Prayer: Father, every day is a new day with You. Every day is an opportunity for a fresh start. Your mercies are new every day. This is the day which You have made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Amen.
Reading: Psalm 80 key: 4, 8 & 20
4 O God, restore us, make Your face shine,
and we will be saved.
8 Elohei-Tzva’ot, restore us, and make Your face shine,
and we will be saved.
20 Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, restore us.
Make Your face shine, and we will be saved.
Attention: Everyone loves to be blessed and one of the guidelines of Inductive Bible study is to watch for repetition. This psalm is a prime example of God leading the psalmist to repeat a phrase, “make Your face shine.” This phrase has to do with countenance, His countenance. His countenance changes our countenance.
Have you ever observed a cat who goes to the window and basks in the sunlight. Have you ever experienced living or vacationing in a sunny location. We seek the sun which demonstrates and represents His light. We even feel God’s favor when we experience the sun. I have heard people in the Northwest express after days of rain and gloomy weather, “what did we do wrong.” We see it as an expression of God’s judgement.
If you have attended a house of worship, you probably have heard the Aaronic prayer used as a benediction:
‘Adonai bless you and keep you!
Adonai make His face to shine on you
and be gracious to you!
Adonai turn His face toward you
and grant you shalom!
In this way they are to place My Name over Bnei-Yisrael, and so I will bless them” (Numbers 6: 24-27).
This blessing was established long before the psalmist penned today’s psalm. He had been taught the history and writings of Moses and from that training, he had developed a properly formed concept of who God is, a blesser of those who call on His name and follow Him.
Action: I choose the blessing of God today. As I go through the day today, which He has given me, I will acknowledge His blessing of His face shining on me.
Yield: My heart is yielded to God.
Engaged: I am engaged in embracing His blessings.
Relationship: I am in full relationship with God when I accept His blessing and bless others.
Prayer: Father, thank You for snatching me from sin’s embrace and saving me from eternal destruction. Thank You for making Your face to shine upon me. May I be a light which reflects Your light. Amen.
Memory Verse: Numbers 6:24-26
24 ‘Adonai bless you and keep you!
25 Adonai make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you!
26 Adonai turn His face toward you and grant you shalom!’
Music Video: Kari Jobe – The Blessing (ft. Cody Carnes) (Radio Version) (Lyric Video)
Remember, “Abide in Jesus, today!”