Sunday Scripture

 

Today I'm continuing a new Sunday Scripture series.  I'll be posting about my simple study of a little devotional journal titled Reflections: The Woman God Sees., by Jane L. Fryar.   This was a journal my dear young friends Sam and Jennifer gave me as part of a set for a gift one year.  It has a daily devotional one works through -- I think around a month's worth.  It was a blessing to me when I worked through it, so I thought I would share here.

For this week, the featured verse was Numbers 6:26 -- "The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."  The question was asked,  "When you imagine Jesus looking at you, do you feel unsettled?  Or do you feel a quiet peace?  Why do you think that might be?"  I chose to SOAP Numbers 6:24-26 as I considered this question.

S= "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee;
"The LORD make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee;
"The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."  (Numbers 6:24-26)

O= "This blessing, titled by Scofield "The Aaronic benediction", was spoken by God to Moses with this instruction: "Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, In this way ye shall bless the children of Israel ... " (verse 23)

A cross-reference for "bless" in verse 23 is 1 Chronicles 23:13 -- "Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name forever."

A cross-reference for "bless" in verse 24 is Deuteronomy 28:3-6 -- "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle; the increase of thy cows, and the flocks of thy sheep.  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading trough.  Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out."  

These blessings would be theirs if they "hearkened diligently to" and obeyed the voice of the LORD their God.

Cross-references for "keep" (v. 24) --

"He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail."  (1 Samuel 2:9)

"And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested."  (1 Chronicles 4:10)

Cross-references for "face" (verse 25) -- "Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; save me for Thy mercies' sake."  (Psalm 31:16)

"Restore us, O God of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." (Psalm 80:7)

Cross-reference for "lift up His countenance upon thee" (verse 26)-- "Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance."  (Psalm 89:15)

Cross-references for "peace" (verse 26) -- "If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and  do them ... I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land."  (Leviticus 26:3.6)

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."  (Isaiah 26:3)

A= Although these verses in Numbers were a blessing given to Israel, the thoughts are very true of God's care and favor for all of His children, as well. See here in the New Testament:

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
"Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work."  (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

When I imagine Jesus looking at me, I most often feel a quiet, settled peace.  There have been a few occasions over my Christian life when I was deeply concerned about something -- and as I prayed, I felt the sensation of a comforting hand upon my shoulder, and felt a settled assurance that all would be well.  This was incredibly comforting to me and immediately eased my mind.  It was deeply reassuring to be reminded that God knew all about my concerns, that He was right there with me, and that He was in complete control of the situation. 

 Life in our world seems terribly unsettled right now.  But God is here in it with us.  He is in complete control.  And all will be well!

P= "Lord, I am so thankful for the quiet peace You give.  Not only do I have peace with You through my relationship with Jesus, but I have peace in difficult, unsettled circumstances when I stay my mind on You and trust in You.  I thank and praise You so much for comforting my heart and giving me Your unshakable peace that surpasses all human understanding.  I thank You in Jesus' matchless name, Amen."

There is the Sunday Scripture for this week.  I hope it was a blessing!