What is a Benediction and Why do we do Them?

Have you ever wondered what a benediction is and why Christians do them at the end of their worship services? The word was introduced to the English language around 1432 and comes from the Latin word benedictio which means “to speak well of or to bless.” Therefore, a benediction is simply a blessing spoken over a person or a group of people.

The practice most likely derives from Number 6:22-27 which says this: “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 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.”

What strikes me most about this passage is that last phrase, “So they shall put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” What does it mean to say that God’s name is “put upon” his people?

The image that comes to my mind is of a branding iron. The iron reads “The LORD” (YHWH in Hebrew) and the mechanism by which the iron is applied is the raised hands and open mouths of God’s appointed leaders. In speaking a benediction over his people, God is putting a mark on them, so to speak, and the main function of that mark is to beckon the blessings of God: “…and I will bless them.”

Therefore, the reason we raise our hands and speak a blessing over God’s people at the end of every service is to mark them with the name of God and thereby beckon the blessings of God upon their lives.

May the Name of God Almighty be upon you,
Pastor Charlie