Numbers 6:24 ‘Y’varekh’kha Adonai v’yishmerekha.
[May Adonai bless you and keep you.]
25 Ya’er Adonai panav eleikha vichunekka.
[May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor.]
26 Yissa Adonai panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.
[May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.]’
27 “In this way they are to put my name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.”
It’s through these few words that Abba’s character is placed upon us?!
So, if this is pronounced over us, we will have His character?
Surely it can’t be that simple.
Turns out, it is. But the timeframe is quite long.
v24 - May Adonai bless you and keep you.
Let’s make sure we have our definitions down before running away with our perceived interpretation.
Bless - barak (bet resh kaf)
Kneel: To bend the knee to kneel in homage or to drink water. Also the extended idea of presenting a gift or giving honor to another. (AHLB - Bless)
Keep = shamar (shin mem resh)
Guard: To watch over or guard in the sense of preserving or protecting.
Guard: Brier: Custody: A close watching of something for guarding or protecting. Shepherds constructed corrals of briers at night to protect the flock from predators. (AHLB - Keep)
From the time we were in the womb until age 8 or 10, our parents are expected to guard/protect us from the dangers of the world, and they are also to bless us -- or provide for our every need.
As parents, we are to see to it these things are done for our own children. And most parents understand this as part of their duties.
There is tremendous compassion shown to our kids during this time. There is a lot of immaturity and we know it’s just because they don’t know better. It isn’t rebellion.
v25 - May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor.
Shine - or (aleph vav resh)
Light: To be light or bright. (AHLB - Shine)
See: Genesis 1 -- lights given to illuminate the earth
Favor = chanan - (chet nun nun)
Compassion: Within this wall is the family clan, a place of freedom, compassion and beauty. An encampment of tents. (AHLB - Gracious)
Root - Camp: Beauty: The pictograph chet is a picture of a wall. The nun is a picture of a seed meaning "to continue". Combined these mean "wall continues". A nomads camp consisted of many family tents, which make up the clan camp. The camp can have as many as fifty tents or more in it. The tents are placed in a circular configuration, forming one continuous wall surrounding the camp.
During this phase of our lives (say, age 5-13), we have developed personalities and have been learning how the world works. We have started to develop relationships with family and friends, and we have started to carve out our own little wedge in this world. We aren’t independent by any means but we start to understand we are our own person. Our selfishness has been kept somewhat in check, but we have also been given the freedom to grow.
As parents, we provide unconditional love. Discipline is introduced in increasing measure because our kids are getting closer and closer to willfully walking in their own selfishness. But a good parent can see the difference between their deliberate disobedience and their immaturity. They discipline when there is disobedience but teach when there is immaturity. The parent is connecting deeply with their child and this leads to the child learning respect and honor of their parents.
v26 - May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.
Face - paniym (pey nun hey)
Face: The face, also the presence of one through the sense of being in the face of. (AHLB - Face)
Peace - shalom (shin lamed vav mem)
Complete: Made whole or complete by adding or subtracting. To be in a state of wholeness. Also to restore or make right through payment or restitution. (AHLB - Peace)
Around the age of 13, our parents now look us directly in the eyes. We are on a similar level as them in some ways yet we are still a good distance from truly standing on our own legs. Hopefully, you were given a platform for launching but it seems that isn’t very common these days. So we flail about in some measure of brokenness and woundedness.
As parents, we have to work diligently with our kids to help them transition During these 5-6 years, we are to make sure we are adding to AND subtracting from our children so that they will be complete when they walk out into the world. Otherwise, they will struggle and possibly make some very poor decisions. Deep, deep trust must be established which requires a full investment into their lives.
The greatest gift you can give your child: Look at them eye-to-eye and grant them shalom.
This is leaving with the blessing.
They are leaving complete.
As we soon come to learn, we need shalom in order to live as adults.
As priests of the Order of Malki-Tzedek, is this what we are to do?
With new believers, do we kneel before them and protect them from the onslaught of the Adversary?
As they grow, do we walk in unconditional love and teach them true grace?
Once they mature and are set to go out on their own, do we look them in the eye and seal the work that was done by declaring they are complete?
As parents, is this what we are to do?
Do we kneel before them and protect them from the onslaught of the Adversary?
As they grow, do we walk in unconditional love and teach them true grace?
Once they mature and are set to go out on their own, do we look them in the eye and seal the work that was done by declaring they are complete?
But, what if they aren’t complete? What if there is no shalom?
I suppose a prodigal will come forth. Perhaps you can pray they enter the pig pen as soon as possible.
As a child, were you blessed and protected?
As a child, were things illuminated for you and were you given grace?
As you left childhood, did someone look you in the eyes and grant completeness over you?
Do you actually have true Shalom?
As a parent, did you do these things?
Most people will respond with some version of, “Well, we did the best we could with what we knew.”
Is that really a legitimate excuse?
Does that change the reality for your kids?
27 “In this way they are to put my name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.”
It’s through these few words that His character is placed upon us.
This is what it’s all for.
This is how His name is placed upon us: through proper parenting.
Is His Name upon you? Is His character your character?
If so, we should clearly see the fruit.
If not, ask Him to parent you and receive the blessing He has in store for you.
What example do we have for operating as a true priest? What example do we have for operating as a true parent?
Let’s see how the Messiah “parented” the disciples. As you read through the following passage, I encourage you to pay attention to the language and purpose behind all He did to bring them into a state of completeness -- ready to change the world.
John 17:1 After Yeshua had said these things, he looked up toward heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you — 2 just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that he might give eternal life to all those whom you have given him. 3 And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah.
4 “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me alongside yourself. Give me the same glory I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 because the words you gave me I have given to them, and they have received them. They have really come to know that I came from you, and they have come to trust that you sent me.
9 “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given to me, because they are yours. 10 Indeed, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and in them I have been glorified. 11 Now I am no longer in the world. They are in the world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them by the power of your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are. 12 When I was with them, I guarded them by the power of your name, which you have given to me; yes, I kept watch over them; and not one of them was destroyed (except the one meant for destruction, so that the Tanakh might be fulfilled). 13 But now, I am coming to you; and I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
14 “I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world — just as I myself do not belong to the world. 15 I don’t ask you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 On their behalf I am setting myself apart for holiness, so that they too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth.
20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, 21 that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one — 23 I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.”