[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 民數記 Numbers 5-6]
22 耶和華吩咐摩西說： 23 「你要吩咐亞倫和他兒子說：你們要這樣為以色列人祝福，對他們說：24 『願耶和華賜福給你，保護你。25 願耶和華使他的臉光照你，賜恩給你。
民數記 Numbers 6:22-27
26 願耶和華向你仰臉，賜你平安。』27 「他們要如此奉我的名為以色列人祝福；我也要賜福給他們。」
22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,24 The Lord bless you and keep you;25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
祭司不只是為以色列人向神獻祭； 他們還代表上帝在獻祭後為以色列人祝福（berakh）。 的確，神是賜福的神。 上帝創造天地之後，聖經說上帝賜福給 (berakh) 萬物，上帝直接對人類說的第一句話是：“生養眾多……並管理 [世界]。 “ （創世記 1:28）
[Berakh] 是關於上帝在我們生活中緩慢而穩定的手。 這是灑在我們中間的日常美好。 ……祝福（berakh）某人就是承認他們的善良和力量……當上帝祝福一個人時，上帝和這個人處於密切的關係中，這個人最終得到有價值的東西 .
每個基督徒都應該知道的 70 個希伯來語單詞 , Matthew Richard Schlimm
內森·奧蘇貝爾 (Nathan Ausubel) 在其著作猶太知識之書描述祝福(berakh)的重要性：”從舊約時代到今天，祝福一直是送給猶太兒童的重要禮物。 事實上，這一直是父母對孩子的責任。”
因此，隨著猶太兒童的成長，被他們父母的 祝福(berakh) 包圍著。
今天，許多孩子，包括基督徒孩子，都失去了父母的祝福(berakh)。 難怪他們被世界擄去了。 父母，尤其是父親，是家中的祭司。 願我們起來以祭司的祝福祝福我們的孩子，使我們的孩子能得到上帝的保護、恩典與平安！
禱告：親愛的天父，願祢的祝福(berakh) 每天都在我們身上。 幫助我們做父母的，祝福(berakh) 我們的孩子，好讓他們得到您的保護、恩典與平安！ 奉耶穌的名，阿們。
Priests do not just perform sacrifices to God for the people of Israel; they also act on behalf of God to bless (berakh) the people of Israel after the offering of sacrifices. Indeed, God is a God of blessing. After God created the heavens and the earth, the Bible states that God blessed (berakh) them, and the very first words spoken directly to human beings from God were: “Be fruitful and multiply…and have dominion [over creation].” (Gen. 1:28)
[Berakh] is about the slow and steady hand of God in our lives. It’s the everyday goodness sprinkled among us. … To bless (berakh) someone is to acknowledge goodness and power in them…[W]hen God blesses a person, God and the person are in a close relationship, and the person ends up with valuable things as a result.
70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know by Matthew Richard Schlimm
Nathan Ausubel, in his book The Book of Jewish Knowledge, describes the importance of blessing: “From Old Testament times to today, the blessing has been an important gift offered to Jewish children. In fact, it has been a duty of parents to their children.”
Therefore, as Jewish children grow up, they are surrounded by berakh from their parents.
Today, many children, including Christian children, have been missing berkah from their parents. No wonder they are taken captive by the world. Parents, particularly fathers, are the priests in the home. May we rise up to bless our children with a priestly blessing, so that our children can have God’s protection, grace and peace!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, may Your berakh be upon us everyday. Help us as parents to berakh our children so they can be under Your protection, grace, and peace! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
