Naso (Elevate!)

Numbers 4:21-7:89
Judges 13:2–25

“Blessings and Shalom”

POSTED 06 JUNE, 2008

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them’” (Numbers 6:22-27).

Naso is interesting because it gives meticulous instruction about a wide variety of topics. Initially, as Numbers 4 concludes, the parashah begins by summarizing additional details about the priestly functions of two of the Levitical families numbered and responsible for specific duties concerning the Tabernacle and the altar. The Gershonites and the Merarites are explicitly selected for transporting and constructing the Tabernacle. What is interesting to note is how the Lord is very concerned about each individual and the task that is assigned to them:

“Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry” (Numbers 4:32b, NIV).

This level of detail allows one to understand more clearly why the God of Israel is not a remote distant Deity, but instead, a very personal God who is intimately involved in the details of life.

In Numbers 5, after describing some conditions that require removal from the camp (vs. 1-8), the narrative shifts to an instructional overview of the law of jealousy and how Israelite men are to handle perceived or real jealousy with their wives. Next, the Nazerite vow is explicitly explained in Numbers 6 culminating with what has historically been labeled the instruction for declaring the Aaronic benediction. Finally in Numbers 7, the portion then shifts in time to the events that occurred when the Tabernacle was first built and the dedication was celebrated by the tribes of Israel. The final crescendo for the portion comes when Moses is given the privilege of hearing the voice of God:

“Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him” (Numbers 7:89).

With this wide range of instructions, it is normal to ask God about what He is trying to communicate to His people. From the minute detail regarding which individuals will handle specific implements to the ultimate dedication of the Tabernacle and the presence the Lord in the camp, much is covered. As each instruction is given, you begin to remember that one of the great challenges of the Exodus from Egypt was the formation of a nation of priests from among a population of slaves. Many of Naso’s instructions are designed to bring an increasing degree of order into the assembly.

As I meditated upon the wide variety of instructions, the significance of the Aaronic Benediction seemed to come to mind most often. Here, in the midst of discussing a variety of ways to bring a semblance of order into the emerging nation, the Lord instructs Moses on how to have the high priest Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel. Have you ever considered the blessing of having this prayer spoken over you? Let us look at the text.

The Power of the Name

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: the Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them” (Numbers 6:22-27).

Here is a very succinct way that God has instructed Moses on how Aaron and his sons are to bless the people of Israel. When you start looking at the meanings of the words used in this blessing, you begin to understand how significant these words are when spoken over Israel. The Hebrew text is very clear about the use of the name of God and how powerful it is. The priests are to tell the people that the Lord will keep, shine upon, be gracious to, lift His countenance upon, and give one peace. This almost reminds you of the time that Isaiah had the vision of the Holy One high and lifted up on His throne:

“In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1-4).

Recognize that when the Scriptures mention the same word three times it is definitely time for us to rise up and pay attention. The Lord is trying to show us something very significant.

Here in the Aaronic Benediction, the most holy name of God Himself is spoken over Israel three times with tremendous blessings attached. If you read the summary verse at the end of the chapter you are reminded of a great blessing:

“So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them” (Numbers 6:27).

Here in this final verse of the prayer, which incidentally is not considered a part of the prayer, God describes the fact that His Divine Name will be placed upon the people of Israel. When I read this statement, it made me think about how important our identification with God truly is, and how He uses His name to bring distinctiveness to His people. But as I contemplated this concept, I was reminded of the age-old problems associated with the use of the Divine Name of our Creator, and how the enemy of our souls has so cleverly made it a cause of much division.

Many questions arise in today’s Messianic community because the Jewish people do not use the Divine Name of God. There is no doubt that it is clearly written in the Hebrew texts of the Tanakh. Just looking at these verses in Numbers attests to that reality. The Divine Name of God, YHWH (hwhy), appears 6,828 times in the Hebrew Bible. The authors of the Holy Scriptures did not have a difficult time declaring who they received their revelation from. However, following the Babylonian Diaspora, the Jewish people began to consider the Divine Name so holy that it was to be reserved only for the high priest to speak on Yom Kippur. The Mishnah attests to this tradition:

“And the priests and people standing in the courtyard, when they would hear the Expressed Name [of the Lord] come out of the mouth of the high priest, would kneel and bow down and fall on their faces and say, ‘Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever’” (m.Yoma 6:2).[1]

There was a protocol for using the proper name of God, and it is clear that Yeshua adhered to it during His Earthly ministry. In the Gospels Yeshua actually spends more time calling His Father, “Father” or “Abba,” than referring to Him as God or Lord. If Yeshua considered not speaking the name YHWH aloud to be an error of the Second Temple Judaism that His ministry existed in, then there would be plenty of evidence in the Apostolic Scriptures supporting this, including charges of blasphemy against Him for verbalizing the name YHWH. But these things do not appear. As Messianic Believers who are trying to return to the theology of the First Century Believers, who operated within the context of Second Temple Judaism, we must recognize that while our Heavenly Father has a proper name, it was not used by Yeshua or the Apostles. We must have the same kind of respect for the holiness of the name YHWH that they had.

In recent years however, some believe that God is “restoring” the usage of the Divine Name to His people. While this is interesting to consider, in most cases the enemy has gotten into the mix and made the Sacred Name a point of great contention and ultimately division. Something is wrong with this picture. Should we not be wiser about the wiles of the Devil and be better prepared and informed to handle the privilege of being called the people of God? Perhaps we are not ready to use His name.

We need to more fully comprehend who He is and His love for us, so we can be that people who are called by His name. Most importantly, we need to understand Him as our Heavenly Father, and have an intimately relationship with Him. May this come quickly as we strive to know Him in deeper and more profound ways!

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.

NOTES