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

What does "Deep Cries Out to Deep” mean?

There is a new song that the Worship Team at Abundant Life Fellowship has been working on. As you learn this song and give Him praise through it, our prayer is that you let go of your deep and let it call out to the Deep in God. Here is some background to the biblical roots of the song with a link to the music video done by Bethel Church at the bottom. Background for the Background: In Numbers 16 the Bible records an event in the life of a man named Korah. He was of the tribe of Levi and therefore set apart to be a member of the priesthood in Israel. He rebuked Moses, saying: " You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly? " -Numbers 16:3 He resented Moses' and Aaron's authority, and felt that he and his supporters could lead the Israelites more effectively. Later in the chapter, the earth opens underneath him and swallows him along with the others

The Fruits of the Spirit Series

Simple Translation into English: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. - Galatians 9:22-25 In the original Greek: But the fruit of the Spirit is agape , chara , eirene , makrothymia , chrestotes, agathosyne, pistis, praotes, and egkrateia . Against such things there is no law. The fruit of the spirit are commonly referenced in sermons, conversation, and even children's songs. I will be blogging a series which contains an in-depth study of each word in the original Greek with my commentary on its meaning. In the original language of the Biblical writers there is a connotation for each word that can be lost with a simple translation. Therefore, since these are extr

ereine = peace

Peace is a gift from God: Peace being a fruit of the spirit is interesting because the word can be used as a political term referring to entire countries or as a very personal word referring to an inner state of being. I think that it is obvious that as a fruit of the Spirit the Bible is using this second meaning of the word peace and throughout the New Testament we can see that peace does not mean safety. Peace does not mean that there aren't people deliberately trying to destroy you. Many, if not all, of the writers of the New Testament were being persecuted for their beliefs and the early church was not at peace in the sense of the opposite of being at war. However, it shows God's Spirit dwelling inside of you when you have inner peace in the middle of this type of persecution. When you lose your job the fruit of the Spirit is still peace. When loved ones die the fruit of the Spirit is still peace. When people hate you and slander you saying all sorts of lies about

All verses with chara in the New Testament

The Gospel usage of the word chara: Click to go back to the word study on chara. Mat 2:10 KJV - When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great chara . Mat 13:20 KJV - But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with chara receiveth it; Mat 13:44 KJV - Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found , he hideth , and for chara thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath , and buyeth that field. Mat 25:21 KJV - His lord said unto him, Well done, [thou] good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the chara of thy lord. Mat 25:23 KJV - His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the chara of thy lord. Mat

One Thing Remains by Jesus Culture

Why study what we sing? When I worship through music, it is very helpful to me to look into how the Bible lines up to what I'm singing. This knowledge makes a superficial singing of the words much more difficult for me, and I hope that sharing this will help you to focus better on what you are singing and who you are singing to. The newest song that we’ve sung as a congregation is “One Thing Remains,” by Jesus Culture: The lyrics to the song: Verse 1 Higher than the mountains that I face, Stronger than the power of the grave, Constant in the trial and the change, One thing remains. Chorus Your love never fails Never gives up It never runs out on me! Your love! Verse 2 On and on and on and on it goes. It overwhelms and satisfies my soul. And I never ever have to be afraid: One thing remains. BRIDGE In death. in life I’m confident and Covered by the power of Your great love. My debt is paid there’s nothing that Can separate my heart from Your great

Prophecies of Jesus fulfilled Part 1 [Genesis]

Well here is an ambitious project. There are hundreds of prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament which are fulfilled in the New Testament. My aim is to catalog them all and show where they are fulfilled. In this first installment, I will concentrate only on the Prophecies about Jesus contained in the book of Genesis. My hope is that this will also be a helpful reference for others when it is finished. The prophecies are in bold followed by an outline of what the prophecy says [sometimes multiple ideas in a single verse] then the references to where it is fulfilled int he New Testament. I have left out commentary on these passages for now and am letting the Scripture speak for itself. [All Scripture references are from the NASB translation.] -Genesis 3:15- "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." He will be the seed of a woman [virgin birth].

Rich Men North of Richmond: A Christian's Perspective

Millions of people in just a few days have been listening to Oliver Anthony (Christopher Lunsford) sing passionately about the plight of blue collar America. After coming out with his viral song "Rich Men North of Richmond," followed up by a plethora of reaction videos, providing more songs and comments himself, the news channels weighing in, the media influencers seizing the moment to get a few more clicks and ad revenue, even the politicians themselves having commented on how much they agree (it of course being the other side of the political spectrum that is being sung about...) I am left to ponder. What is the Biblical View of Rich Men North of Richmond? Here are the lyrics: I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away. Pre-Chorus: It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to / For people like me and people like you / Wish I could

Ecclesiastes Part 2 The Meaning of Life

Ecclesiastes 2 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) The Meaning of Life: Part 2: When will you be happy? ____________________ Chapter 1:12-2:11 12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. 14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow. Chapter 2 1I said to myself, “Come now, I

Prophecies of Jesus fulfilled Part II [Exodus]

Click here to see Prophecies of Jesus fulfilled Part 1 [Genesis] Here is the second installment of prophecies in the Old Testament that have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Please let me know in the comments what you think. Do you like this kind of reference-series? Or would you rather have analysis and commentary? -Exodus 3:13-15- " Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘ The Lord , the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations." Jesus is The Great

Logos: The Reason for the Season

Heraclitus was a Greek philosopher in the 6th century B.C. He was the first man to use the term Logos. In his writing, he used it to show that there is a divine reason or plan that coordinates a changing universe. [http://www.iep.utm.edu/heraclit/] In the New Testament book of John, this word "logos" is translated into "word" however, there is a connotation that we lose in the english rendition where logos means " the reason behind the universe ." So, I'd like to share with you my rendition of John 1:1-18 in this Christmas season, where I'm replaced each instance of logos and references to Him and He [the personal pronouns referring to the Logos] with "" the reason behind the universe. " I hope it helps you contemplate the true reason for the season. John 1:1-18 1 In the beginning was the reason behind the universe , and the reason behind the universe was with God , and the reason behind the universe was God

Bucket Full of Grace

Search This Blog