THE BLESSING of the LORD

The LORD Instruction to Moses

Speak to Aaron and his sons,

This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel.

The Way you shall bless the children of Israel

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

God is the source of all blessing

1 Chronicles 29:11-12 NKJV

1 Chronicles 29:11–12 NKJV

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

See also Psalm 89:11

At Creation He Blessed Humans with Fertility and Authority over the Earth

Genesis 1:28-30 NKJV

Genesis 1:28–30 NKJV

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

The Disobedience of Adam and Eve Caused God to remove His Blessing

Genesis 3:16-19 NKJV

Genesis 3:16–19 NKJV

16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

See also Genesis 6:5-7

The Blessings Promised to Abraham

The Blessings Included Descendants and Nationhood

Genesis 12:2-3 NKJV

The Blessings Included Land

Genesis 17:8 NKJV

The Blessings Promised to Israel

Blessings of Fruitfulness and Prosperity

Deuteronomy 7:13-14 NKJV

Deuteronomy 7:13–14 NKJV

13 And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock.

See also Ge 49:25; Le 26:10; Dt 15:4; 28:8; 28:12

Blessings of Good Health and Long Life

Exodus 23:25-26 NKJV

Exodus 23:25–26 NKJV

25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

See also Ex 23:22; Le 26:6-8; Dt 7:24; Ps 29:11

The Promise of Being Blessed by Future Restoration

Jeremiah 31:23 NKJV

Jeremiah 31:23 NKJV

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’

The Conditions of God’s Blessings

Fear of the Lord Bring Blessing

Jeremiah 32:40 NKJV

Jeremiah 32:40 NKJV

40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.

See also Dt 6:1-3; Dt 10:12-20; Ec 12:13; Is 50:10

Obedience to the Lord Brings Blessing

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 NKJV

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 NKJV

26 “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.

The Name of the LORD shall be put to the Children of Israel

This instruction given to Moses on the 1st day of the 2nd Month, in the 2nd Year after they had come out of the land of Egypt.(Nu 1:2). They have a long journey ahead of them which is the LORD Himself knows, even the very condition that they will be facing and their heart towards God’s instruction to them. God Himself knew from the very beginning that they will fall short of His instruction to them. But through this very assurance God has given to them, somehow will remind them of His goodness and faithfulness since from the day they saw His power and glory when they were brought out from the land of slavery.

The LORD bless you - Nu 6:24

The simple picture of what YHWH is doing through that first portion of this prayer is, He is kneeling before you as a good parent who would do anything for you His child, desiring to demonstrate His availability to you. As a child seeing your Daddy kneeling in front of you with His arms extended inviting you, you are moved to respond and humble yourself, and you fall to your knees so you can receive His invitation.

I also shared with you about the second portion of the prayer. Once you are kneeling down (humbled) facing YHWH, He now enfolds you in His arms with His divine embrace.

and keep you; - Nu 6:24

He embraces you in His arms that are likened to a “thorny hedge of protection.” Satan and his demons can never penetrate the security of the arms of YHWH. You are protected from all things. When your heavenly Father places His arms around you with His divine embrace, nothing can hurt you or separate you from Him.

In the third portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing, your heavenly Father now loosens His embrace. While still keeping His holy hands upon your shoulders, He pulls away so you can now see Him face-to-face.

The LORD make His face shine upon you, - Nu 6:25

the Shekinah glory cloud hid the actual face of YHWH from Moses’s view. In the Book of Exodus we read that Moses stopped going up onto Mount Sinai to meet with YHWH. Before the actual tabernacle was erected where YHWH would take up residence in the holy of holies in the form of the Shekinah glory, Moses fashioned a temporary dwelling place where he could meet with YHWH. (See Exodus 33:7–11.)

It was in that tent of meeting that YHWH came to dwell in the form of the Shekinah glory until the tabernacle in the wilderness was built. Remember that the Shekinah glory is not just a thing, but a person, the person of YHWH (our heavenly Father) Himself.

I can’t imagine what it felt like when Moses stood in the midst of the cloud of the Shekinah glory, which was the manifestation of the actual presence of the Father Himself. Moses could clearly hear YHWH’s voice and spoke to Him as a man speaks to another man. Moses saw inside the cloud the bright light—the glory light—but the cloud obscured the source of the light. Moses wanted to see beyond the glory cloud (vv. 18–20). Moses wanted to see the source of the light that was hidden by the cloud, which Moses referred to as the glory of G-D. But YHWH let Moses know that the glory light in the cloud was actually His very face (panim). It wasn’t possible for Moses to see the panim of G-D clearly without the surrounding cloud that hid the full view. Anyone who beheld His face in that day would surely die.

When YHWH (our heavenly Father) shines His face (panim) upon you, His order is imparted to you and your thoughts become His thoughts.

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things.—Philippians 4:8

When the face of G-D shines upon you, you won’t have to strive to place your mind in subjection to meditate on such thoughts. It’s not you having to try and take every thought captive to obtain the “Mind of Messiah.”

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of [YHWH], and take every thought captive to obey [Messiah].—2 Corinthians 10:4–5, esv

By default of being in such intimacy with our heavenly Father, you receive divine thinking that overpowers your own thoughts and human reasoning with His perfect and pure thoughts! An outpouring of His grace transfers to you through the illumination of His glory.

And be gracious to you; - Nu 6:25

What does it mean for G-D to be gracious to you when the face of YHWH (your heavenly Father) is shining upon you? The Hebrew word for gracious is chanan, which means “to show unmerited favor.” Other meanings are “to exhibit a yearning toward, demonstrate a longing for, be merciful to, exhibit compassion, be inclined toward, be considerate of, and demonstrate a desire to spare.” When we see how the Hebrew word for gracious is used in Scripture, we can better appreciate what our heavenly Father will demonstrate to us when we see Him face-to-face.

In this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing YHWH (your heavenly Father) reveals His perfect love to you as your Daddy with loving eyes and a beatific smile. He looks past your weaknesses and your frailties, pledging that He will never leave you and that He will provide you with His love and fellowship and friendship.

It is your heavenly Father saying to you, “You are My beloved son or daughter, in whom I am well pleased.” It is an impartation where you will know that you are never alone and He is for you and not against you. The Bible puts it this way:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of [YHWH], which is in [Messiah Yeshua] our Lord [Adonai].—Romans 8:38–39

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, - Nu 6:26

The Hebrew word nasa, which is translated in our English Bibles as the word lift, literally means “to lift, carry, or take.” When this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is pronounced over you in the name of Yeshua, our High Priest, your heavenly Father begins to lift you in His strong arms and carry you. When you are lifted up, nothing can harm you, but more importantly YHWH is imparting Himself to you, transferring everything He is and has for you as your loving Daddy.

YHWH lifted Israel through their journeys and through the proclamation of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing. You can apply this same scripture to your own life. He will lift you up in His strong loving arms to deliver you from your enemies, and He will give you divine protection from those who rise up against you! This alludes to those who may be close to you, in your own family, or your brethren, but who rise up against you to do you harm.

Here is another great scripture that talks about our heavenly Father lifting us up.

For in the time of trouble [YHWH] will hide me in His pavilion; in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me; He will set me up on a rock. Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies encircling me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.—Psalm 27:5–6

YHWH lifts His countenance upon you …

✦ This is your heavenly Father lifting you up with His divine strong arms and carrying you, continually looking down at you as He walks. He is your loving heavenly Father.

✦ He is also lifting up all of who He is toward you. He is putting all of Himself at your disposal. He is bringing everything that He is to your aid.

✦ He is supporting you with His entire being. Nothing is being withheld. You have the one true G-D of the universe on your side!

✦ He is lifting His gaze continually toward you. Even when you aren’t thinking about Him, He is near to you and is watching over you.

✦ Your heavenly Father is giving you His full attention moment by moment, each and every day.

YHWH Is a Perfect Father Supplying Your Basic Human Needs

Perfect love

Through words—Just as our natural parents can express their love to their children through the words of kindness, praise, and appreciation, so too YHWH has given us His Word made alive in us as He speaks it over us.

Through affection—YHWH also created us with a need to receive physical affection. Through this Priestly Prayer of the Blessing He makes Himself available to us to experientially sense His divine love and embrace!

Through meaningful time spent together—In the natural the father or mother who takes time to listen to, play with, or just be with their children communicates that their children are important, worth their time and attention. YHWH makes Himself available to us through His divine prayer as He carries us in His arms and imparts the fullness of Himself, His love, and His pleasure concerning us!

Security

Every child needs to know the world into which they were born is a safe place to live! They need to know that their parents are there to protect them from harm! YHWH provides the utmost in security to us, His children!

Significance and purpose

Every person needs to know that their life has a purpose and value. YHWH not only unveils to us His calling, His purpose, and His destiny for our lives while here on earth, but He also enables us to accomplish it.1

The promise of YHWH to us is …

I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.—2 Corinthians 6:18

And give you Nu 6:26

The Hebrew word for give is siym, which has other meanings: “to put, place, set, appoint, make … lay, put or lay upon, lay (violent) hands on … direct toward, to extend (compassion) … ordain, establish, found, appoint, constitute, make, determine, fix … station … plant … transform into … fashion, work, bring to pass … make for a sign.”

As we embark on this chapter about the word give, let’s begin by contemplating the many things that YHWH our heavenly Father gives us.

1. His breath of life

The Spirit of [G-D] has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.—Job 33:4

YHWH (your heavenly Father) is constantly breathing, inhaling, and exhaling, as we also do.

According to an article in the Daily Mail by Claire Bates, scientists have discovered that a couple’s breathing patterns and heart rates would sync after sitting close to each other. “They didn’t even have to hold hands or talk for this to happen.”

As we get closer to our heavenly Father, our breathing will become affected by His. When He exhales, we inhale to receive more of His very breath spiritually so we can be filled with more of His person, His holy character, and His power and authority.

Three days after Yeshua died on the cross on the day of Passover, on the Feast of Firstfruits, Yeshua (Jesus) appeared as the resurrected One before His disciples. He then imparted the nature of G-D through the Holy Spirit to them by breathing upon them.

So [Yeshua] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”—John 20:21–22

2. Wealth and prosperity

But you must remember the Lord your [G-D], for it is He who gives you the ability to get wealth, so that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today.—Deuteronomy 8:18

Yeshua clarified that it was the Father’s heart for us to walk in abundance!

The thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.—John 10:10

YHWH (our heavenly Father) gives us all we need to accomplish our God-given destiny and purpose!

Command those who are rich in this world that they not be conceited, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living [G-D], who richly gives us all things to enjoy.—1 Timothy 6:17

3. Rest and safety from your enemies

He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety—Deuteronomy 12:10

Yeshua tells us that we shouldn’t strive, but rather, enter into His light and easy yoke.

Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.—Matthew 11:29–30

4. Strength and power

O [G-D], You are awesome from Your sanctuaries; the [G-D] of Israel is He who gives strength and power to people. Blessed be [G-D]!—Psalm 68:35

5. Rain for harvest

They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our [G-D], who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”—Jeremiah 5:24

6. Wisdom, knowledge, and joy

For to a man who is pleasing before Him, [G-D] gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting to give him who is pleasing before [G-D]. Also this is vanity and chasing the wind.—Ecclesiastes 2:26

7. Unmerited favor

But He gives more grace. For this reason it says: “[G-D] resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”—James 4:6

But the greatest thing that your heavenly Father wants to give us is His peace. The Hebrew word is shalom, which means so much more than it does in English.

peace.”’ Nu 6:26

This final word in G-D’s divine prayer of the blessing is abstract in both English and Greek. We tend to think of the word peace as meaning “the absence of strife and war,” but it is so much more! The root word is shalam, which means “to make amends.”

One of the meanings of shalom is “to make restitution.” Its main meaning is also “to restore something and make it even better than its former or original state.”

When we have shalom, promises and blessings that were robbed from us by the enemy of our souls are restored when our heavenly Father imparts His restorative powers to us. He restores us to a right relationship with Him through the gift of forgiveness and justification. He is able to restore our earthly relationships. And He can even restore days and years that have been lost to the effects of sin. (See Joel 2:25.) That has to be greatest evidence of the extravagant nature of G-D’s mercy. Not only can He renew your life and redeem your future, but YHWH can also redeem your past.

The heavenly Father restores sight to the blind, the ability to walk to the crippled, hearing to the deaf, and new, clean skin to the diseased. (See Mark 8:22–26; Matthew 9:2–8; Mark 7:31–37; Luke 5:12–25.) G-D doesn’t just heal a condition; He restores life, security, and hope to the brokenhearted!

Shalom also includes the idea of “vigor and vitality” in all dimensions of life. In short, shalom speaks of holistic (“holy”) health for our souls and spirits.

The LORD Himself will Bless them

G-D Makes All Things New

When the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is pronounced over us, shalom causes us to be able to make up for lost time, bestows new identities, and creates new life! YHWH (our heavenly Father) promises good plans for His people, plans that include a hopeful future!

For I know the plans that I have for you, says [YHWH], plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

—Jeremiah 29:11

The ultimate peace (shalom) will be when YHWH ushers in His kingdom of heaven onto the earth.

And [G-D] will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

—Revelation 21:4, nkjv

There will be no sickness, pain, sorrow, or crying, because the joy of the Lord will fill the earth as the perfect peace of YHWH (the heavenly Father) will abide on Planet Earth.

Our Daily Hope

Yeshua was teaching us how to pray for shalom (perfect peace as it is in heaven). The prayer is often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer.

Therefore pray in this manner: Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. —Matthew 6:9

Yeshua is referring to the sacred name of the G-D of Israel, YHWH (YeHoVaH, YaHWeH).

Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. —Matthew 6:10

In heaven there is perfect shalom. Through the divine prayer of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing you can begin to tap into a portion of heaven coming into your life now! In the very presence of the Father you receive what the Father has! He brings with Him heaven’s atmosphere. In heaven there is …

No limitation!

✦ No sickness!

✦ No oppression, depression, or emotional upheaval!

✦ No warfare!

✦ No lack!

✦ No condemnation!

✦ No murder!

✦ No theft!

✦ No conniving!

✦ No assault and battery!

✦ No injustice!

There is perfect shalom fulfillment, and wellness of being, prosperity, provision, love, joy, and perfection! True shalom is to have every part of your life brought back to completeness and to wholeness! G-D wants to restore Eden to us.

Now may the [G-D] of hope [YHWH] fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit [Ruach HaKodesh].—Romans 15:13

The LORD bless you - May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH, your Heavenly Father (He who exist) come (kneel) before you, making Himslef available to you (like a good father kneeling before his child) in order to minister and bestow His gifts and promises.

and keep you; - May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH your Heavenly Father (He who exist) guard you with a hedge of thorny protection that will prevent satan and all your enemies from harming your body, soul, mind and spirit, your love-ones and all your possesions.

Psalm 91:1-2 NKJV

Psalm 91:1–2 NKJV

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

The LORD make his face shine upon you, - May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH your Heavenly Father (He who exist) illuminate the wholeness of His being toward you - continually- bringing you to order so that you will fulfill you God - given destiny and purpose.

And be gracious to you; - May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH your Heavenly Father (He who exist) provide you with perfect love and fellowship - never leaving you - and give you sustenance, provision and friendship.

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, -May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH your Heavenly Father (He who exist) lift up and carry His fullness of being toward you (bringing everything that He is to your aid) supporting you with His divine embrace and His entire being.

Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

17 The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

And give you peace.” ‘ -May YeHoVah, or YaHWeH your Heavenly Father (He who exist) set in place all you need to be whole and complete so you can walk in victory, moment by moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the name (Shem) of YeHoVaH, YaHWeH, our Heavenly Father!

In the name (Shem) of YESHUA HAMASHIACH, the Messiah, the Son of God!

In the name (Shem) of RUACH HAKODESH, the Holy Spirit!