Blessing
Text: Numbers 6:22-27
Pastor Phil Hughes, American Fork Presbyterian Church, Utah
March 2, 2025
In 1979, archaeologists were excavating a burial cave in Jerusalem. You can find various burial caves around the Holy City. In the cave they found pottery, bronze arrowheads, needles, pins, bone and ivory objects, gold and silver jewelry. And they found a very, very small piece of metal. It looks like a small metal vial or cap of a pen. It was an amulet. Amulets are small artifacts that were often carried for protection, kind of a good luck charm. It was believed that an amulet would keep the person who possessed it from harm. God actually speaks against amulets in the Bible, telling people to trust in him not any artifact.
This amulet that was discovered dates back to seven centuries before Christ. In the amulet was a small fragment with writing. It is so small and fragile that it took three years to painstakingly clean and open it. When the fragment inside was finally unrolled, scientists found the fragment contained the words of Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” and so on. These words are also known as the Aaronic or Priestly Blessing.
The fragment is incredibly small, with the writing about a font size of 1. This fragment turns out to be the oldest piece of any biblical writing that we know of. It was one of the most significant finds in biblical archaeology. Nancy and I had the privilege of seeing this amulet at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, one time. It is amazingly tiny, but it is a national treasure.
For the past four and a half years we have ended our worship services by forming a circle around our sanctuary. I have raised my hands, looked at all of you, and spoken the words from Numbers 6 as our benediction. No, those aren’t words I or another pastor made up. They are from the Bible. (By the way, we began forming a circle around our sanctuary about three years ago.)
Originally, this blessing was given by the Lord to Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel. That was approximately 3,300 years ago.
Maybe you have heard of the Aaronic priesthood and thought it originated with Joseph Smith and the LDS religion. Not so. We find what the Aaronic priesthood was in the Bible and that it was part of ancient Israel.
When the Lord called Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt, the Lord said that when they are delivered they will worship the Lord on his holy mountain. Sure enough, after the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt Israel begins to worship their God. The Lord also gives instructions for how this worship should happen.
One of the provisions was a place. Israel was going to be wandering through the wilderness for some time so a movable tent, also called a tabernacle, was constructed along with various items such as a table, lampstand, an altar and other things for the worship of the people.
The Lord also appointed Aaron and his sons as priests. The priests led the offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. They were also instructed to bless the people.
And in Numbers 6, the Lord even gives Aaron and his sons the exact words for how they were to bless the people. And these have been used to end gatherings of worship for centuries in both Jewish and Christian settings. The Lord tells Aaron and his sons to say these words to the people.
This blessing can be divided into three parts, three lines, each beginning with “The LORD”. The actual Hebrew word for the name of the “LORD” is Yahweh. Or, at least, that is the closest we can come because the Hebrew alphabet does not have vowels. In Hebrews, the sounds for what we call vowels are done by small markings. The word we know as “LORD” is four Hebrew letters. A transliteration of what it would look like is Y-H-W-H.
YHWH comes from the verb “to be”. When God called out to Moses from the burning bush, and Moses asked God who he should say has called him to lead Israel out of Egypt, God said to tell them that “I AM” sent you.
God said, “Tell them ‘I AM’ sent you. Tell them ‘YHWH’ sent you.” God is a title, but YHWH is his name. And that name was believed to be so holy by the Jews that they do not speak it. It was the name he only gave to those who were his people, with whom he entered into covenant. And when you see LORD in all caps in your English Bible that is the substitute for what is actually YHWH.
This blessing is intensely focused on the LORD. Every line of this blessing begins with the name of the LORD.
When the priest would say these words over the people, he would lift his hands. That still happens today in synagogues and churches. Some people know this blessing as the Nesiat Kapayim which means “the raising of the hands.” And some have made it a very precise way of raising the hands, spreading out the fingers, sometimes forming in them in the way Star Trek fans will recognize, with the hands almost coming together as in a triangle.
The fingers are positioned in a manner which leaves five "windows" through which God's blessings flow to the congregation. The general idea is to separate each hand into three "sections"—leaving spaces on each hand between the thumb and index finger, and between the middle and ring finger. The fifth space is completed by the way the two thumbs are configured together. But different Jewish traditions will practice this differently. This is not from the Bible but is something that grew in some parts of Judaism over hundreds of years. I am just throwing this into the sermon this morning for free. In some older Jewish cemeteries you will see tombstones with a pair of hands in the priestly blessing position. These mark the burial place of people who can trace their lineage to Aaron.
In any act of blessing, a hand or hands are often extended or laid upon a person. We do this when we pray for and lay hands on people.
In the Aaronic blessing there are six verbs, which refer to action by Yahweh/the LORD, and what he offers to people through this blessing.
Bless
Keep
make to shine
be gracious
lift countenance
give peace
To bless in Hebrew and the Jewish faith is a rich concept. It signifies any gift that comes from God. “To ‘bless’ speaks most basically to the work of God and the gifts he gives for life, health an well-being to people.
When I receive a gift from someone, it is a blessing. A visit or the presence of someone I like is a blessing. The health and strength we have to be here today is a blessing.
“Keep” has to do with the “protective, sustaining presence” of the LORD. It puts upon us the safety and sheltering of the LORD.
When it says, “make his face to shine upon you” that refers to God’s favor, like God is smiling upon us. The image is used in other places in the Bible. Listen to some of the ways it is used in Psalms:
Psalm 31:16, “Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love.”
In Psalm 44 the psalmist recounts the victories of Israel and how it happened because of the LORD’s right hand and arm, and the light of his face.
Psalm 67:1 is almost exactly like this priestly blessing, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.”
To be gracious is for the LORD to favor us and give us his grace. When God is gracious we get to see the LORD’s face glowing, not glaring, which is a gracious move on God’s part to we who are undeserving.
To ask the LORD to “lift up his countenance” is the same idea. The New International Version of the Bible translates it “turn his face toward you.” The countenance of the LORD is his attention. I want the LORD to pay attention to my life so that I can receive his blessing, strength and goodness.
“And give you peace.” The Hebrew word is “shalom” which is a tremendously rich word that includes prosperity, longevity, happiness in a family, safety, security, good health, friendship and general well-being.
In this blessing we hear of six actions that come from the LORD. We get a lot…a lot!...in this blessing.
The LORD tells Aaron to speak these words over the people to put his name upon them. Name in the Bible is more than an identification. A name was the nature and character of someone.
It is not enough for the LORD that his name be merely known by the people. He wants it to be put on his people, and for us to wear his name; to wear his character and nature. In other words, his graciousness, his holiness, his purity, his love should be reflected in us.
Jesus, who said he was “I AM”, gave instructions that all disciples of him were to be baptized “in the name”. What is the name? Our Lord Jesus Christ said the name is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized we are marked with the name of the most holy, Almighty, Eternal God – Yahweh - who we know to be most supremely revealed in Jesus, and who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Because Jesus gave up his full place with the Father and came to us to be a slave, and to give his life in obedience on the cross, we are told in Philippians 2 that he has now received “the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Having the name of God put on the people may have been why this blessing is inscribed on the little fragment discovered in Jerusalem. The person who wore this amulet, literally put the name of Yahweh upon them. To have the name of the LORD on the people is to emphasize that he is the source of all blessings. It is to acknowledge that we belong to him, are loyal to him, and reflect who he is.
Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist from the early twentieth century said of this blessing in Numbers 6, “Here is a benediction that can be given all the time without being impoverished. Every heart may utter it, every letter may conclude with it, every day may begin with it, every night may be sanctified by it. Here is blessing – keeping – shining – the uplifting upon our poor life of all heaven’s glad morning. It is the Lord Himself who (gives us) this bar of music from heaven’s infinite anthem.”
This is a blessing we can write or use for those we want to bless: a friend, our children, someone we barely even know but who needs some good in their life. It can be used for the living, the dying, the weak, the strong. You don’t know what words to pray or give to someone? How about this blessing given by Yahweh to Moses, to be given to Aaron and his sons, to be given to all the people, and is still with us today. Giving a blessing to people is a powerful and authentic way of connecting them to God.
Luke tells us that the last thing Jesus did before he left this earth was to bless. “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.” What words did Jesus use to bless? Perhaps these from Numbers 6? Words that he had probably heard week after week in the Temple and the synagogues where he was raised?
Now get this: the larger context of the opening chapters of the book of Number is that Israel is preparing to leave Mt. Sinai and continue in the wilderness to the place God was leading them. They are ready for the journey. This is a blessing for a journey! A long walk of faith, following the leading of the LORD.
Every day we walk with the Lord. We need him to go with us – before, behind and beside us. But it is a blessing for an entire people.
People of American Fork Presbyterian Church, the LORD planted this church almost 150 years ago. He has always faithfully, held this church in his hands. Through thriving times and in dry times, God has loved this place. His faithfulness, his face, his countenance will continue to shine upon you.
He is the LORD. Look to him. Because he is looking at you.
Prayer: Yahweh, we are grateful that you do bless and keep,
…that you look toward us and extend your grace to us in so many ways,
…that you pay attention to us, shining your gaze on us, and bless us with your shalom, your peace.
Thank you for giving so much, all the time, in countless ways.
Now keep this people. Inspire them to faith. Energize them to be one as they seek new leadership. Holy Spirit, guide, provide, and abide.
Through Jesus Christ, who has shown your face to us, we pray. Amen.