In Numbers 6:22-27 the Lord said to Moses: Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
This makes perfect sense to us- the way we close out a Sunday service even, but to Moses, this must have been a strange blessing. After all, he had begged God to see his face, but the closest he got was being hidden in a cleft as God passed by. So what’s different now?
Their sin has been dealt with. The difference here is that Israel is now being purified by the sacrifices of the priests. If your a Christian, because of the sacrifice of the final high priest, Jesus, your sin has been dealt with, too. So now you can see God’s face in Jesus.
God puts His name on them. He makes them His. My old high school Dean was also my basketball coach. He used to have an old set of possession arrows from the scoring table on his desk. Meaning when you sat in front of him, he owned you. God owns you. You can’t manage Him or dictate terms to Him.
Lastly, if God has given you his name, in a real sense he’s given you your identity and who you are to be and become. So you don’t get to manage Him, he gets to manage you. You can’t manage Jesus. You can’t squeeze him into your free time. He gets to manage you. It’s the difference between wanting to see God’s face or just seeing what you can get out of him.
Drive By Theology 