6.5.25 ~ The Blessing Over You

Good morning!

On this 5th day of counting towards the first fruit of the wine, I want to motivate you to intimacy within your relationship to the True Vine (Jn. 15), by looking deeper into the Aaronic Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26).

“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. (Num. 6:24-26)

At first glance the terms seem pretty ambiguous at best (bless, keep, gracious, countenance, and peace). However, if we take a Hebraic perspective of the terms the prayer of blessing comes to life.

Over the years we've learned how special the Hebrew language is; each of the 22 main letters is significant. Each letter is not only a letter (often times built with other letters), but has a numeric value, a pictographic meaning, and combined into words, at the root level are all verbs; action words. It's the most dynamic language in the world!

This blessing, ironically, comes at the end of instructional laws for husbands and wives and individuals who have taken a Nazarite Vow; a vow of separation towards God’s ways! More on this on Friday night's zoom call. 

Within this blessing that Aaron speaks over the people of God, we see how the Lord will approach us from three different perspectives: blessing, from above; face shining, face to face; lift His countenance, from beneath.

The Hebrew word for bless/barakh. In its regular form, it means to kneel down. Here in this blessing it takes on a different form that carries a stronger meaning to show respect. Unfortunately, respect, which we dealt with a couple weeks ago, is another one of those ambiguous terms. If we take other words with the same ‘root’ we can get a more accurate meaning. The word for ‘knee’ for instance, is berekh. The word for a gift or present is berakhah. 

If we ask the Lord to bless/barak someone we are asking Him to take from His storehouse of gifts and humbly offer it to someone out of respect for who they are and what they are becoming. This action from the Greater covenant partner (Suzerain) to the lesser covenant partner (Vassal) creates a reciprocating circle of respect. Out of respect, He supplies our needs and we, out of respect accept His gift and honor Him for His gracious provision into our lives.

On top of blessing us, He also keeps/shamar us. What do you think of when you  hear the word ‘keep’? From a biblical viewpoint it’s incredibly practical!

The Hebrews were nomadic people raising livestock. It would not be uncommon for a shepherd to be out with his flock, away from the camp, over the night. In order to protect the flock, the shepherd would construct a corral of thorn bushes.

The Hebrew word for thorn is shamiyr, comes from the root word to keep, shamar.  So, when you see the word ‘keep’ you know that it means to guard and protect something of tremendous value! Just like a ‘Good Shepherd’ Who takes special protective care of His sheep!!!

When we think of a face/paniym, we think of a part of the body that expresses itself with many different moods, emotions and thoughts of the person. It also relates to a person's presence with you revealing the wholeness of the person. Yahweh’s face does the same thing. When He sees us, paniym to paniym, His face shines/lights up, or, as I like to say, 'gets giddy'. When we see His face shining with excitement to see us, it dispels the darkness of our lives and brings order out of chaos.

Have you ever looked forward to seeing someone? And when you saw them you couldn’t help but express through your face that overwhelming joy? I know that feeling when I see so many of the people I love. My mood, my day, my energy, my body chemistry changes and it's obvious when 'my face lights up'...I think you know what I'm talking about :-)

That’s what we are to Him. Aaron’s prayer is that we would know the incredible light of joy that shines from His face when we are in His presence. Oh my! This is too wonderful for words. Oh to know we are loved like this!!! Oh, that we would love one another like He loves us!

His face shining on us is directly connected to His graciousness/chanan. Most equate His grace with unmerited favor, but it’s much more than that. Chanan is a power source that God gives to us, through faith, that delivers us from one realm to another. It’s a parallel term associated with healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength and rescue. Literally, it’s God’s way of providing protection. It’s the means to get us out of one place and into the safety of His camp/hanah.

His countenance/paniym, is the same as His face. However, in this position His paniym is being lifted up/nasa upon you. It’s a picture of one who gets under you to lift up, to bear, to carry, to sustain, to help you endure. Isn’t that just like a great leader? Isn’t that just like our Great God?!! When I experience His countenance being lifted up upon me it grants/siym me shalom/peace and wholeness to my world.

When He grants His shalom, He literally ‘sets it down before us in a fixed and arranged place; like a special meal. It’s organized. It’s all in order. Nothing’s missing. Everything’s within reach…He’s so good! This peace isn’t any ordinary peace! It’s shalom. It’s a term of restoration! It’s a term that reflects coming out of a battle. It’s the reality of having restored what was lost through restitution. It’s a deficiency made whole.

When I’m in a battle or have lost something, it’s chaotic. Shalom, destroys the authority of chaos. It doesn’t remove the storm, it gives me peace and comfort within the storm! I need that shalom!

Now that we’ve defined these ambiguous terms of this blessing, what does this prayer read like now?

“The Lord, out of respect, will kneel before you presenting gifts from His storehouse to provide for your needs and will put a hedge of protection around you".
“The Lord will reveal the excitement He has for you by illuminating the wholeness of His being and bringing order, comfort, deliverance and sustenance in all we need".
“The Lord will lift up His wholeness of being, as a servant, and set in place all you need to be whole and complete in this world of chaos and confusion".

Now, can you read it again and personalize it where it's more than just a bible study :-)? Applied knowledge like this gives us the power to live a victorious, abiding relationship in the True Vine.

Shalom!
Alan

Last night's study at Grace Church FWB:


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