HEBREW WORD STUDY – SHOW OF RESPECT – YASER PANAIN  ישר פניו  Yod Sine Resh   Pei Nun Yod Vav

Num 6:24-26: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: (25) The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:(26) The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

This Saturday I will be teaching the Parashah or Weekly Torah Portion online for those who are members of our All Access.  This weeks Torah Portion is called Naso which means to elevate or lift up. This is taken from Numbers 4:21-7:89 which includes priestly duties, purification, restitution, sotah or a wife accused of unfaithfulness, the Nazirite, the priestly blessing and the consecration of the tabernacle. 

Let me focus on the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26.  The word bless is barak which has various understandings both material and spiritual.  This blessing comes with protection. The word keep is shamar which is to guard, keep watch and protect. The Midrash tells the story of a king who calls a servant from a far away province.  When the servant arrives the king blesses him with a hundred pounds of gold. The servant packs the gold up and sets on his journey to return to his province. On the way, bandits attack him and steal his gold. The king gave him the gold but did not give him any warriors to protect him.  That is not the way God gives a blessing. When God blesses you He will send His angels to protect that blessing.

Then the Lord will make His face to shine upon you.  The word face is pani which is His presence. The word shine is ‘or, that is God’s Light.  In John 1:1 we learn that Jesus is that Light.  God will fill you with His presence through The Messiah. His Son Jesus.  He will be gracious to you. The word gracious is chanan which has various meanings including the idea of camping out.  Jesus will make camp in your heart when He, the light, is upon you. 

The Lord will lift up his countenance upon you. Countenance is again the word pani or the presence of God. The word lift up is nasa’ which also has the idea of turning toward something to face it. The Midrash also teaches that there is a difference between someone greeting you with his head turned down or away from you than when they look you in the eye, facing you. When someone looks you in the eye, turns their head toward you it is a sign of respect.  I see pictures of celebrities who sign autographs.  Some never look at the person they are giving their autograph to and then you see someone who does look at that person, looks them in the eye and smiles. Everyone notices the difference. The first person is showing no respect to their fan seeking an autograph the second is showing honor and respect for his fan.  For God to lift up his countenance or presence to us it is like looking us in the eye and smiling showing us respect.

Yet, it is more than that. When someone you care about is off in the distance and then recognizes you, they make eye contact and then smile, what do you feel?  You feel shalom, peace. That peaceful feeling of someone who truly cares for you and about you, who will search you out from a crowd and be happy to see you.  That little gesture brings peace.  When God looks you in the eye and smiles at you reassuring you that He loves you and cares for you, it brings peace.