The Personal Blessing

Numbers 6:22-27 is a beautiful blessing contained in the Torah. To hear the Kohanim chant this blessing in a synagogue service, or before the Kotel in Israel is haunting, and soul stirring. Its language is deeply personal, and its purpose is world transformational. What is it revealing to us? Give a listen!

Transcript

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Welcome to the Messiah in Life Podcast, hosted by Bishop Justin D. Elwell of Restoration Fellowship International and a Messiah Congregation in Washington Mills, New York. Due to some scheduling issues for the next two weeks, we will be studying messages delivered by Justin several years ago. This week's message was originally delivered in June of 2015. And it's an examination of the relationship of the Lord with his people found in the priestly benediction. We will return to our Ephesian study on September 3rd. So pour yourself a tea or coffee. And let's open the Word of God together. Now to Bishop Justin.

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So that I will bless them. And that is a very unique promise in the Word of God that the people of God have the name of God on them. And this will be significant as the end times begin to unfold. That the name of God identifies the people of God. Now, how many of you know I can't find the name of God on any of you? I can't look at you and see it. If I was to open your chest and look at your heart, I cannot find it there. The Lord knows those who are his. The Lord sees that name. But you know who else can see it? Is the enemy. Most people's testimony concludes with, I was a miserable wretch in the world. I was born again, and things got a lot worse. That's a very common testimony that you will hear from people. But this prayer, we say it at the end, I say it at the end of every service that I officiate, whether I say it in Hebrew and English, or just Hebrew, or just English, or whatever it might be. I always conclude this portion or the congregational uh gathering with this prayer. And depending on who is in attendance, if we have a Kohen or if we have a Levite in attendance, I'll also add Kenyhi Ratzon at the end of it to signify that I am not a Kohen, I'm not a priest of Israel. So I'm saying, let this happen. Kenyhirazon, let it be your will, O God. But this is one of the most poignant prayers or blessings, I should say, one of the most poignant blessings that you will find in the Word of God. It is absolutely beautiful to hear the Kohenim do this chant, whether it's in the synagogue service or by the Kotel during the three feasts of in-gathering, it is incredibly haunting to hear it, and it really stirs the soul. How many of you remember a few years ago? It's more than five years ago, when Mike Paul and I uh stood, as my wife called it out, we stood with our taluses pulled over and we did the blessing as the Kohenim would do the blessing. And that haunting melody, very odd sort of melody, but it's very pretty and very striking to say the least. And that's how that blessing is done every day in Israel is with that melody. A kohen will call it out, and the kohanim under it will announce it. And then under the talis, they're putting their hands together. Remember live long and prosper, right? We're putting our hands together like this, not so much touching. But what that is signifying is the top of the ark. We have the two cherubim that are coming together like on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. And what's happening is we say this, Eva Rakh, our voice is going through. Remember, the Lord said, I will speak to you from between the two cherubim. So I will bless you from between the two cherubim. And so that's what's happening under the Talis, is that we're making this sign. I mean, Leonard Dimoy, when he they said we need some unique sign, being a Levite himself, he remembered his father making that, and he just went like this, like it was nothing. Boop, here it is. And now all the world knows it because Leonard Dimoy did it. But it's simple. It's so simple. It's three verses. Three verses of three, five, and seven words, respectively. And in Jewish literature, it's called the three-in-one blessing. The three-in-one blessing, and I'll have more on that in a moment. But it's said by a third person. Now, how do I want to illustrate that? The best way that I can illustrate that is by the picture of the wedding. When I officiate a wedding, I have the bride and I have the groom, and I'm standing between them. You know, as they turn together, I'm still between. So I am speaking to them, but I'm also giving them the words of blessing, the words of commitment, the words that uh come off as an oath for them to speak together. So I am a third person inserting myself into a dialogue between husband and wife, or what will be husband and wife, the betrothed. The Iranic benediction is in itself singular. The Lord bless you and keep you. In the Hebrew, that is in the singular, but it's spoken by the third person. So you have the Koing, or you have someone else that is proclaiming this blessing. There is an intermediary between you and the Lord, and I'm going to elaborate on that in a moment. The language is deeply personal, but the purpose of it is world transformational. World transformational. So what is it revealing? Well, that's a good question. I'm glad you asked. In Exodus chapter 33 is where I'll be reading from. Exodus chapter 33 is sort of the foundation of this prayer. And you say, well, how? I don't remember it being there. You have to watch the subtleties in the text in order to see what the Lord is doing. Exodus chapter 33. I'll begin the reading in verse 11. Beginning in verse 11. The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, Panim upanim, face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then he would return to the camp, but the young man who was his assistant, Jehoshua, son of Nun, never left the inside of the tent. Moses said to the Lord, Look, you say to me, Make these people move on, but you haven't let me know whom you will be sending with me. Nevertheless, you have said, I know you by name, and also you have found favor in my sight. Now please, if it is really the case that I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I will understand you and continue finding favor in your sight. Moreover, keep on seeing this nation as your people. And he answered, Set your mind at rest. My presence will go with you after all. Now, when you get to the end of this, you're going to see a revelation, tremendous revelation in this text. Moses replied, If your present doesn't presence doesn't go with us, don't make us go from here. For how else is it to be known that I have found favor in your side, I and your people, other than by your going with us? That is what distinguishes us, me and your people, from all other peoples on the earth. The Lord spoke to Moses, I will also do what you have asked me to do, because you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. But Moses said, I beg you to show me your glory. He replied, I will cause my goodness to pass before you. How many of you know the goodness of God is also his glory? How many of you know that when you do what is good in God's sight, that is showing the Lord's glory to the world? What does Messiah say? Do your good works so that others would see them, that they would what? Glorify your what? Father in heaven. So the glory of the Lord causes others to glorify him. I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of Adonai of the Lord. Moreover, I show favor to whom I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will. But my face, he continued, you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive. Here, he said, is a place near me. Stand on the rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you inside a crevice in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Oh, I just saw something else. Oh, hallelujah. Then I will remove my hand, and you will see my back, but my face is not to be seen. By the Lord's testimony, what does he say? He spoke to Moses, Panimapanim, face to face. But then he says, No one sees my face. I spoke to Moses face to face, no one sees my face. Boy, this is gonna be good. Hallelujah. But Moses asked to see the glory. Moses asks to see the glory of God, the Kovod of God. Kvod comes from a root meaning to make fat. When you had a glorious animal, a glorious cow, a glorious bull, it was fat, it was ready for its purpose to make fat. Everywhere else in the world I'm very esteemed because I am large. It's only when I come back to the United States that people look down on me. But everywhere else in the world they say, Tom, you know, we we're big guys. And everybody says they must be very important people. Right, Tom? I mean, we're important people. That's the truth. But to show the glory, the fullness of the living God. And actually, what Moses was desiring to see is God the Father. See, he's not actually asking to see the glory as we would understand it. He's saying, Show me God the Father. Oh, I just saw something else. Oh my goodness, I'm getting really excited. Wow. Oh, wow, I just saw something else too. Hallelujah. I'm excited now. Moses had limited perspective. Even from where he was, he had limited perspective. Moses, when he asks this, was in the glory of God. He was in the glory of God the Father at Mount Sinai, but he could not see the glory or the Father Himself. And I wanted to think of some way to explain this. And I remember when I was young and we went to India, I don't know what I was 13 or 14, and we went to Agra, India, where the Taj Mahal is. The Taj Mahal is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. And as you make your way to it, you behold a certain part of its beauty. And then you think, well, when you're up close, you must really see the beauty of this. As you walk up the marble steps, but then you're by this towering marble structure. You walk inside, you look around, and it's just this. Everybody wonders, well, actually, the tomb is down beneath, but you go into the massive open room and you look around, it's beautiful, it's glorious, but there's nothing there. But even there, you cannot behold the full glory of it because our perspective is limited by where we are. So when you're standing outside, you can see some of it. When you're at a distance, you can see some but not all. And when you're inside, you can only see what is inside with you. So perspective is the issue. Moses had limited perspective on what he was seeing. He says, Lord, just I want to see you. I want to see. Oh, I just love how the Lord works sometimes. In Exodus 24, verses 9 through 11, you don't have to turn there, I'm just going to explain it. Moses, Aaron, Eliezer, Nadab, Avihu, the 70 elders of Israel, begin to go up Mount Sinai because the Lord has summoned them. And one of the most important statements that you find in the Torah is that the elders of Israel saw God. They saw God. They saw God while in the glory on Mount Sinai. Moses was able to speak face to face. And then what does it say? They sucked, they ate with the God of Israel. Again, food plays an important part of our faith. Face to face, the elders of Israel saw what we would call a theophany or a Christophany, an appearance of God. In this case, a Christophany, an appearance of the Messiah before his first advent. But here we see, here we see the substance of what John the Apostle teaches in John 3.16. I'm going to read David Stern's translation. For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique son, his Yachidob, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life instead of being utterly destroyed. From where did the Lord give his only begotten son? From within him, from inside of himself, from in his glory. Yeshua said, I and the Father are what? 1, John 10, 30. Moses was speaking on Mount Sinai to someone who was already there on Mount Sinai. The elders of Israel were speaking to someone who was already there on Mount Sinai in the glory. Remember, the heavens condescended. The Lord God came down upon Sinai. And Moses is saying, I've seen this one. But show me your glory. Show me God the Father. That sounds eerily familiar to John 14. When one of the disciples says, Show us God the Father, and we will believe, and it will be enough. Remember, it will be enough, Daim. And Messiah says, You've seen me. I've shown you the Father. See, this is another sign I've seen in John 14. You've seen me, I've shown you the Father. Moses was speaking to someone already there in that glorious place. This is amazing. Oh Lord, this is gonna be good. Moses prays to see the glory of God. But the Lord says, I will make my goodness to pass before you. Literally, he says, I'm going to make my goodness go right over your face. How many of you know the goodness of God goes right over our face and we don't see it until it's already past us? I'm going to make my goodness go right over your face, right on your face. But his glory will be hidden. His glory will not be seen. Moses would not be able to stand the glory of God. What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration? When Moses appears with Elijah, Yeshua is changed. The disciples did what? Fell on their faces. Moses would not be able to stand the glory in his current state, but having come from heaven, he can see Yeshua in his glory. But it will only be revealed after it passes by him, and he sees the Lord by his back. But Moses stands. He stands hidden in a rock. Now watch this. This is kind of interesting. The Lord tells Moses to stand on a rock. He's already standing on a rock. He tells him to stand on a rock, but he's already standing on a rock. And then he says, when I pass by, I'm going to put you in the cleft of the rock. I want to submit something to you this morning. There's something to this. Remember, the rock in the Torah always refers to one rock. And the Apostle Paul tells us that rock was who? Stand on this rock, and then I'm going to place you in the cleft of that rock. Now watch what I'm watching what I'm seeing. Moses stands at the rock. And then as the glory of God goes via the hand of God moves. Moses is in the cleft of the rock when he is protected because he's now protected by the rock. Imagine the hug that he's now getting. Pretty sure. He's hidden in the cleft of the rock. Remember that rock had already been cleft. He was to speak to it. Isn't this the arms of the Messiah who was right there? Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I will pronounce my name. I will show you my goodness. So what do we learn from this? I have a few things to unpack for you. So please bear with me. Moses enjoyed that deep relationship with the Lord. Speaking to the Lord face to face, speaking to the Messiah. How many of you know you speak to Yeshua, you're speaking to the Father? We speak to God the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Messiah. Where was the Holy Spirit? I told you to remember, right? To remember this. Where was the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit was right there. Remember, the pillar of the cloud is coming down. So he receives this revelation in such a personal way. But if you remember the prayer of Moses in Numbers is that all the people of God will be Neve'e. They will be prophets. What does that mean? That they will be able to speak in an inspired, life-changing way. What is prophet? Prophet, if you break down Neve'e into Nevee right to its roots, you will see that it is the seed inside. What is the seed inside of us? Who has planted the seed inside of us? And that seed comes to what? Remember this fruit of the spirit that Paul talks about? Remember Galatians chapter 5, the fruit of the spirit? Where does that fruit come from? It comes from the seed that is inside of us, the seed that comes to fruition. As Moses comes to terms with his relationship, he can't see God the Father. But he can see God the Son in the midst of God the Holy Spirit. He comes to terms with this relationship, and he desires to have that type of intimacy. The Lord desires this type of intimacy with his own people. And this is where we find the blessing that we opened with today. So today's message is I and thou. I am thou. I am you. Poetic way of saying I and you. I am thou. It's very personal. So let's watch what this is going to do. We start off with three very simple words Yiva Rakha Khadana Vyishma Recha. The double yod in the center is simply an abbreviated form of Adonai of the Yukai Vavha, so that the name of God is not written down. The Lord bless you and guard you. The root here is Shomer. There is the root verb. To guard, to protect. The Lord guard you and protect you. Bless you and guard you. Now watch this. If that was all that he was going to say, that would be enough, yes? Wouldn't it be enough just for him to have this like saying, The Lord bless you and guard you? How many of you would be satisfied with that? I would be. Three words. The next the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord is now above. The Lord bless you. He is now above. Make his face to shine upon you. He is above. The Lord shining down, his face shining down from above. This is the message of grace. Here is the root of the name Yochan. John. Grace. The Lord gives us a message of grace. Five words, actually, five words here. Simple. The final section of this blessing. Yesad and I panabi lacha bi yasim licha shalom. We started. Now the Lord started above. And now we are above. Why does the Lord need to make his face to shine up to us? The Lord lifts up his face upon you and give you peace. Seven words. Now we are above him. Why are we above him? Because in the Jewish literature we read that this is the lifting up of God the Father's child. How many of us? I don't think any dad in here does not have this memory of their child running toward them, lifting them up, smiling, and then what? Drawing them in. Lifting up, smiling, shining, drawing them into your heart. Have you ever done that before, anybody? Yeah, of course you did. Seven words. Watch this. Coming toward, lifting up, bringing in. Where was Moses as the glory of God passed by? In the arms of Messiah. The theophany. He's lifting us up because why? In his arms we have peace. He's lifting us up, he's bringing us in, and we have peace. All we have, we have the peace of God while we are in the arms of God. Because what? No one can snatch us away. Now watch this. This is pretty cool. Let's just go back for a second. Let's go back for a second. I kept pointing out the number of words. Remember, this is called the three-in-one blessing. Do you remember that? I said that the three-in-one blessing. The first part of this blessing is may the Lord bless you and keep you. Three words. Three is the number of what? The Godhead. Now watch this. We go to five words. The Lord make his face shine upon you, be gracious to you. Five words. The key part here is grace, that his grace will come to you. Five in the scripture is the number of grace. Now watch this, it gets even cooler. Seven words. The Lord lift up his face upon you and give you peace. The shalom is the important part. Seven is the number of shalom, wholeness, peace, completeness, peace, rest. All blinded. So three, five, seven. The Godhead is giving you grace. The Godhead is giving you peace. That is the blessing that is coming upon you from these words that are spoken. That's why they should be spoken only in love, because the Lord loves us. The Iranic blessing was meant to instill the sense of personal relationship with the living God, personal care, personal attention of the Lord to his people. But it's still in the third person. I want to show you something cool. The relationship Moses experienced was what? Face to face, I and thou. When the Lord spoke to Moses in Exodus 33, verse 19, watch what he said. Let's read that. He replied, I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of the Lord. Moreover, I show favor to whom I show favor, and I display mercy to whom I will. The personal pronoun I is used six times by the Lord. Regarding how he would pass by Moses. Moses knew that the Lord was with him. Moses knew that the Lord loved him. Now the Lord showed Moses his goodness. So why? That Moses would then imitate the goodness of God. And that's what we need to remember. To imitate God, you first have to know that he loves you and that he is what? With you. In order to imitate him, you have to have a relationship with him. The personal relationship that Moses had with a face-to-face, face-to-face with the Lord was with Yeshua the Messiah on Mount Sinai.

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Amen. Thank you for listening. If you would like to buy Justin a coffee or tea, or just leave a small tip to help support the podcast, please see the link in the description of this episode. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Until next time, may the Lord bless and keep you in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.