Be Blessed
When talking about the desire to be blessed, all hands go up. Everyone wants to be blessed, but what does “blessing” mean? From the beginning of creation, God’s will was to bless His creation. It says in Genesis 1.28, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Blessing is a pronouncement and an endowment. It is God defining His will and then giving His creation the ability to perform it.
God pronounced blessing at creation attached to a mandate to be fruitful and multiply and then empowered them to move toward the fulfillment of this mandate. Throughout the rest of the Bible we see that when someone was blessed they were moving along their intended path of fruitfulness, multiplication and dominion. Toward the end of Abraham’s life, we see that God had blessed him in every way, (Gen. 24.1). These were not blessings that fell from the sky, but were the fruit of his obedience and faith.
In Genesis, there are three main categories of blessings. First, is that of wealth and fruitfulness. Second, is seen in one’s favored relationship with God. And third, is measured by the peace one has in their families, society and nation. All these were evident in Abraham’s life. Abraham was blessed, he was a blessing to others and when other’s blessed Abraham, they were blessed. This blessing was passed from generation to generation. This can be seen in the achievements of the Jews in science and art. Though the Jewish people only account for only .02% of the world’s population, they have won over 22% of all Nobel Prizes. They have created two-thirds of Broadway’s longest running musicals. Over one-fourth of the greatest photographers have been Jewish and one-tenth of all architects; not to mention the high percentage of the winners of Grammy Lifetime awards and leading orchestra conductors. In the financial arena, 10% of all billionaires are Jews, (24% of all American billionaires). Forbes’s statistics show that if you are a Jew you have a 100% more of a chance to be a billionaire than if you are of another race. God has not revoked the Abrahamic blessing. Israel is living proof of God’s faithfulness to His blessing.
What is exciting is that those who are in Christ, are of Abraham’s seed and heirs of the promise or mandate. Through the shed blood of Jesus, the curse has been removed and we receive the blessings of Abraham. (Gal. 3.14) This is not just a “good feeling” kind of blessing, but the blessing that influences every area of our life. Remember the blessing of God comes with a mandate; through us our nation and others will be blessed. The blessing comes with a responsibility. There is to be economic prosperity with justice, peace and reconciliation between peoples and races, healing of disease and preservation of life, as well as the presence of God in all aspects of our life and community. We are blessed so that we can become a blessing. God says, “Be Blessed”.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Gal. 3.14, 29; 4.4-5; Gen. 12.2; 24.35; 30.27, 30; 14.19-20; 21.22-23.