Shalom!

 
This week in our Torah portion, Naso, YHWH commands the Aaronic priests to bless the people of Israel by placing His Name upon them. In the beautiful words of the Aaronic blessing, we have the amazing opportunity to see an example of what our Creator Himself considers to be a proper "blessing":
 
Bemidbar/Numbers 6:22 And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying: 23 "Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 "YHWH bless you and keep you; 25 YHWH make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 YHWH lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." ' 27 "So they shall put My Name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."
 

A stone wall at Auschwitz made up entirely of broken headstones, includes several impressions of the raised hands of blessing:

When we bless YHWH, what are we able to give Him? We cannot bless Him in the sense of giving to Him so as to add to His riches or to His glory. There is nothing we can do to add to Him. We can only bless Him by expressing our thanks to Him, expressing to Him our reverent love.
 
Psalm 18:46 YHWH lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let Elohim of my salvation be exalted.
 
Psalm 135:21 Blessed be YHWH out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise YHWH!
 

It is good to remember, however, that He is the source of all spiritual blessings:

 
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Adonai Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah
 

We should be very thankful for all His blessings. We are blessed to be born, but even more to be born again! We are blessed to have food, but even more to have the Bread of Life! We are blessed to be clothed, but even more to be clothed with the garments of salvation!

 
The beautiful benediction that YHWH blessed the people through the priests teaches us that we are blessed to know Him. When we trust in Him and in His covenant promises, we become the recipient of this beautiful blessing. You may ask the question, "Why does YHWH use priests to convey the blessing, rather than to bless the people directly?" The answer is simple. All YHWH's blessings come through a mediator. His chosen priests ultimately foreshadowed the final and ultimate High Priest of the order of Melchizedek - Yeshua.
 
What does it mean to make "His Face shine upon you"? The Hebrew verb for "shine" is "or" and is made up of the same Hebrew letters as the word for "light". Notice what happens when He "hides His Face" or prevents His "Light" from "shining":
 
Psalm 27:9 Do not hide Your Face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O Elohim of my salvation.
 

Hmmm....this is not good. Notice the "hiding of the face" is connected with anger, punishment and abandonment. "Presence" and "face" are two translations of the same Hebrew word - penah. Remember when Adam and Chavah/Eve sinned, they hid themselves from the "Presence" of YHWH:

 
Bereshith/Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the Presence of YHWH Elohim among the trees of the garden.
 

Thus the positive "shining of His Face" or "His Presence", does a variety of things. It brings help in times of trouble:

 
Psalm 22:24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when he cried to Him, He heard.
 

It brings us salvation:

 
Psalm 31:16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies' sake.
 

And restoration:

 
Psalm 80:3 Restore us, O Elohim; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved
 

And is the source of joy!

 
Psalm 89:15 Happy are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the Light of your Presence, O YHWH.
 

The Light of His Presence will bring instruction:

 
Psalm 119:135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes.
 
King David wrote a Psalm which speaks of who will receive YHWH's blessing:
 
Psalm 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of YHWH? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from YHWH, And righteousness from the Elohim of his salvation.
 
In ancient Israel, the High Priest would pronounce the blessing of Bemidbar 6 over the people at the morning and evening offerings. As believers in Yeshua, we know that our High Priest is at the right Hand of the Father, constantly making intercession for us. In my Bible, there is a subtitle before John 17 - "The High Priestly Prayer". Is this prayer indicative of Yeshua's current intercession for us? Tim Hegg notes the interesting parallels between the Aaronic Benediction and Yeshua's prayer:
 

One more thing. Note the last phrase of the Aharonic blessing - "and give you peace". Yeshua is the "Prince of Peace":

 
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 

The Prince of Peace who is the One who can "give us peace". Rav Sha'ul/Paul gives the Corinthians parting advice on how to be eligible for that peace. Then verse 14 ends with another beautiful benediction given to the believers:

 
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the Elohim of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of Adonai Yeshua the Messiah, and the love of Yah, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
 

Ardelle