The Priestly Prayer of the Blessing

Understanding the meaning of the English word bless, which is barakh in Hebrew, is so important because without this you will never receive the full impartation and complete implication of what this divine prayer can usher into your life.

We must overcome what could be a stumbling block in truly receiving the fullness of the promises and unparalleled impartation being offered to us! Receiving what YHWH (YeHoVaH, YaHWeH, the heavenly Father) has for us in the rest of this prayer is contingent on comprehending and accepting the meaning of this first portion alone.

Before writing this book, I developed a powerful two-part audio CD teaching and other ancillary material concerning the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing, including my own amplified Hebrew-to-English translation of the prayer. I asked a good friend of mine, a man of G-D whom I deeply respect, to read the amplified Hebrew-to-English translation of the prayer that I created.

When he read this first portion concerning the Hebrew meaning of the word bless, he said, “This is not possible!” It appeared to upset him, and he said, “This could offend others!” I began to explain the deeper truths I found biblically from my teaching to support what I was sharing, but he didn’t want to hear it. He was insistent that this could become a stumbling block to people and they wouldn’t get the rest of the benefits because of the interpretation I am presenting.

I knew in my heart he was wrong. I had already shared this teaching in congregations of various denominations and the presence of YHWH (the heavenly Father) always manifested so powerfully that the people would be deeply affected and dramatically transformed.

Yet because I deeply respected this man of G-D so much, his criticism troubled me and caused me to seek G-D in prayer. I was concerned over what he had said to me. For several weeks I continued to be deeply unsettled by his reaction. Yet it was this catalyst I needed to begin to realize the importance of truly understanding this first portion above all. G-D impressed upon me, “If one doesn’t understand this first part, they will never receive the rest.”

The English word bless is an abstract concept. Think about it, what does it mean to bless? Is it merely saying to another, “G-D bless you”? What does it mean when we say to the Lord G-D Almighty, “I bless You, my G-D”?

In Hebrew the word for bless is barakh. One of the ways we can better understand the meaning of this abstract word is by looking into how the word is used in other passages of Holy Scripture.

The camel kneels down so that the person may receive the gifts that the camel is carrying on its back. Figuratively, kneeling down to help someone pick up something they have dropped is also “blessing” them.

This first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing communicates that the one true G-D of Israel is kneeling down in front of you to make Himself available to you in a way like you never thought possible. You will experience the greatest intimacy possible with YHWH (your heavenly Father) and receive all the gifts He wants to impart to you.

Imagine YHWH kneeling before you as a good Father who would do anything for you, His child, desiring to demonstrate His availability to you. If you were a little child seeing your daddy kneeling in front of you, with his arms extended toward you, you would receive this as a clear invitation, beckoning you to respond.

This first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing involves G-D our Father making Himself available to each of us. It demands a response: Do we ignore Him? Do we just stand and look at Him kneeling before us? No! We are moved to respond in our hearts and humble ourselves and fall to our knees so we can receive His invitation! A child seeing his good father or mother kneeling in front of him would know that what comes next is their loving embrace.

The one true G-D of Israel wants to come down from His heavenly throne to be with you. This is actually what occurs when the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is pronounced over you in the name of the Jewish High Priest Yeshua (Jesus).

The concrete or extended meaning of the Hebrew word barakh is “to do” or “to give something of value to another.” G-D blesses you by making Himself available. He wants to provide for your needs, and you in turn bless G-D by giving Him yourself in submission as He kneels in front of you with His outstretched arms of love.

Many of us have need of healing, deliverance, salvation, or a financial or some other breakthrough! We often turn to G-D in our times of trouble and ask Him to answer our prayers. We move from one need to the next. But Yeshua talked about why we shouldn’t be anxious for our daily needs:

Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit to his stature? Why take thought about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They neither work, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. Therefore, if [G-D] so clothes the grass of the field, which today is here and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” (For the Gentiles seek after all these things.) For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

—MATTHEW 6:25–32

The key statement made here is that YHWH your heavenly Father knows what you need before you even ask for it. What must you do to receive such favor of the Father?

We are not called to seek the kingdom as an end in itself. We are to seek the kingdom to be with our heavenly Father, who wants to supply our needs “according to His riches in glory” (Phil. 4:19). When we are with our heavenly Father, we receive everything we need. In Matthew 6:8 Yeshua said: “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (NKJV).

According to Yeshua the main thing we must do to gain favor from the Father is to “seek first the kingdom of G-D.” Many books and teachings have been created about the kingdom of G-D, but I believe there is a misunderstanding of what Yeshua was referring to. When Yeshua said, “Seek first the kingdom of G-D and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you,” He was conveying that we are to seek the kingdom of G-D, not as an end in itself, but because the King is there. He was referring to obtaining an intimate relationship with the one true G-D of Israel. When we are in the presence of our heavenly Father, we receive everything we need by default. We don’t have to even ask because He, as a good Father, is with us and already discerns what we are lacking.

So many of us live from one need to another. We seek G-D’s hand of provision instead of seeking His face. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 YHWH gives us a formula for truly obtaining healing and even revival to invade our land.

Imagine what G-D is saying here! People first need to humble themselves. To humble oneself in the Hebrew sense is to come to the end of yourself and confess that you don’t have all the answers, the power, or the means to survive without G-D in your life. The best way to describe it is receiving an epiphany or having an “aha moment” of revelation. King David humbled himself often before almighty G-D in his psalms.

The injunction laid out by G-D in 2 Chronicles 7:14, after we humble ourselves, is to pray—to start communicating with our heavenly Father and talking with Him. But it doesn’t end there. Most of us have come to the Lord at one time or another and prayed to Him. But it is the next part of that scripture that is truly different. The Father tells His people to seek His face. This is a call to deep intimacy.

If the Father is asking us to seek His face, doesn’t this mean that we can have access to Him in the most intimate way? YHWH would not be so cruel to tease us, saying, “Seek My face,” but then continue to hide Himself from us. G-D is not a liar!

Our heavenly Father is saying, “I want you to approach Me, to come into My presence. I want you to allow Me to be with you, to share My love with you. You have been distant—caught up in your busy life, yet here I am right in front of you—I want you to know how much I love you. I am waiting for you to tell Me, ‘I love you, Daddy (Abba)!’”

I remind you about my childhood dream when I was transported into heaven and I beheld G-D the Father in the Shekinah glory. Not only was it the most beautiful thing I have ever beheld, as colorful beams of light pushed out toward me from the source of the beautiful golden light in the distance, but also I wasn’t afraid. Instead I felt great peace and fulfillment. Then I heard G-D’s voice inside of me and also outside of me as He said, “Don’t be afraid. I am your friend. I will never hurt you!”

Satan absolutely hates the heavenly Father. Why? Because Satan was thrown out of heaven by the Father for rebelling against Him! Satan’s main objective is to keep us away from intimacy with the Father. The devil has already been defeated by Yeshua at the cross. By recognizing Yeshua as our Messiah and Lord (Adonai), we can gain intimacy with Him and sense His presence as we commune with Him. Satan cannot stop the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) from the work He is performing in our lives, once we have been born again. But if Satan could somehow discredit the heavenly Father and keep us from accessing Him, then he has a chance of thwarting our God-given destiny and purpose.

As I contemplated the reality of this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing where the Hebrew conveys that the one true G-D wants to “kneel before me, making Himself available to me,” I beheld this following vision.

While worshipping YHWH, I had a vision. I believe this is a God-inspired parable. I envisioned a homeless man in his early forties walking on the busy streets of New York City on a hot summer’s day. His face was unshaven and dirty. His clothes were disheveled and torn. He had his hand out begging for money as many passed him by, ignoring him. Some looked upon him with disdain.

The man cried out, “Oh G-D, help me. I am so hungry. I just need enough money to buy some food. Please, Lord, help me.” Soon after praying this, a young businessman’s eyes caught a glimpse of the homeless man as he walked toward him. The Ruach HaKodesh moved upon the businessman’s heart with deep compassion.

He reached into his pocket for cash. All he had was a ten-dollar bill. He stopped in front of the homeless man and gave him the money. The homeless man gazed back into the eyes of the businessman as the businessman said, “This is from G-D for you.”

The homeless man looked down at the ten-dollar bill that he now clutched in his hand and responded, “G-D bless you.”

Then the setting changed, and I saw the homeless man sitting in the doorway of an out-of-business store, relishing every bite of the hamburger and french fries he bought with the ten dollars. He looked up to G-D and thanked Him for this answer to prayer. The next day he was back on the sidewalk begging for money to buy his next meal.

I sensed the Lord showing me that this homeless man represented many Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah Yeshua today! We often live from one need to the next—beseeching G-D for an answer to our prayers as we face the circumstances in our lives. We seek G-D’s hands but not His face. For when we seek true intimacy with our heavenly Father, He already knows all the needs we have and by default of being in His presence, we receive His forgiveness, favor, healing, and provision!

The homeless man was now begging for money to buy his next meal, but to no avail. He was surrounded by masses of pedestrians walking quickly past him, making their way to bus terminals and train stations as they traveled home after a hard day’s work. The poor man felt it was as if he had become invisible. Tears came to his eyes as he realized this was his reality—a life of misfortune and circumstances beyond his control.

He turned again to G-D, praying, “Oh G-D, I can’t do this anymore. I need You—I give up trying to do this on my own. I need You more than the food I need to eat. I need You more than the water I need to drink. I need You more than this stagnant city air I am breathing. Take me home. Life is just too hard! I can’t do this anymore.” Like King David in the psalms, this man had come to the end of himself.

Minutes after praying, while standing at the curb waiting for the traffic light to change, a limousine pulled up in front of him. The limo driver powered down his window and called out to him, “Sir!” The homeless man looked around thinking the driver couldn’t be talking to him. “Yes, I’m talking to you.” The driver got out of the vehicle and opened the back door, inviting the homeless to get in, “Come with me—I will take you to get some food.”

The homeless man tentatively got into the limo. As the limo took off, the driver said, “There’s a fridge back there with drinks. Take what you’d like.” The homeless man wondered if he was dreaming as he took a bottle of cold water out of the fridge. As the limo drove through the city, the homeless man looked up to heaven and silently thanked the Lord. In the safety of the luxurious limo he soon drifted off to sleep.

When he awoke, he found that the limo was driving on a scenic road in the mountains. The limo turned and entered a tree-lined driveway, which led to a high-walled property. A gilded gate opened automatically, allowing the limo access. The homeless man asked himself, “Am I dreaming? Am I dead and being transported to heaven?” The estate was beautifully landscaped with flower gardens, trimmed hedges, exotic trees, and large stretches of green grass.

The limo stopped at the entrance of the large exquisite mansion. The limo driver opened the back door, ushering him out of the vehicle, “Sir, please come with me. Dinner is almost ready.” The homeless man followed the driver to the front door of the mansion and entered. He was suddenly surrounded by opulence, quite a different environment from the dirt-ridden New York City streets and back alleys that had been his home for the past several years. The sweet smell of fragrances filled the atmosphere, much better than the stench of the city streets and subways during the hot stifling summer days.

The limo driver beckoned him to follow him. As they entered the lavish dining room, he told the homeless man to take his place at the long banqueting table. The limo driver assured him, “The Master will be here shortly.”

The Master entered the room. The homeless man beheld the awesome presence of the Master who exhibited a warm smile and piercing eyes that sparkled with warmth and acceptance. The homeless man rose to his feet as the Master approached him with his arms extended. The Master embraced the homeless man and held him close as the homeless man broke down weeping. The Master said softly, “You are home now!” He encouraged the man to be seated. The homeless man wondered if he had expired and now was in heaven.

The Master smiled, reading his mind, “No, you are not dead—this isn’t a dream—this isn’t your final resting place.” As the seven-course meal was served by an array of hospitable angels, the Master began to impart scriptures from the Word of G-D to build the homeless man’s faith and help him understand what was happening.

He reminded the homeless man of the prayer he had prayed, “Oh G-D, I can’t do this anymore. I need You—I give up trying to do this on my own. I need You more than the food I need to eat. I need You more than the water I need to drink. I need You more than this stagnant city air I am breathing. Take me home. Life is just too hard! I can’t do this anymore.”

The Master continued talking with the man and told him, “This can be your home—this can be your life from now on.” The homeless man was escorted to a bathroom and encouraged to shower. There was a fresh set of clothes waiting for him outside the shower. The Master then took him to a large closet full of clothes and told him that this and the contents within were now his. He showed the man the bedroom where he would sleep.

The homeless man lived with the Master for several months, learning the way of his Lord. Then the Master beckoned the homeless man to come closer. He smiled at him and embraced the man and then as He pulled away He said, “I believe you are ready now. You are strong enough to go back out into the world. Your assignment is to find the desperate, the hurting, those who are ready to give up everything to follow Me. Go to the byways and the highways inviting them to come. But don’t stay out in the world too long—I don’t want you to succumb to the world, your fleshly desires, and the devil. My home is your home now. I love you—I am your heavenly Father.”

This allegorical vision was so real to me. I was moved to tears as I beheld this God-inspired parable. As I pondered this vision, I sensed that many of us do not understand what Yeshua did on the cross for us. He broke down the middle partition, the veil, separating us from access to G-D the Father in the heavenly holy of holies. After many of us come to know Yeshua as Messiah and Lord (Adonai), we look upon that as a one-time encounter. As years go by, we lose the understanding that the “born-again experience” wasn’t meant to be a one-time event, but rather, it was our entranceway into an ongoing intimacy with the one true G-D of Israel.

Even though some of us enter into a deeper relationship with G-D through the person of the Holy Spirit and through communion with Yeshua, many times we partition our lives between our fellowships, Bible studies, or worship services and our ongoing day-to-day lives. For the most part we put spiritual things aside to attend to our worldly affairs. Of course, when we face bad circumstances, conflicts, opposition, sickness, and life’s adversities, we become like the homeless man beseeching the Lord’s intervention. We don’t realize it, but we are living from crisis to crisis—from one need to another—because our moment-by-moment journey is lived separated from the One who wants to provide the very best for us—YHWH (YeHoVaH, YaHWeH, our heavenly Father).

The parable points to why this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is the most important thing you need to grasp in order to receive the full impartation of what G-D desires to give you.

Your heavenly Father wants to make Himself available to you, not just to give you help as you seek His hand of salvation, deliverance, healing, or provision. But He, through this prayer—the greatest prayer of grace authored by Him—is making Himself available to you throughout each moment of your day.

“To bless” in the Hebrew means that He has left His heavenly abode and wants to kneel in front of you, making Himself available to you. Not just for you to receive the good things, which He desires to give you, but He kneels in front of you as an invitation for you to be with Him. He wants to place His name (shem) upon you.

YHWH wants to supernaturally place a portion of His very person, His holy character, and His power and authority upon you. He is right in front of you, but it is up to you to respond to His presence by faith.

Again I say, this first part of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is so important because if you do not understand and receive the truth of this reality, you will not access the rest of what He is about to impart to you through this divine prayer.

I remember one woman who received as a gift the framable print containing my amplified Hebrew-to-English translation of the prayer. She could not accept the actual translation of this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing. Because she stumbled in receiving this first potion, she rejected the entire translation. I felt bad that she missed this life-changing invitation to know her heavenly Father in the most intimate and tangible way possible.

This first portion is the key to receiving the fullness of what will be imparted to us! She could not accept the fact that YHWH will bless her by kneeling down in front of her, making Himself available. She had been brought up as a Catholic and felt that the translation of the word blessing (as barakh) sounded blasphemous. She said, “How could the one true G-D who is so holy ever do such a thing?”

As I contemplated her reaction, I realized that I too was uncomfortable with it. While writing this book, I went on a trip to Israel as part of my role as a TV producer for Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural! TV program. There’s something about being in the Holy Land. As I was praying about this first portion of G-D’s divine prayer, the Lord placed the following thought in my mind.

I was confronted with the fact that Yeshua was one with the Father. He said that everything He does is what the Father had shown Him to do.

When asked by His disciples to reveal the heavenly Father to them, Yeshua shared that He is one with the Father and the Father is one with Him.

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is sufficient for us.”

[Yeshua] said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

—JOHN 14:8–9

Many theologians convey that Yeshua came as YHWH (the heavenly Father) in the form of a man, as G-D’s only begotten Son. In this way Yeshua demonstrated the Father’s desire to save us, deliver us, heal us, and bless us. One scripture that identifies Yeshua’s role to be the outward manifestation of YHWH (our heavenly Father) on earth is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

In other words, Yeshua was the tangible evidence of the invisible person of the Father and the Holy Spirit, clothed in bodily form so humanity might get to know the one true G-D of Israel.

We see the deeper meaning of the Hebrew word barakh through what Yeshua did during His final Passover Seder with His disciples.

[Yeshua], knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He came from G-D and was going to G-D, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and took a towel and wrapped Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was wrapped.

—JOHN 13:3–5

Yeshua, who is representing G-D the Father in the form of His only begotten Son, is on His knees washing the feet of the disciples. This is a perfect picture of barakh (to bless) being illustrated through Yeshua kneeling down in front of another. It appears that the disciples felt uncomfortable with this. They must of have been thinking that this was beneath the Messiah’s dignity. He shouldn’t be kneeling down in front of them washing their feet; instead they should be doing this for Him.

Then He came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

[Yeshua] answered him, “You do not understand what I am doing now. But later you will understand.”

Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

[Yeshua] answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

—JOHN 13:6–9

Yeshua desired to teach Peter and the other disciples how to bless others by being a servant. The Messiah explained that if Peter wouldn’t allow Yeshua to bless him by washing his feet, then Peter could not have any true relationship with Yeshua. Peter suddenly changed his mind concerning Yeshua kneeling before him and responded, “Then don’t just wash my feet, but give my whole body a bath!”

The Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is a prayer that the one true G-D has written and it has been given to us in order to have His very person imparted to us in the most intimate way possible. Having His name (shem) placed upon us is the way for us to begin to experience the Father supernaturally here on earth, as someday we will do forever in heaven.

Yeshua was demonstrating that YHWH’s intention in this Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is, “I want to bless you. I want to kneel down in front of you, My son or My daughter, and make Myself available to you and by your receiving Me, you will receive all I have for you!”

Many believers have a personal relationship with Yeshua and the Holy Spirit. Many have by faith received Yeshua as their Messiah and Lord (Adonai), and through repentance and a simple prayer of salvation have begun to supernaturally experience the presence of Yeshua in their lives. Others have received a deeper, experiential, and supernatural relationship with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) through an encounter with Him. Some refer to this event as the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” while others call it an awakening, revival, or renewal.

Yet it has been difficult for many of us to relate to YHWH our heavenly Father in an intimate and experiential way.

There has been unlimited teaching concerning “the Father heart of G-D.” This teaching conveys that Yeshua showed us who the Father truly is by doing what the Father would have Him do. The Father was living through His only begotten Son, implementing everything His Son did and living vicariously through all that Yeshua experienced, even at the hands of His enemies.

Through religion we often view YHWH (our heavenly Father) as seated on His throne in heaven, holy, unapproachable, and surrounded by twenty-four elders and myriad angels on their faces worshipping Him. Though it is true that He is seated on His throne in heaven, holy and being worshipped continually, this divine prayer, which He alone authored, is the way in which YHWH helps us connect with Him in a supernatural, intimate, and experiential way like never before.

This Priestly Prayer of the Blessing was given for the children of Israel, but the Father now has revealed its relevance for every believer today! He has divulged how it can be proclaimed over us every day in a manner He intended. The main reason it was given is so that we can have His very person, His holy character, and His power and authority placed upon us.

Once we embrace Him and He embraces us, all the promises and gifts He wants to bestow upon us are imparted to us as a result of having Him with us in our lives in a very real way. Not only can we have intimacy with Yeshua and the Ruach HaKodesh, but now we can also have full access in a supernatural way to YHWH our heavenly Father.

This is the way to begin a relationship with what I call the fullness of the Elohim (the Godhead, the Trinity, the three-in-one)! The church has long been operating in a “two-cord relationship,” but a “three-cord relationship” is now being made available through G-D’s divine prayer. The Bible describes the importance of this three-cord relationship:

This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing. Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

—ECCLESIASTES 4:8–12, NLT

I keep hearing from many men and women of G-D that there is a great move of G-D coming to invade planet Earth. They say it will not be like any other revival that occurred before! As a student of revivals I couldn’t imagine how this next great end-time revival could be different from any other! Most moves are similar to ones that have occurred before. But I believe the Lord has shown me that the difference of this next revival will be in YHWH (our heavenly Father) revealing Himself in a way like never before—in the manifestation of the fullness of the Shekinah glory. For those of us who enter in, we will be walking in a far greater outpouring of the supernatural power of G-D. Yeshua said we will do “greater works [or miracles]” than He did (John 14:12). This will happen as a result of our walking in the fullness of the Elohim (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

We now have only touched the surface of what the full implications are concerning this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing. It is so important to grasp this truth, I feel compelled to go deeper to reveal what the Ruach HaKodesh downloaded to me concerning this first part of YHWH’s divine prayer.

We know that many countries are led by dictators. If approached, these rulers require their subjects to follow special protocols and customs, such as bringing gifts and offerings, and to be sure to approach the ruler with humility, honor, and respectfulness. In olden times the king often sat upon his throne. The subject would enter his courts tentatively because of the authority and majesty of the king! Depending on the king’s mood, your request might be granted or your life might be taken! Because it was so risky and unpredictable, most subjects in the kingdom would avoid approaching their king.

Religion often places separation, or distance, between G-D and us. It portrays YHWH (our heavenly Father) as seated on His throne in heaven, too holy to be approached. The truth is, the one true G-D of Israel, King of the universe, loves His spiritual sons and daughters and desires to come down from His throne in heaven, making Himself available to us in a tangible way. We often forget that He is omnipresent, meaning that He has the ability to be present everywhere at all times. In the Holy Scriptures there are a number of times when YHWH (the heavenly Father) Himself left His heavenly throne and came to reveal Himself to an undeserving people!

From the beginning, when Adam was created, we read that the Ruach HaKodesh moved upon the surface of the earth. The Hebrew word for G-D in Genesis chapter one is Elohim. It is a plural word for G-D; the triune nature of G-D is alluded to in creation: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It was as if the Ruach HaKodesh acted on behalf of G-D the Father’s very hands in the act of creation. We read that G-D the Father speaks to the Son and the Holy Spirit that He wants to create the first man in their image and likeness.

We know that Adam—the first man—was fashioned out of the clay of the earth. But we read that it was YHWH the Father Himself that left His heavenly throne to come upon the earth to somehow kneel above Adam, who was in an inanimate form, made out of earthly clay.

The English words Lord G-D actually in the Hebrew are YHWH (YeHoVaH, or YaHWeH, the heavenly Father) Elohim. The Father had lowered His face to Adam’s face and exhaled His breath into Adam’s nostrils. Remember, the Hebrew word for breath is NaShem, and the Hebrew word for name is shem. Shem means more than the English word name. It means His very person, His holy character, and His power and authority. In essence YHWH breathed His DNA—His shem (His image and likeness) into an inanimate form of clay, and Adam came alive and transformed into the first human being.

Adam was filled with the Father’s shem—His DNA, His glory, His life force, the very person of YHWH, the holy character of YHWH, and the power and authority of YHWH. Adam, though naked, was even clothed with the glory. Eve too, fashioned by G-D from the rib of Adam, received the shem of YHWH. Though she too was naked, she had the “supernatural clothes” of the glory of the Father.

We read in Genesis that YHWH would come down from His heavenly throne to bless Adam and Eve, and even did so when they disobeyed Him and ate fruit from the forbidden tree.

Since the time Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the Garden of Eden, the desire of YHWH (our heavenly Father) has been to reestablish intimacy with mankind. He had created Adam and Eve in His likeness and image so He could have fellowship with someone of His own kind. He wanted a family of His own—sons and daughters!

The Bible indicates that YHWH understood loneliness. When He created the animals, He made both male and female. Each species had another who was created in their image and likeness so they would not be alone. Then once He created Adam, the heavenly Father said to him, “It is not good that you be alone!” (See Genesis 2:8.) YHWH’s very reason for creating Adam was to have a son who would understand the heart of G-D and would be able to love and receive love back. G-D wanted to lavish blessings on Adam. But G-D knew that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone. So G-D created Eve out of the DNA of Adam’s rib so Adam too would have someone created in his image and likeness.

The death both Adam and Eve suffered after they sinned was not a physical death; they lost free access to the intimacy they enjoyed in the Garden of Eden with their Father. No longer could they or their descendants see the face of G-D. The stain of original sin separated mankind from Him.

We all carry this empty hole within us. Something is definitely missing. We try and fill this loneliness and emptiness with substitutes for the real thing. It is our human spirit yearning for the missing relationship of communion with our heavenly Father.

Moses was allowed to get close again to YHWH his heavenly Father. He could hear His voice clearly and talk to Him as if face-to-face. G-D came down from heaven in the form of the Shekinah glory hidden in a cloud. Moses sensed His presence. There is nothing like being in the presence of G-D.

I will never forget my dream as a five-year-old boy where I encountered G-D in the form of the Shekinah glory in heaven; it changed my life! That one moment in time launched me into a search for the one true G-D. Being in His presence, to be touched by His glory, and hear His comforting voice—nothing else has ever been as powerful in my life. Forever the vision and experience of this I will always remember in vivid detail. I can still recall the wellness of being that flooded my person. The glory light, which was YHWH (the heavenly Father) Himself, was a golden bright light with colorful beams that fanned out toward me and all around me. These celestial beams of light formed a pathway leading to the source in the distance. All the time, I was being drawn closer to the light of the glory, close to the actual person of G-D the heavenly Father!

The main reason for your heavenly Father to kneel in front of you is so you can experience His divine embrace. He desires to impart Himself to you! As a result, all the good things He is and has for you will be transferred to you—His gifts and a portion of His inheritance for you, so you can fulfill your God-given destiny and purpose while on earth.

I say that those people who might challenge my amplified Hebrew-to-English translation of the first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing need to know that it must be understood and accepted in order for you to receive its full impartation.

Barakh communicates that we are to humble ourselves and bow in submission to G-D and offer to Him all we are and all we have. We are to give to Him our very person—every fiber of our being, every talent, everything He has given us—and show forth our appreciation for who He is. In this way we honor Him and lavish Him with gifts of praise and worship!

But what does it mean when it says that YHWH wants to bless us? Is it hard to accept the fact that the one true G-D of heaven and earth, YHWH, leaves His heavenly throne in some cosmic fashion to kneel before us to offer Himself to us? If we are honest, we would be like Peter was when Yeshua began to wash his feet, “I am not worthy!”

But this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is the most significant part of the prayer—it is the ultimate doorway to receive all the gifts and promises from heaven! G-D is making Himself available to you! Is it too hard to accept this unmerited favor? Not only did YHWH leave His throne in heaven during creation, but He did so many other times.

Not only does sin separate us from G-D and G-D from us, so does religion. Religion promulgates that G-D is far too holy for us to draw near. But Moses provides a different story.

Moses was allowed to draw near to G-D as He appeared in the burning bush. Moses clearly heard YHWH’s voice. Moses was afraid. He could sense the holiness, and he was told to remove his sandals in reverence. His fear was so great he stammered when he answered G-D. When YHWH talked to Moses, he could hear G-D audibly and clearly.

Some religious scholars both in Judaism and Christianity say that it wasn’t G-D Himself who appeared in the burning bush. They cannot accept that the holy G-D of Israel could leave His heavenly throne. Though they know He is omnipresent, they cannot fathom Him appearing in such a form as in the burning bush. These scholars say it was the “angel of the Lord” as mentioned in Exodus 3:2. The word angel in the Bible can also mean “messenger.” Whether G-D had an intermediary or not, the language contained in this account makes it clear that G-D Himself had left His throne in heaven to communicate directly to Moses.

The angel of [YHWH] appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

When [YHWH] saw that he turned aside to see, [G-D] called to him from out of the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses.”

And he said, “Here am I.”

—EXODUS 3:2–4

Can you see how YHWH directly communicated with Moses from the midst of the burning bush?

[YHWH] said, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the [Elohim] of your father, the [G-D] of Abraham, the [G-D] of Isaac, and the [G-D] of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon [G-D].

—EXODUS 3:5–6

The scriptures above cannot be any clearer. Moses’s impression was that it was the G-D of Israel Himself who was being revealed in the burning bush. YHWH allowed Moses and the children of Israel to hear His voice!

Then on Mount Sinai after Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, as he stood in YHWH’s Shekinah glory cloud and sensed YHWH’s awesome presence, he again heard His voice. This was YHWH coming down to earth from His heavenly throne to bless Moses and the children of Israel. Moses received the Ten Commandments written by YHWH’s own finger. It was YHWH’s intent to come down from His high abode in heaven and bless those in covenant relationship with Him.

The children of Israel had a lack of knowledge about who the G-D of Israel was when they were slaves in Egypt. They didn’t have the Word of YHWH—the Torah had not yet been given to them yet. Most of what they knew about G-D was passed down orally. They were frightened of YHWH. They had witnessed His awesome power as He sent ten plagues upon Egypt and placed judgment upon Israel’s enemy, the pharaoh of Egypt.

When the children of Israel saw YHWH in the supernatural display of lightning on Mount Sinai and heard His voice that sounded like thunder, they told Moses they were too afraid. They would rather Moses go up and meet with G-D alone and then tell them what He was communicating.

All the people witnessed the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let [G-D] speak to us, lest we die.”

Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for [G-D] has come to test you, so that the fear of Him may be before you so that you do not sin.”

The people stood a distance away as Moses drew near to the thick darkness where [G-D] was.

—EXODUS 20:18–21

Even the reflection of G-D’s glory on the face of Moses was too much for the children of Israel to gaze upon as they watched Moses descend from the mountain to speak to them. They beseeched Moses to put a veil on his face. Yet it was only the reflection of YHWH’s glory on Moses’s face that made them afraid.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in the hands of Moses, when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, amazingly, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. Afterward all the children of Israel drew near, and he commanded them all that [YHWH] had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before [YHWH] to speak with Him, he took the veil off until he came out. Then he came out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded. The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, and then Moses put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with Him.

—EXODUS 34:29–35

I have already shared about Moses’s encounter with G-D in the Shekinah glory, before G-D had Moses build the tabernacle in the wilderness. While in the tent of meeting YHWH would come in the form of the Shekinah glory and meet with Moses. One time Joshua joined him too! Moses left the tent to attend to business, but Joshua stayed in the presence. It was not Moses who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land across the Jordan River, but Joshua.

The Shekinah glory is not a thing—it is the manifestation of YHWH (our heavenly Father). Remember when Moses asked YHWH, “Show me Your glory!” Moses wanted to see beyond the cloud. He wanted to see the source of the light that filled the tent. G-D said, “You cannot see My face.”

It was YHWH who equated the light in the midst of the glory cloud as being His very face! You can’t get any more intimate with a person than when you are face-to-face with them!

But YHWH said to Moses, “No man can see My face.” The best He could do with Moses was to tell him to cover his eyes as He passed before him. Then He set Moses on a rock in the secret place of the Most High G-D.

Then YHWH told Moses he would have an angel lead him into the Promised Land. But Moses objected. He didn’t want an angel—a substitute for the person of YHWH. Moses said, “Unless You lead us, I won’t go!”

In other words, Moses didn’t want a substitute for the real presence of the person of G-D the Father. The closer Moses came to YHWH and spent time with Him, the more he wanted! When there was a problem and the children of Israel complained to Moses, he would go into the tent of meeting to hear from G-D. Moses went into the presence of the glory cloud and asked the heavenly Father for help.

Religion wants to keep our heavenly Father away from our access, because the theologians believe we aren’t worthy to be in His presence. Many Christian theologians stress that we can have an intimate relationship with Yeshua and the Ruach HaKodesh, but many in leadership still place encumbrances between us and our access to the Father.

Religion says that it is better to approach G-D through intermediaries such as a priest, pastor, or rabbi or special emissaries comprised of saints who have died and are now in heaven. We are told we must bring offerings (not bulls and goats, but financial offerings) and perform acts of penance in order to gain G-D’s favor. But no matter what we do, religion never allows us to get closer because religion raises fences and encumbrances that hinder us from direct access. Religion tells us YHWH is unapproachable! He is on His throne in heaven and is far too holy for us to approach.

The tragedy is that Yeshua paid a brutal price on the cross that we might have direct access to the heavenly Father.

The “dividing wall” refers to the ordinances under the old covenant that separated the children of Israel from the nations and also separated them from YHWH, who dwelt in the holy of holies in the form of the Shekinah glory. The “dividing wall” is typified by the veil in the tabernacle and later in the holy temple, which divided the holy place from the holy of holies.

When Yeshua was on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!” and then He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). He breathed His last breath and died. The veil in the holy temple was rent in two from top to bottom. Theologians say it symbolizes the breaking down of the “dividing wall” of separation, granting every believer in Yeshua access to the heavenly holy of holies.

Theologians state that Yeshua’s body being torn by the nails of the cross caused the veil to be torn so that we who believe in Yeshua as our Messiah and Lord now have access by faith to YHWH (our heavenly Father) in the heavenly throne room.

But I also believe that the veil was torn to indicate that YHWH can now come out to meet with His spiritual sons and daughters. Sin separated the heavenly Father from mankind because all of us were marked with the stain of “original sin.” But Yeshua dealt with sin on the cross through His death as the “Lamb of [G-D], who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Bible says concerning those of us who are under the new covenant:

This means that now YHWH (our heavenly Father) can also come down to earth from His holy of holies in heaven, and approach His spiritual sons and daughters through His Priestly Prayer of the Blessing. Why? Because we who accept Yeshua have been made holy through the blood sacrifice of Yeshua.

Are you beginning to comprehend how G-D truly has reached out to make a way for intimacy with humanity time and time again? The most remarkable thing YHWH did was to come down from His heavenly throne to earth, making Himself known in a bodily form through Yeshua, His only begotten Son.

When one would look into the face of Yeshua, he would be beholding the face of the heavenly Father in a palatable form. G-D told Moses, who desired intimacy with Him, that he could not see the face of YHWH or he would surely die. But when a person looked at the face of Yeshua, they were peering into the face of YHWH, and instead of dying, they received life everlasting!

The Hebrew word barakh implies the ultimate gift of the coming of YHWH (our heavenly Father) from His heavenly throne onto the earth and making Himself available to us in the form of Yeshua the Messiah Himself. Yeshua said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Yeshua was the ultimate way in which YHWH (our heavenly Father) would make Himself available to us—until He comes to earth along with Yeshua in fulfillment of the prophecy in Revelation 21. Many talk about the second coming of Yeshua, but Yeshua isn’t the only One coming back to earth when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven.

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord [G-D Almighty, the Father] and the Lamb [Yeshua] are its temple. The city has no need of the sun or moon to shine in it, for the glory of [G-D, YHWH, our heavenly Father] is its light, and its lamp [the menorah, the lampstand] is the Lamb. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall never be shut by day, for there shall be no night there. They shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. No unclean thing shall ever enter it, nor shall anyone who commits abomination or falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

—REVELATION 21:22–27

Can you understand how this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing can become a stumbling block to some? The people who struggle with this first part of the amplified Hebrew-to-English translation must understand that YHWH, though holy and unapproachable, has continually reached out to embrace us with a desire to save us, redeem us, deliver us, heal us, and adopt us as His spiritual sons and daughters.

What does it mean that Yeshua was G-D’s only begotten Son? Adam (first man) was YHWH’s created son. It was YHWH’s intention to create man in His likeness and image. How did He do this with Adam? He created Adam out of the clay of the earth. He then breathed into Adam’s nostrils and imparted His DNA, His very breath, His holy character, and His power and authority.

The difference between Adam and Yeshua is that Adam was created and Yeshua was begotten. Begotten means YHWH actually sent His pure and holy seed into the womb of Miriam (Mary) and impregnated her. By Yeshua having the holy blood of YHWH, He was born without the stain of Adam’s original sin. Adam had no mother, but he had YHWH as his Father, who created him and then breathed His life into him. On the other hand, Yeshua (Jesus) was YHWH’s physical Son, created by His own seed planted in Miriam’s womb. Which do you think was harder? The heavenly Father breathing His breath into Adam’s nostrils or planting His holy seed into the womb of Miriam? Nothing is impossible for the one true G-D of Israel, the Creator of the universe!

When Yeshua took the beatings and the thirty-nine stripes from the Roman whip called the cat-o’-nine-tails, He did so to take your sickness upon Himself. But it wasn’t only the Messiah who took this beating for you; it was YHWH (your heavenly Father) too!

The rabbinical extra-biblical writings talk about how YHWH actually can sense the pain, sickness, and sorrows that we as His people are facing. It is surmised that if He allowed one tear to fall from His eye, the entire earth would be flooded. These writings convey in a powerful way that YHWH has empathy for us.

When [G-D] remembers His children [Israel], who dwell in misery among the nations, He lets fall two tears into the ocean, and the sound is heard from one end of the world to the other. So too when [G-D] remembers how the Shekinah lies in the dust of the earth, does He shed tears hot as fire, that fall down into the Great Sea.

Others say that in the hour that [G-D] cries, five rivers of tears issue from the five fingers of His right hand, and fall into the Great Sea and shake the world.

Many human characteristics are attributed to [G-D], even weeping. Here [G-D] weeps remembering the suffering of His children, Israel. Just as [G-D’s] size is enormous . . . so too are [G-D’s] tears.

In Esh Kadosh, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira proposes that the reason the world was not destroyed by [G-D’s] suffering over the afflictions of Israel and the destruction of the temple is because [G-D] wept in secret, in His innermost chamber. For had His grief penetrated to this world, it would no longer exist.¹

The implication here is that it wasn’t only Yeshua who took your shame, your guilt, and your sin upon Himself as He hung on the cross—but YHWH (your heavenly Father) was vicariously suffering upon that cross through His only begotten Son. The holy blood that Yeshua was shedding for us on the cross was the very same blood of YHWH. The Torah states:

It was the holy blood of YHWH (our heavenly Father) that flowed through Yeshua’s veins. G-D’s sole seed was placed into the womb of Yeshua’s mother, Miriam (Mary), in order to conceive the only begotten Son. Yeshua paid the price of your sin so you can become born again—an adopted son or daughter of the Most High G-D.

It was YHWH Himself who came in the form of His only begotten Son and vicariously suffered. YHWH (our heavenly Father) also was reviled by men and beaten. The Father could identify with His only begotten Son, Yeshua, whose arms were outstretched—held by the nails of crucifixion! Yeshua died a horrible death upon the cross. G-D the Father could sense every pain that His Son suffered for us in this brutal death sentence. In light of this how can we ever question whether YHWH (our heavenly Father) would kneel before us with outstretched hands, beckoning us to come to Him so He can enfold us with His divine embrace?

There is no good reason left to refuse to accept that through this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing, YHWH (our heavenly Father) wants to come down from His heavenly throne to kneel before you, His son or daughter, to minister to you and to impart a portion of Himself to you! YHWH so loves you. He even came in the form of His only begotten Son to take the punishment you deserved and died in your place to take away your sin!

Do you see now why YHWH chose to write this portion as the first part of His divine prayer of the blessing? If you can grasp and receive this, then the fullness of impartation from the rest of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing will become fully available to you!

KEYS TO THE BLESSING

Why would G-D tell you in the Scriptures to seek His face if it wasn’t possible for you to find it?

STUDY QUESTIONS

Why is this first portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing so important to understand and accept?

What is your response supposed to be when YHWH kneels in front of you through this first portion of the divine prayer?

Since Yeshua was YHWH who came in the form of His only begotten Son, what does Yeshua’s kneeling before the disciples illustrate about your heavenly Father’s heart?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I am overwhelmed by the reality that You want to kneel in front of me with Your arms reaching out to me. I repent of my ignorance to the fact that You want me to recognize You and receive Your selfless love for me as Your spiritual child. By the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) I ask You to help me sense the reality of Your nearness and presence.

Daddy G-D, I declare my love for You. I want and need You in my life! Seal this moment and never let me forget it. Let it be the beginning of my pursuing an intimate, supernatural, and experiential relationship with You as my heavenly Father. I pray this in the name of Yeshua (Jesus).