The Name

 October 25, 2022

The book of Numbers starts out as expected, with a census of the Israelite people as they were  wandering in the wilderness. While it might be interesting to serious Biblical scholars, I find it pretty dull. That all changed however, in the sixth chapter. Verses 22-27 give us one of the most ancient and revered blessings in the entire Bible:

““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 6:23-27 

It’s this last sentence that captures my attention tonight. God puts his Name upon those blessed in this way. No wonder Israel has survived these more than three thousand years. God’s Name is mighty! All God is, is wrapped up in the Name, and he places it upon those so blessed.

In the New Testament, St. Paul carries this even further: “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,”

—Philippians 2:10 

A telling example of this is found in John’s Gospel when Jesus is about to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

“Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” —John 18:3-6 

In the original, where Jesus identifies himself as the One they seek, it doesn’t actually say, “I am he.” The pronoun is absent. What Jesus actually said was the Name of God, “I Am.” The soldiers involuntarily fell down before the Name.

With such power in the Name, why do we not bless one another more? Why do we fail to as Numbers says it, “put the Name upon them?” Instead, we tend in our human fallenness to curse, more than we bless. We complain, belittle, blame, and castigate. No wonder people are so powerless, bound by sin and negativity! If all I do is complain about circumstances I don’t like and people who rub me the wrong way, I am not giving God the avenue he chooses to bless them. The Powers arrayed against people whose lives are filled with violence, anger, vengeance, and complaint have no Name before which they must bow. So they wreak havoc, just because we fail to bless others, putting the Name above all names upon them.