Finding the Triune God in the Aaronic Benediction

By Kimberly Fetz

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.

(Numbers 6:24–27)

As Christians, particularly Lutheran Christians, we accept and fervently believe that our God is a triune God and that this is described in Holy Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. We always cite Genesis 1:26 (“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’”) and other passages, but until asked to describe how the Aaronic benediction is a testimony to our triune God, I would not have used it as a proof text. I always thought that the tri-repetition of the LORD’s name was to emphasize precisely who was blessing them. After all, the Israelites were moving into a pluralistic, syncretistic, pagan society. They would be tempted and often sin against God by worshipping other gods, believing the gods of the peoples around them were responsible for blessings. The repetition of God’s name certainly does emphasize who is responsible for the blessings given the Israelites and us. But there is more.

Each repetition of the LORD’s name comes with a specific blessing, and as we learn from Luther’s explanation of the Apostle’s Creed, each person of the Trinity is to be praised and honored for His unique work. I think it is possible to argue that the Aaronic blessing can be a proof text for the Trinity, not because of the tri-repetition of the LORD’s name, but because God reveals Himself as one God who blesses us out of His trinitarian nature.

The LORD bless you and keep you. (Numbers 6:24) I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them...He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

God, our heavenly Father, gives us all we need for this earthly life. He blesses us with life in our mother’s womb, and then sustains that life, filled with blessings, by His gracious hand that “sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). God the Father blesses and keeps us.

The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. (Numbers 6:25) And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ...is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom.

In this confession we see how God’s face is turned toward us and shines upon us. It’s not because we are worthy of such a profound blessing on our own; because of sin we deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment; we deserve to have His face turned away from us. God the Son’s sacrifice, His perfect life, innocent suffering and death, and His glorious resurrection won for us God’s blessing and favor. We are given this precious treasure in our Baptism. Because God sees us through the blood of Christ, He turns His face toward us and is completely gracious to us because we have become His dear children.

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:26) I believe in the Holy Spirit.

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith . . . In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

When the Holy Spirit enlightens us by the Gospel, He is effectively lifting up God’s countenance—His face—upon us. The Gospel is where we see our Lord and Savior Christ; in Him we see the face of the unseen God (John 1:14, 18). God gave us Christ so that we could see our God and His love for us. Jesus’ own words testify to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As for the peace, we have all peace with and through Jesus.We have peace with God because we are reconciled through Jesus’ suffering and death (Romans 5:1, 10).We are given the peace that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7) in our daily lives because we know who holds our future and ultimately what that future is.The Holy Spirit indeed lifts up His countenance upon us and gives us peace.

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them. (Numbers 6:27)

I never imagined that there would be such clear proof of our triune God in the Aaronic benediction. After reflecting on what blessings are given, I see how God tried to prepare His people of old for the coming of their Messiah. Through Christ, we see how this benediction is completely fulfilled and given to us in the Church today. When I hear the Aaronic benediction at the end of the Divine Service, I remember how each person of the Trinity showers heavenly blessings upon me. I hear how God once again places His name on me to bless me, just as He first did through Holy Baptism.

Kimberly Fetz is a deaconess intern serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she enjoys teaching fifth and sixth grade Bible History among other things. Her e-mail is fetzka@ctsfw.edu.

Excerpts from creed taken from Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House.

The Landauer Altarpiece (1511) by Albrecht Dürer