Numbers 6:22 - Meaning and Application

Here the priests, along with their other duties, are appointed to bless the people in the name of the Lord (Numbers 6:23). This was part of their work also (Deuteronomy 21:5). God gave the priests this honor, because the lesser is blessed by the greater. He also gave the people great comfort, because they looked on the priest as God’s spokesman to them.

The priests could do no more than ask God for a blessing, but since they were official mediators, people who speak for others, and acted in the name of the One who commands blessing, their prayer carried a promise with it. They were to speak with authority, hands lifted and face turned toward the people. This pointed ahead to Christ’s work in the world, which was to bless us (Acts 3:26), as the high priest of our faith. The last thing Jesus did on earth was lift his hands and bless his disciples (Luke 24:50-51).

Bishop Pearson notes a Jewish tradition that the priests blessed the people only at the close of the morning sacrifice, not the evening sacrifice. He says this showed that in the last days, the days of the Messiah, the blessing of the law would come to an end, and the blessing of Christ would take its place. This was also a pattern for gospel ministers, leaders of the assembly, who likewise should end their public worship with a blessing. Those who are God’s mouth to teach and command his people are also his mouth to bless them, and those who receive the law should also receive the blessing.

The Jewish teachers warned the people not to say, “What good can the blessing of this poor, simple priest do?” For, they said, the blessing does not depend on the priest, but on the holy blessed God. That is true. The priest was only the messenger, but God was the one who gave the blessing.

A set form of blessing is given here. In other acts of worship, no fixed wording was required, but this benediction, a formal blessing, was commanded by God so it would not seem to come from the priests themselves. So God put the exact words in their mouths (Numbers 6:24-26).

Notice first that the blessing is spoken over each person: “The Lord bless you.” Each one was to prepare to receive it, and each one could find enough in it to make him truly happy. “Blessed shall you be” (Deuteronomy 28:3). If we take the law as spoken to us, we may also take the blessing as spoken to us, as if our own name were written there.

Notice also that the name Jehovah, the Lord, is repeated three times. The Hebrew scholars observed that each use had a different accent, and even the Jews thought there was some mystery in this. We know what that mystery is, because the New Testament explains it. We are taught to expect blessing from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Each is Jehovah, and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord (2 Corinthians 13:14).

The blessing is centered on God’s favor, because that is the source of every good thing. “The Lord bless you” means this: when we bless God, we only speak well of him, but when he blesses us, he truly does good to us. Those whom he blesses are truly blessed.

“The Lord make his face shine upon you” points to the sun shining on the earth, bringing light, comfort, and new life. It means, “May the Lord love you and make you know that he loves you.” We cannot help but be happy if we have God’s love, and we cannot help but be at ease if we know we have it.

“The Lord lift up his countenance upon you” means the same thing, and it suggests the smile of a father on his child, or a friend on someone he delights in. If God gives us clear signs of his special favor and acceptance, that will fill the heart with joy (Psalm 4:7-8).

The fruit of this favor is protection, pardon, and peace. “The Lord keep you” speaks of protection from evil (Numbers 6:24). He is the one who keeps Israel and never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4), and all believers are kept by God’s power. “The Lord be gracious to you” means the Lord show mercy and forgive sin (Numbers 6:25). “The Lord give you peace” includes all the good that makes a person fully happy (Numbers 6:26).

God also promises to confirm this blessing. “They shall put my name on the children of Israel” (Numbers 6:27). He gives the priests leave to use his name in blessing the people, and to bless them as his own people, called by his name. This includes all the blessings they could pronounce, marking Israel as God’s special people, chosen in his love. God’s name on them was their honor, comfort, safety, and appeal: “We are called by your name; do not leave us.”

God adds, “And I will bless them.” A divine blessing goes with divine institutions, and gives them power and effect. What Christ says about peace is also true of this blessing: if the sons of peace and heirs of blessing are there, then the peace and the blessing will rest on them (Luke 10:5-6). In every place where God sets his name, he will meet his people and bless them.