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This week we will be covering two parashas, Bamidbar which translates to “In The Wilderness” and Naso, which translates to “Take Up” and cover Numbers 1-7:89.
Parasha Bamidbar focuses on censuses, encampment instructions, and the duties for the tribe of Levi. The book of Numbers begins with the Lord commanding Moses to take a census of the men available for battle. The Torah records that 603,550 Israeli men were counted, with the Levites being exempted due to their religious duties.
Chapter 2 details Israel’s camp organization. The tribes were wisely instructed to camp around the Tabernacle at a distance, with the two largest tribes providing protection at the front and back. This important command from the Lord helped protect our people from attacks.
Chapters 3 and 4 outline the specific duties and encampment details for each Levitical clan. They also include two censuses of the Levities. The second census was for the men ages 30 to 50 who were to serve in the Tabernacle, totaling 22,000.
Parasha Bamidbar traditionally contains no commandments for our people. But within these censuses and details we find timeless and important principle for God’s people. When we follow Adonai’s instructions, we experience blessing and peace, avoiding needless trouble. By listening to the Lord’s commands in this parasha, our people were better prepared for their wilderness journey and inevitable conflicts they would face.
Our parasha for this week, Naso, continues the theme of being blessed by the Lord. Naso contains commands regarding priestly duties, laws for dealing with an unfaithful wife, the Nazirite vow, the Aaronic Blessing, and the consecration of the Tabernacle. This morning, I’d like to focus on the Aaronic Blessing, recorded in Numbers 6:22-27.
The Aaronic Blessing is arguably one of the most well-known and oldest blessings recorded in the Torah and attested to through archelogy. Archeologists two amulets in Israel containing the Aaronic Blessing that were dated to 600-700 B.C.[1] One reason this blessing is so special is because the Lord Himself gave this prayer to Moses and Aaron. It is a prayer and blessing authored by Adonai.
Let’s now consider the text itself.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
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.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
While this prayer is recited by the priests, the Lord is the one who grants the blessing. We are completely dependent on God’s love to experience these blessings.
The first line of the prayer summarizes all three lines: “The Lord bless you and keep you.” To be blessed by the Lord is to enjoy His favor. This can mean physical favor, such as having children or being financially blessed, but it also encompasses every good thing the Lord provides for those He loves.
The Lord also “keeps” or guards His people. He protects us from spiritual and physical danger. Through His Holy Spirit, we are warned and instructed on how to live and avoid problems. The Lord guarded His people by giving them good instructions on how to march in the wilderness.
Lines two and three continue with the Lord’s blessing as His face is shining and lifted toward us. It can be a blessing or a curse when the Lord notices us. When we are in a right relationship with Adonai, His attention to us is a wonderful blessing. The Lord notices and responds to our prayers. He steps into the situations of our lives and works everything out for good. As Rabbi Paul writes, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” When the Lord acts to bless us, nothing can stop His blessings from happening.
The second part of lines two and three tells us what this blessing contains: Grace and Shalom (peace). The Lord is gracious with us, doing wonderful things for us that we don’t deserve. He also blesses us with Shalom, which is a peace beyond our circumstances, a wholeness and completeness to our lives that cannot be found anywhere else. Grace and Peace are exclusively for those who belong to Adonai whom He chooses to bless. In the New Covenant, this became a well-known greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God.”
Most people would like more blessings and peace in their lives. They want to avoid painful experiences and feel secure. Our world teaches that we can create all these things and more for ourselves. This is done by following a certain way of living, buying certain things, or following a plan for our lives devised by people who rarely have our best interests in mind. The truth is that every method of being blessed that comes from other human beings is destined to fail and hurt us deeply.
Our parashas today, and all of God’s Word, affirm that real blessings, security, peace, and joy that are not dependent upon our circumstances come from Adonai alone. The Lord will bless those He wants to bless. In our day, these blessings are for those who are part of the New Covenant through Messiah Yeshua.
If we want to experience the blessings of Adonai, then we must be rightly following His will. Just as He instructed our people on how to protect themselves, live holy lives, and be in a right relationship with Him, we need to listen today as well. We cannot receive the Lord’s blessing if we are unwilling to follow His ways.
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.
[1] Timothy R. Ashley, The Book of Numbers, ed. E. J. Young et al., Second Edition, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2022), 122.