The Priestly Prayer of the Blessing

The LORD bless you and keep you . . .

—NUMBERS 6:24

The English word keep is abstract. The Hebrew word is shamar and its meaning is concrete. Most of us think of this word when it comes to keeping the commandments or the Word of G-D.

Therefore, you shall keep His statutes [Sabbath and feasts] and His commandments [mitzvot, which means His directions for the way we are to walk so we don’t get lost] which I command you this day, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you may prolong your days [Hebraic concept of salvation, which includes health, prosperity, protection, provision and a long life] in the land, which the LORD your [G-D] gives you, forever.

—DEUTERONOMY 4:40

The statutes and commandments of G-D are our directions to safely navigate through this life and also obtain the favor and blessings that YHWH has for us. But this Hebrew word shamar means so much more than the English word keep.

Most of us equate the word keep with obedience. In reality it carries the idea of guarding. A shepherd in the wilderness would build a corral to protect his sheep from predators. They would use stones to fashion a wall and then place thornbushes on top to keep out predators, such as wolves.

YHWH (our heavenly Father) is saying that He will place a hedge of protection around us, hemming us in with thorns to keep the enemy (predators) from getting to us.

In chapter 10 I dealt with the word bless and revealed the simple picture of YHWH kneeling before you as a good parent who would do anything for you, His spiritual child, desiring to demonstrate His availability to you. I shared with you that G-D your Father is actually making Himself available to you through this first portion of the divine prayer.

Should you and I ignore Him? Should we just stand and look at Him? No! We are moved to respond in our hearts and humble ourselves, and we fall to our knees so we can receive His invitation. Once we are kneeling with Him, we are positioned to receive His divine embrace. The one true G-D of Israel has come down from His heavenly throne to enfold us with His strong, loving arms.

The picture I present to you in this second portion of the divine prayer is that we are kneeling down (humbled) facing G-D our Father. When it says YHWH will “keep you,” it is as if He now enfolds you in His arms with a divine embrace.

It is His arms that are likened to a “thorny hedge” of protection. Satan and his demons can never penetrate the security of the arms of YHWH. You are protected from all things. Why? Because G-D sees us as His spiritual sons and daughters because of what Yeshua (Jesus) did on the cross for us.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of [G-D], these are the sons of [G-D]. For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”

—ROMANS 8:14–15

When YHWH (your heavenly Father) places His arms around you in His divine embrace, nothing can hurt you or separate you from Him.

What then shall we say to these things? If [YHWH] is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against [G-D’s] elect? It is [YHWH] who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ [the Messiah] who died, yes, who is risen, who is also at the right hand of [YHWH, G-D the Father], who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ [the Messiah]? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

—ROMANS 8:31–35

This is what the divine embrace of YHWH (our heavenly Father) brings: security, protection, and victory over the forces of the enemy!

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of [YHWH, G-D our Father], which is in the [Messiah Yeshua] our [Adonai].

—ROMANS 8:37–39

Satan and his principalities and powers are committed to interfere with us and our God-given destiny and purpose! Satan hates YHWH more than any other entity. Above all, Satan doesn’t want us to get anywhere close to G-D the Father, because the devil knows we will be given the power and authority to help set the spiritual captives free.

Satan will use other people to come against us. He may directly come against us himself by spiritually harassing us, oppressing us, and in some cases possessing us, if we haven’t yet recognized Yeshua as our Messiah and our Lord.

With the divine embrace of our heavenly Father through this Priestly Prayer of the Blessing we are delivered instantly from the enemy’s attacks, whether it be from others, or from spiritual harassment, oppression, and in some cases possession.

Many of us might have sought deliverance in the past only to find that we gain relief for a short time after the deliverance is performed. Yet most times these attacks begin again. It may not be the same area from which we were delivered before, but instead a new area of conflict, oppression, or harassment occurs. It is as if we are now continually consumed by a “cycle of unending deliverance” as a way of life.

Rather [YHWH your Elohim] you shall fear, and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.

—2 KINGS 17:39

When we pursue “deliverance as a way of life,” it is almost as if we are not seeking our heavenly Father and His presence, but instead, we are trying to identify the demonic spirit that is coming against us. YHWH loves you and honors your request when you seek deliverance. But the process sometimes seems never-ending. It might be that we are even empowering the demonic realm by believing that Satan has so much power over us.

Through this second portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing when YHWH (your heavenly Father) comes and supernaturally places His arms around you in His divine embrace, you don’t have to ask for deliverance—it is done instantly for you.

The LORD is my pillar, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my [G-D], my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

—PSALM 18:2

Again I point out that it is OK for you to seek an end to harassment and attacks of the enemy, or deliverance from demonic spirits. YHWH will honor those efforts. Better yet, if you allow the impartation of His name (shem) to come upon you through this Priestly Prayer of the Blessing, you receive Him (His very person, His holy character, and His power and authority). In this second portion of the divine prayer of the blessing, through G-D’s divine embrace, deliverance and protection come without your asking. It is that simple! When you come into an understanding of the full revelation of what this Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is actually accomplishing and imputing to you, it will be life transforming!

One of the most well-known psalms about G-D’s protection for His people is found in Psalm 91. There have been many books and sermons about this one particular chapter in the Tanakh (Old Testament). One great testimony book was written by Peggy Joyce Ruth entitled Psalm 91: Real-Life Stories of God’s Shield of Protection and What This Psalm Means for You and Those You Love.

This book tells that Peggy’s husband was in a private airplane when it crashed into the sea. He and several people along with the pilot were stuck floating in the frigid ocean, subject to sharks swimming near them. One after another, they began to perish.

Peggy’s husband had studied and meditated on Psalm 91. He began to continually proclaim and believe by faith the words of this psalm. As a result, he attributed the powerful words of Psalm 91 as the reason he lived through this horrible ordeal and was rescued. Only he and the pilot survived. Even the secular news dubbed his survival as a documented miracle.¹

I have always found the words contained in Psalm 91 to be anointed and filled with power to bring divine protection and keep us from harm. Yet ever since YHWH imparted to me the full revelation of the divine prayer and how to have it proclaimed over me in the name (shem) of Yeshua, I realized that the full impartation of Psalm 91 is related to this second portion of the prayer: “YHWH keep you.” This is an impartation of G-D as our protector!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

—PSALM 91:1

Now I will explain the key for receiving His divine protection, which is available for those who dwell (abide) under the shadow of “the Almighty.” In Hebrew the words for the Almighty are El Shaddai. The high priest Aaron would hold both his hands up in the form of the Hebrew letter shin. This symbol stood for El Shaddai—G-D Almighty.

Therefore the scripture above makes it clear that you should make it your aim to abide in that secret place of YHWH (your heavenly Father). This isn’t just an intellectual exercise, but in fact, YHWH makes Himself available to you, enfolding His strong arms around you—so that His shadow of protection covers you.

In order for the shadow of another person to be able to cover you, you must be very close to that person and the person must be big in order for his shadow to cover you. As we delve deeper into the connection between Psalm 91 and this second portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing, we begin to understand the powerful revelation of what happens as our heavenly Father enfolds His arms around us in a divine embrace.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my [G-D] in whom I trust.”

—PSALM 91:2

The Hebrew word for Lord is Adonai, but in the original Hebrew Scriptures, the name used in this verse is the sacred name of YHWH, that of YeHoVaH or YaHWeH. This is the sacred name of the Most High G-D of Israel, our heavenly Father.

The main point of Psalm 91:2 is that we confess Him as being our place of refuge, our fortress, and it’s an admission that we have complete trust in Him. It is one thing to confess that He is your refuge and fortress, but this confession becomes reality when we actually realize that He is truly right in front of us. The Lord showed me how to understand how close His face wants to come to us.

Let me ask you to do something. Hold your hand closely in front of your face so you can focus on your palm. That is how close your heavenly Father wants to be with you! The protection fully comes as you allow Him to enfold you with His strong arms in a divine embrace.

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter and from the deadly pestilence.

—PSALM 91:3

Here is a clear reference to the fact that in His arms, in His divine embrace, we will experience His deliverance from the hunter—or as some translations like the King James Version say, the fowler.

What is a fowler? This refers to people who hunt fowl. More specific than just being hunters, they are professional bird hunters. In the days before firearms, birds were captured through an interesting method in which the hunter would take young birds from a nest and raise them by hand. Then when they had become tame, they were confined in hidden cages so that their voices would call others of their kind, and then the arrows of concealed hunters (fowlers) could kill them.

This scripture refers to being protected from this particular tactic in which innocent, young, and impressionable people are entrapped by Satan himself “and raised by his hand.” Their voices, or the very character of these people, attract others who are of like kind, meaning those who have their same faults or weaknesses. Those who are attracted are then picked off by hunter demons, which are ready to destroy and kill. In the divine embrace of our heavenly Father, we are protected because the enemy cannot come near us under His impenetrable protection.

Likewise, in the divine embrace of G-D, no pestilence can harm you because where YHWH is, there is no sickness! His kingdom is perfect because He is there, and through His divine embrace we are immersed in the atmosphere of heaven.

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall find protection; His faithfulness shall be your shield and wall.

—PSALM 91:4

This directly relates to G-D’s arms embracing us like a mother bird to protect us and keep us safe. His faithfulness refers to His promises becoming our shield to deflect any attacks of the enemy’s arrows.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the pestilence that pursues in darkness, nor of the destruction that strikes at noonday.

—PSALM 91:5–6

This passage guarantees that even in times when we are in the darkness of the night, when there appears to be danger lurking, we can be reassured because of His divine embrace that we are not alone. He is with us, protecting us.

When we are going through our day, we do not have to be afraid that the enemy can be lurking and even stalking us to do harm. YHWH is surrounding us with His thorny arms of protection, which keep the predators from having access to us.

A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

—PSALM 91:7

We may be witnessing the insanity of the world around us with people engaged in battle against one another. The danger of their warfare may bring casualties when we look to our right and left—very close to us—but He promises that His divine embrace will not allow this aimless violence to affect us.

Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.

—PSALM 91:8

Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.

Being in His divine embrace, we are given eyes to see beyond the apparent prosperity of those who are wicked. We will be given insight to see things through YHWH’s own eyes. We will be enabled to see what lies behind the exterior success of those who are wicked. We will no longer envy them because we will see the truth of the justice of G-D that will someday be enforced upon them. On the outside they may look happy, but those who live apart from Him are suffering and grieving on the inside! You can be sure of that!

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling, there shall be no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your tent; for He shall give His angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

—PSALM 91:9–12

The above emphasizes that because we have the very name (shem) placed upon us, we are immune to plagues. We will have angels surrounding us to keep us protected wherever we are and wherever we go. These angels, assigned by YHWH Himself, bear us up so we are protected from accidentally hitting our foot on a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

—PSALM 91:13

When we are in His keeping, we will have victory over the predators that are lurking, watching us, waiting until they determine we are weak, ready to attack us at the time when we appear most vulnerable.

YHWH allows us to see them and where they are hiding. If we choose to go after them, we will be victorious! The lion symbolizes the strongest of our enemies; the adder (serpent) symbolizes those who are stealth, are sneaky, and have the ability to swiftly strike, inflicting a bite that injects us with poison, bringing a slow and painful death.

The serpent also represents Satan himself. Yeshua’s victory on the cross treaded upon the serpent, and He has Satan’s very head under His feet. So too we who are seated in heavenly places with Messiah have the ability to step on Satan and impair him from attacking.

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

—PSALM 91:14

The above verse reminds us that all of the stated promises within Psalm 91 come about as a result of setting our hearts, minds, souls, spirits, and every fiber of our beings on loving the one true G-D of Israel and desiring that He will be first in our lives.

YHWH is telling us that all this is possible because we have known His name. The promised result of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing being proclaimed over you is that He places His name upon you. His shem (His very person, His holy character, His power and authority) is imparted and placed upon you!

This means He delivers us and sets us high above the enemy and the things of this world. The enemy of our souls cannot harm us. The ultimate promise of YHWH (our heavenly Father) is proclaimed in His own words in the last two verses of Psalm 91:

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.

—PSALM 91:15–16

The full amplified Hebrew-to-English translation of this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing is far more than what we find in our Bibles. Our English Bibles say:

The LORD bless you and keep you. . .

—NUMBERS 6:24

May YHWH (YeHoVaH, YaHWeH, your heavenly Father) guard you with a hedge of thorny protection that will prevent Satan and all your enemies from harming you. May He protect your body, soul, mind, and spirit, your loved ones, and all your possessions!

When our Jewish High Priest, Yeshua, proclaims this portion of the Priestly Prayer of the Blessing upon you, YHWH (your heavenly Father) will appear before you and will give you His divine embrace.

KEYS TO THE BLESSING

“To keep you” means YHWH is now giving you His divine embrace.

STUDY QUESTIONS

What benefits do you receive when YHWH (your heavenly Father) places His arms around you in His divine embrace?

Why do you not need to ask for deliverance when you are in His divine embrace?

What are some of the promises of Psalm 91, which you receive by default in the divine embrace of YHWH?