NIV Devotions for Men - Week of October 22

Bless the Blesser

Verse: Numbers 6:22-27

Recommended Reading

Psalms 80; Ephesians 1:3-14; 1 John 1:5-7

Do you ever wonder what motivates people?

Not so much what moves someone to do something goofy, like wearing plaid knickers on the golf course or pouring ketchup on an otherwise perfectly good plate of scrambled eggs. Instead, you wonder what motivates a guy to bring coffee to a harried coworker during a normal workday or to take the kids out for dinner so his wife can enjoy an uninterrupted bubble bath. What causes someone to take an action that remains forever unknown to all but a few?

What motivated the person who carefully and skillfully etched the priestly blessing that would later be identified as Numbers 6:24–26 onto two small silver scrolls, each barely an inch long?

“The Lord bless you and keep you …”

Did this anonymous silversmith realize that he was recording the very words of Almighty God?

“The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you …”

Did he know that his work would survive thousands and thousands of years, until rediscovered one day in a burial cave in modern Jerusalem?

“The Lord turn his face toward you …”

Did this artisan know that what he inscribed on finger-sized scraps of silver would, in the 21st century, become the oldest known record of any written Scripture text?

“… and give you peace.”

And did he know that, as you read these words, you would need God’s blessing to provide heavenly light and grace and peace in your life this very day?

Do you ever wonder what motivates people?

To Take Away

• What incites you to take small actions that benefit other people but seem to offer no reward for you?

• How have others shown kindness to you recently?

• In what specific ways has God blessed you, kept you and turned his face toward you during the past year? How can you pass on the blessing?

This devotion is from the NIV New Men's Devotional Bible by Zondervan. Used with permission.