Day 25: The Blessing by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes

What Scriptures is The Blessing Referencing?

The Blessing came out a few years ago from Elevation Worship to instant success with millions of views on YouTube over the first 2 days[currently 75 million views at the writing of this article]. The beauty of this song is in its simplicity and use of scripture. The chorus comes from Numbers 6:24-26

“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.”

You likely recognize this as a common benediction in many church services. It was originally a blessing that God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to give the people of Israel. Likewise, the bridge is inspired by another encouragement in scripture, Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

A generational blessing that we often talk about in church when praying for your children and your childrens' children is important to declare. He will keep His covenant of love beyond the scope of your life. The bridge is reminiscent of Psalm 139:7-12

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Whenever I sing that part, I remember a summer when I was a counsellor at a christian summer camp where this passage was the theme for the summer. We talked about the Holy Spirit a lot that summer and the omnipresence of God. No matter what we are going through, He is right there with you, so close to you because He was already there before you even arrived.

Also, "amen" which is repeated in the tags of the song many times means "I agree. Let it be true." So, by singing amen repetitively we are agreeing together with the Lord in our midst that this blessing is true.

Lyrics

[Chorus]

The Lord bless you and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace
The Lord bless you and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace

[Tag 1]
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

[Tag 2]
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen

[Bridge 1]
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children

[Bridge 2]
May His presence go before you
And behind you and beside you
All around you and within you
He is with you, He is with you

[Bridge 3]

In the morning, in the evening
In your coming and your going
In your weeping and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is, He is

Abundant Life Fellowship Version

Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes Version

Final Thoughts

I have started writing a bit of a treatise on worship for Day 30 of this writing about worship challenge that I am currently in. I'm excited to share it with you when it is finished and I will link it here when it is. The reason I bring that up is this song is a great example of what I'm writing about in that post. There are many who would be against this song because it is loud, emotional, repetitive, and commercialized. The production and marketing of this song by Elevation Worship has been massive. However, if we look at the Psalms, we can see that God uses all these things to great affect in worship. So be careful what you read on the internet that puts things down with a critical eye. Have a bucket full of Grace. Thanks for reading my thoughts on this song. May the Lord Bless you and Keep you and Make His Face to Shine on you and Give you Peace! [capitalizations for the things that God does]

Comments

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