These are the blessings our Lord Himself brings to pass in His second coming. Adam was cursed with hard labor, providing for his family by the sweat of his brow. Let's take a close look at blessing from the bible: who blesses who, how we receive blessings, how we give blessings, physical versus spiritual blessings, and finally how the flow of blessing can influence our prayers. Bible verses about Blessings. As it is written, He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. S You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1) Gods blessing refers to His purpose, pronouncement, and process of bringing about a persons good. Uphold me with Your generous Spirit. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. When Israel turned from God, the promised cursings came. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.. These six blessings summarize what it means to live forever under the kingdom, the heavenly rule of God: So in summary, (1) the presence of God seen and enjoyed in the face of Christ, (2) covering us with mercy because of all our sins, (3) calling us his children, (4) comforting us for all pain and loss in this world, (5) bequeathing to us the universe for a familiar homeland, and (6) everything set right in our souls and in the social order of the new world this is our great reward. To belong to Christ is to belong to God as our Father and to be heirs of all that God owns that is, everything. You cannot be richer than a Christian. Not one of them received the promised blessing. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Give, and it will be given to you. Some Christians seem to be saying that we can be assured of receiving all the promises now. If a nation turned from God, its promised blessings would be taken away: At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. 2 Corinthians 9:11 (CEV), If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, then do his: Sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship. Deuteronomy 14:24-25 (TEV), God blesses those who are kind to the poor and helpless. It is the blessing to which Abraham and every other Old Testament saint looked forward. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Some preachers and teachers promise Gods blessings as confidently as the mail promises a free gift. The first recorded promise of Abrahams son was made when Abraham was seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4).98 Yet the child was not born to Abraham and Sarah until he was one-hundred years old (Genesis 21:5). Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. A Prayer for God's Power. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. 2 Cor. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. The writer to the Hebrews differs with such thinking. In the healthiest churches, we find a holy conspiracy between pastors who gladly care for the sheep, and sheep who do what they can so that the pastors might serve joyfully. Ephesians 1:3-14 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Strengthen and help me, Lord. TopicalBible Verse Concepts. . 5:18). And it shall come to pass, if thou . (5) What errors concerning divine blessing can we see in the Jews of old and also in Christians of today? Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. 100 When I speak of innocent suffering here, we must all understand that no mortal is ever innocent, save in the blood of Jesus Christ. God also promised Abraham a great land that his seed would possess. (13) Adversity and suffering is not synonymous with sin and cursing. Cursing may be accomplished by what appears to be Gods blessing. You cannot be richer than a Christian. Put it at the disposal of me and my mission. Thats the kind of radical life were called to live in the New Testament. 1. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. God is not the only one who pronounces blessings. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? He referred to a blessing found in Numbers that . Of late I have been having discussions with my friends around what it means to be blessed. Divine blessing in the Bible is always physical and spiritual because it is fixed upon the reality of the fullness of life in the presence of God. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes." Psalm 41:1-2 (NIV) Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me. Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-6, 13-20; 17:15-21; 26:24; 27:27-29; 28:12-15; 47:9 That is why God blessed him. Jeremiah 22:15 (NLT), Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. All of us deserve to suffer for our sins. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. A Study of God's Plan for Man. Our faith in God and in His promise will result in the obedience of faith (Genesis 17:9-14; Romans 4:9-24; Hebrews 11:13-31; James 2:14-26). How will Abraham be blessed, and how will he become a blessing to others? Proverbs 10:22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. The promised blessings of the Bible are the good which God has purposed and promised. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. And if it costs you your life, lay it down. Jesus says very plainly, Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). Our prayers reveal an understanding of Gods blessings virtually identical with the mistaken view of the Jews in Jesus day. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Put all the billionaires together. They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. While we should not seek suffering in this life, we should expect it, recognizing it as a part of the plan of a loving God who is bringing about our good and His glory. We must live by faith trusting God to fulfill His promises, even when our eyes tell us the opposite is happening now. Death becomes your servant because of Christs triumph over death. The primary goal of Gods perfect plan is to demonstrate the glory of God. We must view such blessing and suffering as temporary and not eternal. The great nation was still one seed, Jacob. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation, Father. I think the Beatitudes, taken together, provide a beautiful summary of the blessings promised to the followers of Christ: six immeasurable blessings are sandwiched between the summary promise Theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3, 10). Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. God promised to bless Abraham and his offspring. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. God gives rain and sunshine to men, and in His grace He delays judgment, giving opportunity for repentance. His teaching was radically different from that of the Jewish religious leaders of His day. The same errors which plagued the Israelites and Christians of old are popular in evangelical Christianity today. Philippians 4:19 trust Jesus. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him (Deuteronomy 8:2-6). But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works (Psalm 73:1-28). Few understand the blessings of God as they should. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? I believe this is the dwelling of which our Lord Jesus spoke just before His death: Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 103 Notice that while these saints obtained promises (verse 33) they did not receive what was promised (verse 39). The temporal blessings of Judaism were tempting in the light of the affliction they faced as Christians. 1:9,10). Whom have I in heaven but Thee? All things are yours.". 1 Peter 2:21; 3:8-9, 13-17; 4:1, 14-16 When we struggle with sin and the flesh (Romans 7), we know it is because we have become a new creation in Christ. They are based upon His sacrifice at Calvary but are realized in His coming to judge the earth: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. Thus, his wait would have been more than twenty-five years. For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. He blesses only Christians spiritually and eternally. As we study the promised blessings of God, my hope is that the present pleasures of this life will fade in the light of the glory awaiting us. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. They are not experienced in time, but in eternity. Gods blessings are based upon His grace and not our works. To those who equated wealth and ease with piety and the blessing of God, the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) was shocking and disturbing. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. And instead of telling the world to come to us Come see how I bless my people; God never says that he says, Go go to the world. But just what has God promised to do for Abraham? Selah. Jacob saw much strife in his family and suffered much over the loss of Joseph and then Benjamin. Divine blessing certainly is not well understood. . Temporal blessings are not to be measured so much in terms of material prosperity, physical health, or the absence of pain, as in the enjoyment of Gods presence. Our very clothing is a physicalblessing. Your blessings in eternity will not. (7) Divine blessing is based upon divine grace and not human merit or effort. Verse Concepts. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Abraham may not have left Haran immediately which would mean that Abraham was younger when the promise of a son was first given to him. The common factor in all the blessings in the Bible is this: God's Kingdom.
O In his lifetime, Abraham would not possess the land of Canaan. The Bible that you hold in your hand is aphysical book with a spiritual message. Pastor Sadler, you referred to our having physical blessings today. And the failure to recognize this distinction between Gods plan for Israel in the Old Testament and Gods plan for the church in the New Testament has caused a lot of people to put way too much emphasis on earthly blessings today. on 03/30/2021. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). G He looked for a heavenly city, a city which God would prepare. More likely, he meant that they received some of the promises but not the promises which could only be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ, promises which are still future for us. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Psalm 112:1-2 (NIV), Blessed are those who keep my ways. Proverbs 8:32 (NIV), Each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws I have given you; and you must never worship other gods. Deuteronomy 28:14 (Living), Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law. Psalm 94:12 (NIV), It is sin to despise ones neighbors; blessed are those who help the poor. Proverbs 14:21 (NLT), It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 (NIV), A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9 (NIV), Good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do. Isaiah 32:8 (NLT), Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding. Proverbs 3:13 (NIV), A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20 (NIV), The Lords curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. Proverbs 3:33 (NIV), People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. Proverbs 11:26 (NIV), He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. Proverbs 14:21 (NIV), Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. Proverbs 16:20 (NIV), An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end. Proverbs 20:21 (NIV), It will go well with those who convict the guilty and rich blessing will come upon them. Proverbs 24:25 (NIV), Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. Proverbs 28:14 (NIV), The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. They have been waiting for us to join them in entering into Gods promised blessings. (6) The Jews concluded those who prospered were pious (spiritual, righteous), while those who suffered were sinners. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! It is not that one group is more spiritual than the other. Later Judah and his brothers suffered much over their ill-treatment of Joseph (see Genesis 37-45). How do you explain these errors? Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! So too does history and our own experience. 104 Harold G. Stigers, A Commentary on Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), p. 135. We ask God to take away the pain and the circumstance. This leads us right into the fourth blessing ( Ephesians 1:7 ), the redemption through His blood. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles.". For the Christian, good includes the blessing of all those who are the called in Jesus Christ. The reason, we are told, is that God wanted them to enter into blessings with us, at the same time. M We will see God: They shall see God (Matthew 5:8). And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.". Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 God's blessings are meant to protect us, guide us to the path of righteousness, and give us hope. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? The blood of Christ has taken away the guilt of our sins, and we stand before the Father as perfectly accepted. They are paupers I mean, poverty-stricken paupers compared to the lowliest Christian. But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And said, By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. In this glorious anthem, in which the apostle, tracing all to the Divine Fountain, enumerates the glorious privileges of the Church, and blesses God for them, he first (ver. The Abrahamic covenant takes up the promise of blessing: Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your fathers house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. Compiled by The BibleStudyTools Staff Philippians 4:19 D Deuteronomy 28:1-68 ESV / 265 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. If we get hungry for God and follow his commands if we seek spiritual growth, physical blessing will follow. Awake, do not reject us forever. Neither do we have basis for complaint if and when He withholds His blessings. What exactly do you believe those are?. Along with sin came the curse. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. How were these saints so successful? Jeremiah 29:11 planning hope promises. I know that no matter how good their promises sound, they simply are not true. And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Salvation is "in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:10). HCSB, ISV, BBE. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. All of the prophets of Israel were resisted, rejected, and persecuted because they spoke to men for God: And the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy (2 Chronicles 36:15-16).101. He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies. Psalm 41:1-2 (LB). (4) The Jews of Jesus day thought of Gods blessings not in terms of grace but in terms of works. They suppose prosperity is ones reward for being spiritual and that suffering is the consequence of sin. May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. In Genesis 22:16-18, God again blesses Abram, and adds that blessing is due to his obedience to God's commands. How is it related to cursing? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. We will experience Gods comfort: They shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" ( Matthew 5:5 ). No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Our blessings are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). At times like these, the Word of God becomes much more precious and meaningful: Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Thy word (Psalm 119:67). And he said, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10). Abrahams life was not one of uninterrupted bliss, yet he was blessed of God in every way (Genesis 24:1). In summing up his life before Pharaoh, Jacob gave an account not of unceasing bliss but of much affliction: So Jacob said to Pharaoh, The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning (Genesis 47:9). By paying to God what we owe Him (that is, His tithes), He rewards us with blessings. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. (4) God has the right to bless or to curse men (see Romans 9:19-21). R A secondary goal is to accomplish the good of those who love God: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).