One of my earliest memories from the church is the pastor standing in front of the congregation in his black preaching robe, billowing sleeves swaying beneath his extended arms, reciting the benediction from Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Num. 6:24). To this day, these words bring me comfort whether I find them in Numbers or reinterpreted in Psalm 67.

The passage in Numbers marks Israel as God’s chosen people, and Psalm 67 edits the language to argue that Israel’s purpose extends beyond election. Building upon the Abrahamic covenant (see Genesis 12:1-3), the psalmist invites Israel to see that they have been blessed in order to share God with the nations.

The God who blesses Israel is the source of all order and meaning, judging and guiding the people of earth. This divine, righteous order was central to the Mesopotamian worldview. It was one of the reasons that many regarded the sun-god Šamaš as the guardian of life. The psalmist claims this role for Yahweh, who shines God’s divine face upon the beloved.

It is this God of divine order, of the sun, that blesses Israel. And to be blessed by Yahweh is to be made holy. So, when we know God, we too glow—perhaps not literally but in truth. And the radiance that comes with God’s blessing cannot be contained or controlled. Like a lamp at night, we begin to stand out in a way that others notice. And, as Psalm 67 tells us, no one lies beyond the invitation of this light—not even the “nations” or those who are perceived as idolatrous, dangerous, and perverted.