“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;” (ESV)

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;” (NIV)

When was the last time you said “God bless you” to someone? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was after an “...aaahh…chooo.”

In doing some research, I learned that this practice is not a biblical command…at least not in the context of a sneeze. Some traditions say it originates from superstition and others say it comes from a time of a deadly plague in 590 AD Rome, where people thought a sneeze meant they “got it.” 

Although Moses was certainly familiar with deadly plagues and I’m sure many Israelites were sneezing in the dusty, sunny desert, “God bless you” was not used in the same casual way it is in our culture today. Rather, this week’s verse is known as the Priestly Blessing. 

There are many prayers of blessings and benedictions throughout Scripture, but this one has always carried extra weight for me and its context gives us a clue as to why: 

We find out that this famous blessing is not man-made at all. These sacred words were given to Moses directly by God to be spoken over His people by His priests. And immediately after, God says, “They will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

That is what gives these words so much weight. It’s not merely a wishful prayer or the hope that God might be good to them. 

It is God placing His name upon His people and declaring what is true of those who belong to Him. He will bless, He will keep, He will draw near, He will show grace, and He will give peace.

The priests were not “inventing” or even merely asking for a blessing. They were speaking God’s own words over the people He had chosen and claimed as His own.

And through Christ, we too have been made God’s people. “A royal priesthood” in fact and “a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). The God who placed His name upon Israel has also claimed us as His own, and we too get to receive the same blessing.

May we never reserve these words only for a casual response to a head cold. But, next time we hear a sneeze, may we be reminded that “God bless you” is meant to carry far more weight than just a reflex.

Written by Blake Stanley

Listen to The Blessing