The Lord Bless You and Keep You:
The Promise of the Gospel
in the Aaronic Blessing
DETAILS:
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: September 19, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 174 pg.
Read Date: December 3-17, 2023
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
What’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You About?
This book is a reflection on, study of, and application of the Aaronic benediction (above), “possibly the most frequently heard passage of Scripture in Christian worship”.
Luther called the Psalms “a little Bible” since each psalm sets out in brief form all that is taught in the rest of Scripture. I am suggesting the same observation is true of the Aaronic blessing. By exploring the blessing’s background, central elements, spiritual meaning in Israel, and realization in Christ, we will grasp the comprehensive nature of the theme of God’s face and be enabled to stand more fully in its light. We will see that God made us with faces so that his could shine on ours and that the Aaronic blessing could be to us not only a “little Bible,” but a “little gospel.”
The book is essentially broken into two sections—the first three chapters examined the context of the Aaronic blessing’s introduction, the content of the blessing itself, and then looked at it in the light of the New Testament. The second section is more practical—the consequences of the blessing both for ourselves and the way we treat others, and the pastoral use of the blessing.
A Question of Timing
I would’ve appreciated a version of this book written in 2019. Too often, Glodo, sounded to me like he was trying to re-fight the battle over masks from 2020-2021 with a theological veneer in the latter chapters (and the introduction). A version of those chapters without reference to that would’ve been more helpful—and less potentially off-putting—and might have prepared the reader to come to their own informed conclusions on that issue if a similar pandemic occurs again.
Maybe I’d have been happier if he took a firm pro-/con- mask position, because the mentions of the practice with just a negative tone (or so I took it), was unsatisfactory. (if only because it was so vague it’s hard to interact with)
So, what did I think about The Lord Bless You and Keep You?
I was very excited to hear that someone was giving us an entire book on the Aaronic benediction—and overall, I was pleased with what we got. Personally—I wanted chapters 1-2 to be longer, more detailed and a little more developed, especially 2. I think three could’ve probably used the same treatment, but I didn’t write that in my notes (unlike with the other two). The chapters on the consequences of the blessing were fine. I also anticipated that the book would’ve featured a lot more of what the chapter on pastoral use and application gave us—and would’ve liked more of that.
That said, I’m not complaining that Glodo didn’t write the book I wanted/expected—but it would’ve been nice. (I’m not sure we needed the appendix, but, eh—it’s an appendix, so…who cares?)
I really do think that this is a good contribution and will be helpful to readers. I do recommend reading this—particularly the first half.
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