Make Di Lord Bless You and Keep You

One papa or mama bend over one small pikin wey dey sleep for night, come whisper few quiet words. Di same words, people don whisper dem, sing dem and pray dem for more than three thousand years. And na God imself start dem.

Di people of Israel still dey camp for di wilderness of Sinai. Na big camp. Moses don count di men wey fit fight for every tribe, and di tribes arrange round di tabernacle like one big square, three tribes for each side, with God tent for di middle. Soon dem go pack load comot go di promised land, cross one hard desert wey full of danger. Dem go need food, water, protection and courage. Pass everything, dem go need God. And before dem comot, God give Moses something for Aaron and im sons, di priests. Dis time no be law. Na blessing.

Di Lord tell Moses: talk to Aaron and im sons, na so una go take bless di people of Israel. Tell dem say. And then three short lines follow, each one long small pass di one before am, like song wey dey grow. Di first line. Make Di Lord bless you, and keep you. To bless person na to do am good, to give am wetin e need to grow well. To keep na to guard, di way shepherd dey watch im sheep through di night. Think of di desert wey dey front. Snake, enemy, thirst, wrong road. Dis line dey talk say: God imself go be your guard.

Di second line. Make Di Lord make im face shine on you, and show you grace. When person wey love you see you, im face go bright. Na dat picture be dis. God no dey frown for im people from far. E turn face to dem and im face dey shine with warmth. And e get grace, wey mean say e dey kind to people wey never deserve am. Dis na people wey don complain, wey don doubt, wey even worship golden calf. Yet God tell di priests make dem talk: im face dey shine on you.

Di third line. Make Di Lord lift up im face on you, and give you peace. To lift your face towards person na to give am your full attention, to look am with favour. And then di last word for di whole blessing: peace. For Hebrew, dem dey call am shalom. E mean pass say everywhere quiet. E mean say everything complete, everything dey as e suppose dey, between you and God, between you and other people, and inside you. Then God add one wonderful thing. Na so, e talk, dem go put my name on di people of Israel, and I go bless dem. Na di priests go talk di words. But di blessing na from God e dey come. Picture Aaron for di tent door, as e lift im hands over di crowd, and thousands of families, old and young, strong and tired, dey hear di name of Di Lord as dem call am over dem, like roof over house.

For nineteen seventy-nine, archaeologists wey dey dig old burial caves for Ketef Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem wall, find two small small scrolls wey dem make with silver, wey dem roll up. Probably people dey wear dem round dia neck. When dem finally open dem and read dem, dem see one version of dis same blessing inside. Dem date reach around di sixth or seventh century before Christ, and dem be di oldest objects wey we know wey carry words wey dey inside di Bible.

Make Di Lord bless you and keep you. You go find dis blessing for Numbers chapter six, verse twenty-two reach twenty-seven. Three lines wey God give inside one desert camp, wey people still dey talk over small babies, over brides and over children wey dey sleep for all di world. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Who you fit talk blessing over dis week?