What is a blessing and what is blessing of God according to the Bible, it refers to the promises that God has made to us in his word, in which he assures us that he will bless all his children who love him and who faithfully believe in him.
But it must be understood that blessing and success are different things, as some have twisted their word, claiming that believers will always be successful in whatever they do. This is false since in life we will have to go through many obstacles and our faith will determine our achievements in the earthly life.
What is blessing according to the bible?
The word “blessing, to bless” has a particular density in Jewish spirituality.
According to man, this word means to praise, exaltation, admiration, and thanks.
But According to God, blessing means a commitment of gift, a promise of favors, a guarantee of goods, a manifestation of benevolence.
The blessing of God comes from the Latin benedicere (to say well) and according to the Bible it is a formula of prayer, an invocation to God to observe his people with benevolence and help them in times of difficulty.
The Gospels show us how Jesus blessed the children who were presented to him: “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like them. They brought some children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them and pray over them” (Mt 19:13-15).
In the same way, he blessed the food: “Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and raising his eyes to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave his disciples to put them before; and he divided the two fish among all” (Mk 6,41), he blessed the apostles before ascending to heaven: “And he brought them out to Bethany, and raising his hands, he blessed them. And it happened that blessing them, he separated from them, and was taken up to heaven “ (Lk 24,50-51), among many blessings that can be witnessed in the Bible.
Personal success and God’s blessing
In general, there is a tendency to confuse the blessing with the success we obtain in life, but we must understand that they are different things, although the doubt arises regarding the fact of why problems appear in our lives when we love God, we trust in him. and we walk in his ways of love and justice.
The same word tells us that in this world we will have problems and afflictions and that if we walk with God he will deliver us, and this is one of those promises of his blessings in our lives and we can appreciate it in the following quote:
“These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have affliction, but take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)
On the other hand, there are religious movements that have been responsible for spreading the idea that if we walk with God, nothing will happen to us, and they often use phrases to manipulate believers, so that they listen to what they want to hear and do not stop attending their churches. Some do it with mercantilist intentions, others out of ignorance and lack of understanding
In the same way, the Bible is used to manipulate and make-believe things that do not belong to real teachings, such as opening Psalm 91 in our living room to protect us from all evil. Which is absolutely something wrong that breaks with the true message of faith.
In this sense, success does not go hand in hand with the blessing of God according to the Bible, if this were true, the work of Christ could be considered a failure, since in the world we can find many evil and unfair things.
For the non-believer it is absurd that this type of thing happens even when it is written in the word of God:
“What comes out of the person is what contaminates them. Because from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within and contaminate the person” (Mark 7:20-23)
But then what is the blessing of God according to the Bible, it should be understood as the accompaniment that God gives us so that when we are in the midst of difficulties, we can overcome obstacles and obtain victory.
So God does not promise you that you will be free from difficulties and suffering, but that in the end, his glory will be present to bless his children and teach them.
God’s blessing is not a lottery prize, nor does it consist of avoiding the battles of life, but God’s blessing is knowing that he will always be there to give us strength, so as not to leave us helpless in times of anguish.
God’s blessing is discovering that Jesus Christ travels with us in the same boat and even though we think he is asleep, he watches over us and encourages us to move away from the temptation to jump into the water in the middle of the storm.
The blessing is the certainty that God will never leave us alone in the midst of danger.
4 Main Aspects to define the blessing of God
In the Bible the term “blessing” is used based on four relevant aspects that must be considered to understand God’s blessing according to the Bible:
1. Jehovah blesses man
“The blessing of Jehovah… that is what makes rich, and he does not add pain with it.” (Pr 10:22) This verse speaks of Jehovah blessing those he approves of when he protects, favors, guides, prospers, and provides for all their needs.
Jehovah’s will for his children on earth was revealed when he did them. In the case of the animal genera created on the fifth day, God’s blessing was a statement of his purpose with respect to them:
“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth” (Ge 1:22.)
As for God’s blessing on Adam and Eve at the end of the sixth day, it would have remained if they had been obedient since he made provisions to meet all their spiritual and physical needs. As can be seen in the following passage:
“And God blessed them and said to them: Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and overall the beasts that move on the earth” (Ge 1:28)
On the other hand, when Noah and his family came out of the ark, Jehovah looked favorably on them, blessed them, and made known His will for them.
If they did Jehovah’s will, they would prosper with his favor and protection: “God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Ge 9:1.)
As for the blessing of Abraham and his descendants, it turns out to be very relevant for all humanity, since Jehovah blessed Abraham and Sarah when he miraculously revived their reproductive powers, which allowed them to have a son in their old age, and caused them to Abraham will prosper and he used it pictorially to anticipate greater things.
The fact that God blessed Abraham to give him a son has even greater meaning when he made a promise of blessing to be people of all nations through Isaac who represented Jesus Christ. We can see this in the following biblical quote:
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached good news to Abraham beforehand, saying, All nations shall be blessed through you” (Gal 3:8).
In this sense, Jehovah’s blessing according to the Bible is based on obedience to him. Rather, Jehovah’s curse is on those who disobey his word.
But when the blessing falls on obedient believers, it produces both spiritual and material prosperity and is manifested in their home, animals, land, food, and in every project of their life:
“Blessings are for the head of the righteous.” (Pr 10:6, 7) So when Jehovah’s people are obedient and faithful he delights in keeping the floodgates of the heavens open and blessings fall until there is no more want.
2. Man blesses Jehovah
The way in which man blesses Jehovah mainly is through praise. In addition, he is blessed through expressions of gratitude to recognize him as the One from whom all blessings flow, speaking well of him at all times, serving him, and worshiping him.
In the same way, man can bless Jehovah by preaching the good news, as can be seen in the following quote: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14)
Likewise, man has blessed Jehovah for freeing his people from oppression, for acting according to his will, satisfying their needs, for their dignity, assuming power, being the head of everything, encouraging his people to support his adoration, for keeping the pact, protecting his servants, for his wisdom, sovereignty, and love towards God.
In this sense, the book of psalms continually blesses, glorifies, and exalts Jehovah and asks everyone in heaven and on earth to praise his name for all he has done for us.
Man also blesses Jehovah for the gift of his Son Jesus Christ, just as his word reveals: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not know perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
3. Man blesses Christ
Man must also bless Jesus, Elizabeth blessed the mother of Jesus, Mary, and the fruit of her unborn womb.
Therefore, the heavenly origin of Jesus, his coming in the name of God as his Son, his ministry, his sacrifice, his priesthood, his kingship, and his goodness cause him to be justly exalted as a human being. blessed. As the Holy Scriptures state:
“They took palm branches and went out to meet him, crying: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” (Jn 12:13) As Psalm 118:26 put it, the crowd was to acclaim and praise Jesus as the blessed one of God when he made his grand entrance into Jerusalem.
4. Man blesses his neighbor
Man can bless his neighbor through God since he will always be the main source to enforce the blessings that we pronounce. In other situations, when a man blesses his neighbor, it turns out to be an expression of gratitude, it is an acknowledgment of good qualities or a job well done.
Regarding God’s authority to bless or fulfill the blessing, Paul revealed the following principle when he spoke about the superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood over that of Levi: “Now, without question, the lesser is blessed by the greatest”. (Heb 7:7.), since being king and priest of God, Melquisedec was able to manifest himself with authority and in a prophetic way to bless Abraham. We can see this in the following biblical quote:
“Then Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine; And he blessed him, saying: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. And Abram gave him a tithe of everything” (Ge 14:18-20)
In this sense, those people who contribute to the praise of Jehovah have been greatly blessed, as Moses blessed Bezalel and the other workers when they completed the construction of the tabernacle.
In the same way, the spiritual leaders of the nation were authorized to bless the people on many occasions. Also the high priest Eli blessed the parents of Samuel with the gift of his son destined for the service of the tabernacle.
On the other hand, David blessed the people after bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, and Solomon wisely did the same when he dedicated the temple to Jehovah.
For his part, Simeon when he was old, blessed the parents of Jesus, who likewise blessed the children who approached him.
What Does “Be Blessed” Mean?
The word “blessed” is a wonderful word. Christians use the words blessed and blessings a lot, and most of the time we mean it. There are times when we use it as an expression to end a conversation that goes on for too long.
Let’s say something to the effect of, “Well, that’s great. wow. Hey, praise the Lord and God bless you.” This can be translated, as “Please stop talking now.” That, of course, is not the correct way to use it.
Blessed is a Christian word.
It is a spiritual word. It is a biblical word. And it has been hijacked by our culture. People may speak of “blessings” in their lives, but the unbeliever has no idea what a true blessing is because only the child of God truly knows what it is to be blessed. It is also worth noting that Jesus began and concluded his earthly ministry by blessing people.
So what does it mean to be blessed?
The word blessed Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount comes from the Greek word Makarios, which means to be happy or blissful, but it also means self-contained happiness.
The Greeks called the island of Cyprus “the happy island”. They believed that due to its geographical location, perfect climate, and fertile soil that anyone who lived in Cyprus did so in the shade. And the term they associated with the island was Makarios.
They believed that everything you needed to be happy was right there in Cyprus.
Not all of us can move to Cyprus, but the idea is that our happiness is independent of our circumstances. It is autonomous, which means that regardless of what is happening to us externally, we can be truly happy internally. We can be truly blessed as followers of Jesus Christ.
