Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 6:22-27
The Priests Were Also To Play Their Part In Maintaining the Holiness of Israel: How Israel Were To Be Blessed (Numbers 6:22).
The whole camp having played their part in maintaining the holiness of Israel (Numbers 5:1), each individual having played his part in maintaining the holiness of Israel (Numbers 5:5), the sinned against husband having played his part in maintaining the holiness of Israel (Numbers 5:11), the Nazirite having played a full part in maintaining the holiness of Israel (Numbers 6:1), it was now the turn of the priests to add to that blessing. We must not underestimate the significance of the blessing. It would be seen as helping to bring about their dedication and Yahweh's blessing on His people. It would ‘put His name on them'.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,'
These words stress that we have here the words of Moses from Yahweh and continually emphasise the beginning of a new section (see Numbers 5:1; Numbers 5:5; Numbers 5:11; Numbers 6:1)
‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “In this way you shall bless the children of Israel. You shall say to them,
Yahweh bless you and keep you,
Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you,
Yahweh lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace.” '
God demonstrated what His good pleasure was for His people by providing the words of the blessing. The priests were to bless them in this way. Conformity to this was probably seen as being as important as conformity to other correct ritual. It did not lay within the priests' area of choice.
Yahweh's Blessing.
While being in poetic parallelism the thought of the poem reveals the common chiastic sequence of thought. Yahweh's gracious activity towards them is sandwiched between descriptions of His blessings on them of provision, protection and peace.
a ‘Yahweh bless you and keep you.' The blessing of Yahweh very much involved material blessings (Genesis 7:16; Genesis 22:17; Leviticus 26:3; Deuteronomy 28:2. Such blessing was an integral part of the covenant. It is this factor that justifies our prayer, ‘Give us this day our daily bread' in the covenant prayer (Matthew 6:11). The priest was thus assuring Yahweh that they were worthy of blessing because they were being obedient, and was calling on Yahweh to provide such blessings and make their lives prosperous and wholesome.
“And keep you.” For the significance of this see Psalms 121, which is a commentary on these words. On the other side of the equation to blessing they needed to be preserved and given long life. He would enable them to be strong. He would not let evil influences affect them. He would protect them from evil, preserving their going out and their coming in. This combination of blessing and keeping occurs regularly and justifies us in seeing the two as one (e.g. Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 5:33; Deuteronomy 7:12; Deuteronomy 30:19: Psalms 67:1). This was what the priest was seen as calling down on Israel.
b ‘Yahweh make his face to shine on you.' The shining of the face on someone indicated an attitude of love, lovingkindness and mercy. It was the message of the lampstand in His dwellingplace. This involved saving them in His covenant love (Psalms 31:16; Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:19), and delivering them from all their troubles. It was a prayer that the shining of His face on them would be their light and salvation (Psalms 27:1). It therefore also involved teaching them His statutes through which they would see light (Psalms 119:135; Psalms 36:9; Psalms 43:3). It is the opposite of His hiding His face from them (Psalms 44:24). By what it accomplished Israel would be a witness to the nations of God's saving power (Psalms 67:1). This would not be seen simply as the priest's wish, but as a means of it being brought about. As a result of the priest's words the word of Yahweh would go forth to do His will (compare Isaiah 55:11).
c ‘And be gracious to you.' This calls for Yahweh's own compassionate activity on their behalf. If Yahweh did not reveal His undeserved love towards them where would they be? Without His gracious activity all their efforts would be in vain. Here the priest is calling on the direct activity of Yahweh in unmerited grace without which they could do nothing.
b ‘Yahweh lift up his countenance on you.' To lift up the countenance was to look on someone, in this case with favour. This involved putting gladness in their hearts and watching over His people and keeping them at peace (Psalms 4:6). The priest was seeking to bring them into a place where God would look on them and bring His peace on them, and was by his words calling for Yahweh's gracious response.
a ‘And give you peace.' Finally the priest calls on Yahweh to give them peace, peace in their hearts, peace between each other, peace with the world outside, and above all peace with God. It signified the whole spectrum of peace.
The threefoldness of the blessing in its poetic rhythm stressed its completeness, the fivefoldness in its thought (‘bless and keep you' being seen as one) stressed its connection with the covenant. The whole blessing contained fifteen words stressing the combination of both.
All these prayers would be seen by Israel as being as effective as Balak would later hope that Balaam's words might be against Israel (Numbers 22-24). This would indeed be seen by them as one reason why Balaam could not assail them. They were under the positive blessing of Yahweh. Balaam saw it that way too (Numbers 22:12; Numbers 24:1).
“ So shall they put my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
By this divinely given blessing the priests would be putting Yahweh's name on the children of Israel. By this He would be stamping them as His (Revelation 3:12; Revelation 14:1; Revelation 22:4). But the name indicated more than identification. To know His name was to see Him powerfully at work (compare Exodus 6:3; Exodus 6:7; Exodus 7:5; Exodus 7:17; Exodus 8:22; Exodus 14:18). To have His name put on them was to be in a position whereby they were sealed as a holy people demonstrating that they were in enjoyment of the benefit of His activity and His blessings. Just as Yahweh would set His name in the Sanctuary, thus dwelling among them (Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11; Deuteronomy 14:24; Deuteronomy 26:2) so would He set it on His people and walk with them and be their God. That is why He would bless them.
It should be noted that there is no suggestion that the Priest could withhold the blessing. It was his bounden duty to give it. It was God alone Who decided who came within the sphere of the blessing.