The Blessing and the Name
Aaron from the Borckhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” - Numbers 6:22-27
LORD, these words are familiar to our ears, but we fail to feel their their weight. We don’t comprehend the wonder of this blessing because we do not contemplate the glory of Your Name. This is true in part because Your Name is no longer pronounced in our hearing. We think of You only in terms of LORD or Father, but You have a personal Name which You have disclosed to men. Sadly, Your Name is no longer pronounced because of the veil over our hearts. The Israelites heard Your Name, but few of them valued its glory. They followed Your cloud in the dessert and rested under the warmth of Your fire at night, but they still did not comprehend the wonder of Your Name.
Was it Your intention for Your people to stop saying Your Name, or was is simply necessary? At some point in history, Jews who were jealous for Your Name realized that they were always breaking the commandment concerning Your Name. They could not treat Your Name as holy because, as Isaiah said, they were men and women of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips. How could they possibly put Your Name upon their lips? And if Jews will not pronounce Your Name, then we Gentiles must not - at least not yet.
Choosing to say LORD or HaShem or the Name instead of pronouncing YHWH is a step toward restoring our awe - and I believe it has been a necessary step. But what a great loss! A veil remains over our hearts because Your Name is not LORD! You long to related to us in through Your personal Name which carries more weight than we can comprehend - a name which Moses valued more than his own life. Your desire has always been to bless Your children by “putting Your Name on us.” But Your Name is holy and until we understand that, we will not be free to use it as You desire.
LORD, I believe that when Jews and Gentiles are fully reconciled in Your Son, then Your Name will be restored. YHWH and Yeshua will the names on our lips. What a joy that will be to Your heart, and to ours! In the New Jerusalem, those who belong to Your will have Your Name written on their foreheads, along with the Name of our Savior. This is the Promise that I long for most among those listed in Revelation. In that day, Aaron’s blessing will find its true source and its end.
”He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” - Rev. 3:12