loves to bless His believing children!

Pre-Service Prayer:

O Lord, You are the Source of every good gift and of all physical and spiritual blessings. Grant that we in deeep humility might recognize and rejoice in that fact. Move us to receive with thanksgiving all that You give us and lead us always to use Your gifts to Your glory. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 32:24-32

When Jacob returned with his family from Haran, he feared the reaction of his brother Esau. When it was reported that Esau was coming to meet Jacob with four hundred men, Jacob feared the worst. The night before Esau arrived, God appeared to and wrestled with Jacob. Jacob, realizing that he was entirely dependent upon God, refused to let God go until God blessed him. God indeed did bless Jacob and also gave him a new name, Israel, which means "Prince with God!"

Epistle Reading: Mark 10:13-16

Our God not only will bless us, but He wants to bless us. No one is too young, or for that matter, too old to receive God’s blessing as the account of Jesus blessing the little children illustrates. May we all with childlike faith look to our Savior for His blessing.

SERMON

In Nomine Jesu!

Text: Numbers 6:22-27

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."’ "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

In Christ Jesus, for Whose sake we are richly blessed by our heavenly Father, dear fellow redeemed:

Why did you come to church today? Did you come because it was expected of you? Did you come because you were forced to come? While this may be true for a few of us, I trust that it is not the case for the vase majority of us. I would imagine that most of us would say something like, "I came to church today to hear God’s Word." If we expand on that thought just a bit, we come to the topic concerning which I wish to address you today. We come to church to be blessed by our Savior God--to be blessed through His Word and by His presence. In this our final service devoted to explaining the liturgy, we will focus on the last portion of our liturgy entitled, "OUR LORD BLESSES US!" It comprises a very brief section at the end of our worship service, consisting generally of the benediction and a final hymn.

The benediction which we use in each Sunday morning service is called the Aaronitic Benediction, for it was given by God to Aaron and his sons to use in the Old Testament worship service. It is, therefore, the oldest part of our liturgy. As you consider the benediction as it was read in our text, you will notice that repeated emphasis is placed on the Person doing the bless-ing. Our eyes are directed upward to the LORD as the source of our blessings! The name "LORD" emphasizes the fact that God is gracious--He is the God of promise. The fact that His name is mentioned three times in this blessing emphasizes His graciousness, and is no doubt a reference to the three members of the Trinity. Emphasis, however, is also placed on the one receiving the blessing, for the pronoun "you" is found six times in the blessing. God blesses each and every one of us individually. Let us, therefore, consider the truth OUR LORD BLESSES US! He does so by grace, and He does so personally!

I.

The various names of God mean different things. The name "God", for instance, speaks of God’s power. Consequently, when the Bible speaks of the creation of the world in Genesis 1, the name used for the Creator is "God." "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). The name "LORD" (all in capital letters) identifies God as One who has intense interest in and concern for human beings as individuals. It is only natural, then, that when the Bible speaks of the creation of man in Genesis 2, the name used for God is "LORD God." Later when mankind falls in sin, the name "LORD" is associated with God’s promises to forgive and to send a Savior! When you see the name "LORD," therefore, you want to think of passages like John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life," and Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." At the close of this service when I pronounce the benediction, "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace," you want to think of God’s grace and love for you in Christ Jesus--a love you and I did not and do not deserve, but which is extended to us by grace!

II.

Notice, however, in that benediction your place and mine. There is an emphasis on the recipient of the blessing. "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." When God created mankind perfect harmony existed between God and man. Man enjoyed a wonderful and close relationship with God. Sin, however, devastated mankind, stripping us of that perfect image of God into which we were created, separating us from God and placing us under His just judgment. We are by nature, as we confessed earlier in this service, "sinful and unclean." We have, as we confessed earlier, "sinned against (God) in thought, word, and deed." Yet, our LORD God wants us to know that we have been redeemed through the life and death of Jesus Christ. He has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. We have been the objects of His grace and are now individually and personally the recipients of His blessing! We come to church in order to receive that blessing. Our worship service is designed to remind us of God’s blessing. The benediction pronounced at the end of each service is intended to assure us of His continued blessing as we leave the worship service.

III.

Let us now turn to some application of these principles, first, in the life of Old Testament Israel, and, then, in our own lives. It is interesting to note the historical events which follow shortly after God gave the benediction to Aaron and his sons. The benediction was given while Israel was camped below Mount Sinai at the time of the giving of the Mosaic Law. Israel then left Mount Sinai for the promised land. Along the way, however, a "mixed multitude" (Num. 11:4), a group of Israelites and Egyptians who had left Egypt with the Israelites, began to complain. Their complaint was the food they had to eat. They remembered with fondness the food of Egypt, and now out in the desert their rations were limited. They were sick of the "manna" (Num. 11:6-8) God was providing. Even though manna was wonderful blessing from God, they did not appreciate that blessing anymore and they wanted something else--they wanted meat. We are told that Moses was "displeased" (Num. 11:10) by the ungratefulness of the people and, quite frankly, depressed by them. He turned to the LORD, and, we might say, unloaded on Him. He wasn’t sure he could handle the pressure anymore of leading such a people.

The LORD responded, first, by providing Moses with seventy men to help him deal with the people’s problems. Then the LORD announced to Moses that He would meet the desire of the people by providing them with meat--meat not just for one day, or two, or five, or ten, or even twenty days. He would provide meat for them for an entire month (Num. 11:19-20). Moses, at this point, demonstrated a lack of faith. He dismissed this proposed blessing as an impossibility. He questioned God in disbelief, "Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them?" (Num. 11:22) At that point, God responded with a pointed question, "Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?" (Num. 11:23)

What follows is a most interesting miracle with a quite sad ending. God caused a wind to come up. The wind blew in a huge flock of migrating quail over the campsite of the Israelites. The flock fell exhausted around the camp for a distance of many miles. We are told that the people went out and gathered them in for two days straight with each man gathering at least sixty bushels of birds. The fact that migrating quail fly over the Sinai Peninsula and fall exhausted to the ground is not unusual. It happens two times each year as the birds migrate north in spring and south in fall, but the fact that they came at just the time God stated, to just the place needed, and in such large quantities, certainly demonstrates the omnipotence and mercy of God. However, the people apparently never even thought to thank the LORD. They rushed to eat the meat they had received and God in His anger for their lack of appreciation "struck the people with a very great plague" (Num. 11:33).

My dear friends, we come to church each week to receive God’s blessing. He gives us that blessing by grace and personally each week through His Word and in His sacraments. He reminds us of His continued presence and blessing in our lives as we leave His sanctuary. What happens then? Do we not find that our lives are plagued by the same sins which plagued the Israelites? Do we not find so frequently that we fail to appreciate the blessings God gives us, and that our lives so often are spent compiling lists of things we still want? Do we not find that so frequently we are just like Moses, questioning God’s ability to provide us not just with what we need, but in ways that go far beyond our requests? Do we not find they we can be and often are ungrateful to Him, failing to thank Him for His blessings. Rather we simply consume them and go on!

Let us repent of our sins and weaknesses, asking God for and rejoicing in His gracious forgiveness. Forgiveness, after all, is the greatest of God’s blessings, for it results in the gift of life everlasting. Let us then strive to appreciate what the LORD has and is doing for us. St. Paul tells us that "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). Contentment is not found in the accumulation of material things, but rather in the thankful use and enjoyment of what God has given us. Let us strive to believe what Jesus tells us is true, that when we "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...all these things (referring to the physical necessities of life) shall be added to you" (Mt. 6:33). Let us remember to thank the LORD for His blessings. St. Paul urges us to "give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 5:20).

Dear friends, our LORD blesses us by grace and He blesses us personally. We do not deserve such blessings. Our confirmation students learn to confess in Luther’s explanation to the First Article that "God does all this (that is provides all of His blessings) because He is my good and gracious Father in heaven, not because of anything I have done to earn or deserve it. For all of which it is my duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true." This is most certainly true. That is why we come to church. The final portion of our liturgical service is intended to remind us of and to assure of us God’s continued blessing in our lives. To Him be praise forever. Amen.