Numbers 6:22-27 – “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:  24 The LORD bless you, and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’  27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”  NASB

If we go back to Zechariah 2:8 – “…for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.”  Think about that! The apple of God’s eye.  If you get something in your eye, all activity stops until that problem has been dealt with.  Right?  You can scratch your arm, stub your toe, bruise a rib but if you get a speck in your eye the entire body shuts down until that is removed or dealt with.  Here God says, “He who touches you, touches the apple of My eye.”  Wow!  That means All of Heaven rallies together to protect us!

That is marvelous comfort.  The only problem is, we do not always believe it.  We do not always believe that we are Kept.  We live with too much doubt, unbelief, question, and even suspicion that God won’t do what He said for us.  Imagine a situation where All of Deity and All of Heaven rallies to our protection.  That’s the Covenant, the Blessing!  We are that special to God but too often we do not truly believe it.

This incredible concept is taught in the Bible in Psalms 23 and Psalms 27.  They are both based on the concept of keeping.  David wrote them at a traumatic time in his life.  It appeared just a matter of time before the net and noose would be around his neck and Saul would capture and destroy him.  It was there, in that horrific situation with the smell of death in the air that David wrote Psalms 23.  What a revelation and comfort.

He said, “The LORD is my shepherd.”  David had been a shepherd and he knew what it meant to be a shepherd and what it meant to the safety and care of the sheep.  The shepherd was “The Door” to the sheepfold and here he sees God as “His Keeper, His shepherd, and the Door of Protection for him.” 

In the midst of the pressure, trouble, and tribulation David sang this Psalm to God – “You are my shepherd.”  Because you are my shepherd I will not want, and it is impossible to lack or fear because You are my shepherd.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – You are there protecting and keeping me!  I have no justification, reason, or capacity to Fear because I am Kept by God!  He cries out, “LORD, in the middle of all this You are preparing a banquet table for me.  Here in the midst of my enemies, with them looking on, you are giving me a heavenly banquet!”  Hallelujah! 

Then we come to the last verse which is super powerful.  He said, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”  Catch each word and examine them, please.  The word “surely” would possibly be better rendered “only”.  I suggest that because “only” means, “I know what I see and hear, but when all the facts are in there is ONLY goodness and mercy following me.  I don’t see the enemy, I see YOU!”

Goodness is at work and Mercy is being bestowed – They are following me!  The word follow, could possibly be better understood as a “relentless pursuing.”  It is not just tagging along behind it is actively pursuing.  It is the determination that says, “I’m going to get you!”  Make it so, LORD, make it so and GET ME!

David is declaring, “I am being relentlessly pursued by God’s Goodness and Loving Kindness.”  When I came to that understanding of what David was saying I said, “Seriously?”  I thought, it sure doesn’t look like it.  I thought that is what Saul was doing, “Relentlessly Pursuing Him.”  But that’s what David saw.  That’s what we need to understand, “God is relentlessly pursuing us to Bless us, Protect us, and Keep us.”  David was declaring, “There is someone closer to me than Saul.  There is someone between me and Saul – IT IS GOD!” 

It was at the end of the encounter that David wrote Psalm 27 and it is a Psalm of Triumph in the midst of adversity.  He shouted, “God is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear?”  He wrote it in a time of mental darkness, danger, and emotional paralysis.  He was essentially saying, “This trouble is great, but the LORD is my Light.”  It looked as if capture was imminent, but he says, “NO!  The LORD is my salvation and deliverance.  The LORD is the defense of my life, I cannot Fear or Dread because God is with me, keeping me.  Even though there is a host encamped against me, my heart will not Fear!”

David looked at the circumstances, but he didn’t look at them, he looked beyond them.  He knew that God was his “Keeper.”  He knew he was a Covenant man and he could fully rest in The Blessing of Covenant.  Thus, “The LORD bless you and keep you.”  He was Kept and we are Kept!

I want to take this up again, but we will pause here and pray that the LORD will be with you and encourage you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him! 

Have a Great Day!