78. Name and Blessing
Numbers 6:27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.
With the Aaronic Benediction the Lord puts His name upon His people, and He promises to bless them. God promises that His name is on us and the Name goes with us. The “Name” is the Presence of God, the Character of God and the Authority of God. When we have the Name upon us we have God with us and we are blessed.
The Benediction is given in three parts, corresponding to the three Persons in the One God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now that you have the name of God upon do not bear it in vain. Take the name with you, but do not take it empty and for no purpose. Use the Name only for good, in prayer, praise and thanksgiving. Carry the Name with you to bless others. I am with you to bless, says the Lord God. Do not use the name of the Lord to curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive. When we receive the Name, the Presence, and the Blessing of God with faith and thanks in the heart we will wear it well. We do not want to use it for bad purposes, nor will we want to use the name of God for no good purpose or just for nothing.
If we believe the promise in the Blessing we will be careful how we use the Name, for it has authority and power. The promise is real, the blessing is real, the name is real for us, and it is present with us. “The Name” is not empty, or neutral, or powerless. Therefore we pray, “Hallowed be Thy name.” We use the name that has been placed upon us a lot, in many good ways to bless our surroundings in prayer and praise. Yes, the Lord has blessed us with His Name, and He trusts us to use it often and use it well, and so we will not waste the power on frivolous things, and especially not for evil purposes. The promise is: the Name of Jesus blesses; but we are careful with it since it also curses. We ask God’s help to hallow it among us.