Blessing Through Communication with God

For the past couple weeks we have been discussing prayer and today we’re continuing the series as we discuss a very interesting side of prayer life and Christian life, BLESSING.

I found this topic partiuclarly interesting because I realized how often we actually use the word blessing:

“That’s a blessing!”

“You’re blessed!”

“God has blessed me!”

In fact I asked people on our Hinton Aliance Church Facebook Page to share briefly how they are seeing God working in their lives and blessing them. Here are a few things people said:

Somebody’s sister who needed a job was hired somewhere.

In fact I asked people on our Hinton Aliance Church Facebook Page to share briefly how they are seeing God working in their lives and blessing them. Here are a few things people said:

Some people told me they have been blessed with a baby

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Seeing family over the holidays

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People are thankful that they have seen God heal their loved ones!

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Direction in the lives of our children for some

Priovision for a family vacation

God has mended relationsips

Protection when away from home

It is clear that God is at work in our lives. People in this Church are testifying to God’s goodness to them. This concept and idea of blessing is an ongoing thing among us so, let’s discuss:

It is clear that God is at work in our lives. People in this Church are testifying to God’s goodness to them. This concept and idea of blessing is an ongoing thing among us so, let’s discuss: What do we mean when we talk about blessing? What is blessing? How does Prayer fit into this?

What do we mean when we talk about blessing? What is blessing? How does Prayer fit into this?

Blessing as a Genre within the Bible

When we actually begin to turn towards the Bible and ask questions of it, such as, “What is a blessing?” it can be difficult often because the Biblical text is steeped in culutral and theological perspectives that we are not familiar with.

As it pertains for us today, the first thing we must understand is that Blessings as well as Curses within the Bible are literary motifs that continually appear throughout the story of Israel. They are literary themes used to highlight the relationship that God’s people have with Him.

In her dissertation “Rhetoric and Hermeneutics of Blessing and Curse in the Pentateuch” , Elena Sidorova, wrote this about Blessing and Curse within the Pentateuch:

“Blessings and curses are complex notions suggesting the close relationship between verbal activity and reality. The speeches on blessings and curses in the Pentateuch are uttered by God or human beings on different occasions. The study of the rhetoric of these speeches reveals that the blessings and curses are caused by a number of factors, and they are supposed to be fulfilled in some way or other. The speeches of blessings and curses in extra-biblical texts provide us with a general idea of how people in ancient times understood blessings and curses and used them to their advantage. The study of blessings and curses as cross-cultural and religious phenomena shows that people perceived blessings and curses as powerful levers for affecting people on different occasions.

The speeches on blessings and curses in the Pentateuch are uttered by God or human beings on different occasions. The study of the rhetoric of these speeches reveals that the blessings and curses are caused by a number of factors, and they are supposed to be fulfilled in some way or other. The speeches of blessings and curses in extra-biblical texts provide us with a general idea of how people in ancient times understood blessings and curses and used them to their advantage. The study of blessings and curses as cross-cultural and religious phenomena shows that people perceived blessings and curses as powerful levers for affecting people on different occasions.

Basically this: Blessing as well as curses within the Biblical text are a way which the Divine realm (ie God) interacts with His creation.

As far as the Pentateuch goes, blessings are a strict engagement with the divine will of YHWH and objective reality of the material world.

This is not a new theme or a theme that stands on its own as well! The idea that there are instances where the divine realm of YHWH can touch the realm of humanity is a common one.

The Day of Atonement (Payment for sin allows God’s realm to touch ours.)

The 10 commandments (Do not take the Lord’s name in vein!) Israelites did not think of this commandment in the same way that we do. Often this is considered as using the Lord’s name as a swear word, however, the commandment is here to remind us never to use the Lord’s name to curse another person. Remember, the Israelites believed that you can speak both curse and blessing into existance. Your words hold weight, so becareful how you use them!

as YHWH interacting with the material realm through His Blessing:

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

27 So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

is poetic in that they are ritually calling YHWH’s tangibile blessings into our lives through this benediction and prayer:

The prayer is cast in poetic form and is probably one of the oldest poems in Scripture. The first line consists of three words in Hebrew with a total of twelve syllables, the second five words and fourteen syllables, and the third seven words with sixteen syllables. Even the number of Hebrew consonants builds up steadily, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. If one subtracts the thrice-repeated name of the Lord, there are twelve words left, no doubt symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. Grammatically there is no need to repeat God’s name, but the repetition emphasizes that the Lord is the source of all Israel’s benefits, as does the last clause I will bless them (27): ‘I’ is emphatic in the Hebrew.

The prayer is cast in poetic form and is probably one of the oldest poems in Scripture. The first line consists of three words in Hebrew with a total of twelve syllables, the second five words and fourteen syllables, and the third seven words with sixteen syllables. Even the number of Hebrew consonants builds up steadily, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. If one subtracts the thrice-repeated name of the Lord, there are twelve words left, no doubt symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. Grammatically there is no need to repeat God’s name, but the repetition emphasizes that the Lord is the source of all Israel’s benefits, as does the last clause I will bless them (27): ‘I’ is emphatic in the Hebrew.

As the lines of the blessing lengthen, their content becomes richer, producing a crescendo that culminates in the word peace (26). Each line has the Lord as its subject and is followed by two verbs, the second of which expands on the first: bless, keep; shine, be gracious; lift up, give peace. ‘The first clause of each line (invokes) God’s movement towards his people, the second clause, his activity on their behalf.’

In the minds of the People of Israel, this blessing was one of the most amazing things you could hear from a preist as he is calling YHWH to act in favour of Israel.

1. In the minds of the People of Israel, this blessing was one of the most amazing things you could hear from a preist as he is calling YHWH to act in favour of Israel.

Okay, but..... why? Why was it important to recieve YHWH’s blessing?

Fundamentally, because the Israelites has no guarantee of tomorrow - and this is the major difference from you and I to them.

You see, all around them swelled pestilence, famine, war, infertility, political unrest. They were nomatic for decades, seeking their home. The Israelites had no promise what tomorrow would bring for them. No promise that things would be easy or straight forward. This is fundamentally something we do not experience. We have wealth, homes, consistent income, no threat of war, we have access to excellent medical care. We can drive down the street and buy anything you’d like to eat. But even beyond that, you can now go online and within two seconds I can buy and have 2 day shipping to my front door virtually anything I want.

Is that a bad thing? No. But we must recognize that our dependancies on God’s blessing are not like that which the Israelites had and therefore we must seek to overcome our consumerism, materialism and seek YHWH’s blessing through prayer. What I love about this blessing in is that even though these people dont have basically anything as far as the material goes, they still pray for non-matieral things. The LORD’s graciousness, the LORD’s countenance, the LORD’s peace. I think we can learn from that.

Throughout the Biblical Story we see this repetition of the reliance on God through prayerful lament, anger, joy and just about every other human emotion you can think of:

God blesses Adam and Eve with everything they could ever want.

God blesses Noah with the protection of his family

God blesses Abraham with fertility and the promise of many descendants

God blesses Moses with the Law and relationship with Himself

God blesses David with a dynasty and protection though he was just a shepherd boy.

God blesses Elijah

God blesses Isaiah with communication

God blesses Mary with a Child that would do greater things than she could ever imagine

God blesses Peter with an amazing mentor and friend

God blesses Paul with complete forgiveness and a draw to come closer to Christ

All of these biblical characters had the same thing in common - thier communication with the Father - their relationship with the Father and their desire to see God work tangibly in their own lives, as well as the lives of others!

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Jesus is the ONLY ONE worthy of opening God’s blessing and plan onto the world. We must turn to Jesus for that too.

ADD STUFF IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Testimony of Nabeel Qureshi: Had no choice but to rely on Jesus and to be in close communication with Jesus.

His father came from Pakistan to the US to escape persecution - Nabeel grew up Muslim. His grandfather was a Muslim missasionary and His Mother was a very devout Muslim.

His mom wanted to raise him as a devout muslim.

Nabeel said he learned to pray the 5 daily prayers outloud every day

By the age of 5 he had memeorized the entire Arabic Quran.

He noted that his mom would tell him that the reason why there was so much Adultery, swearing, drinking divorce etc etc in America is because they are Christian. That was their understanding of Christianity - and wanted to protect Nabeel from Christianity.

When he got to college he met a friend who grew up an atheist and became a Christian. This Christian friend of his was willing to engage with and respond to Nabeel’s questions about Christianity - they engaged and wrestled for years until Nabeel realized that Jesus was much more than just a man or a prophet, but that He is the Son of God. Nabeel attributes that Christian friend as being one of the greatest blessings he could ever recieve. Not because he was given material things, but because that friend showed him the truth about Christ. It is as if that friend became like to him - the peace and the blessings of God in tangible form.

After Nabeel became a Christian his parents were completely destroyed by it and like many Muslim converts to Christianity - it tore their family apart. Imagine in that moment the need for relationship and communication with the Father that Nabeel felt.

Imagine the feeling of losing your loved ones, falling into calamity and isolation, only to know that God is still blessing you through it. That is the heart of blessings. That is the heart of what prayer is as well. Communication with your Father in heaven, not out of obligation, but out of dependance on Him.

The Psalms are some of the best examples of Prayer ripe with emotion, beckoning God to bless us not with material, but with his PRESCENCE, LOVE, PEACE!

Psalm 19:14

14  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 67:1

1  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.

Psalm 143:1, 8

1  Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. 8  Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

Psalm 5:1-3

1  Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2  Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. 3  In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

The Psalms show us how to pray!

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Read: Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; 2 and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep

You see, in this instance, John is looking at a scroll which he desperately wants to see the inside of. He is asking himself “What does it say?!” For John knows that whatever is written within the scroll will reveal God’s ultimate plans for the world and its people. It is ultimately this: God’s culmination for the promises and the blessings he has given lie within the scroll!

If you are a Jew your mind is racing back to Ambraham and his covenant with God, to David and His covenant with God. This section of the Biblical text is begging the reader to ask the question that the Angel asks “WHO IS WORTHY TO OPEN THE SCROLL?”

The answer is this: It is not Abraham, it is not Moses, not even David is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. None of them are worthy to unleash and fulfill the promises of God - but one is! The Lamb.

After this realization we come to verse 8!:

8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9

They initial reaction of the beings with John in his vision is to bow before this Lamb and offer their worship and prayers. Before the scroll is even broken, before Gods plans are revealed, before the blessings come - the Saints bow and pray.

Their worship and prayer is a song!!

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; 10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the onseated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

and to open its seals,

for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God

saints from every tribe and language and people and nation;

10 you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,

and they will reign on earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 singing with full voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might

forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

paints this beutiful picture of the saints and heavenly hosts paitently awaiting the blessings of God - which we know are coming through a marriage of heaven and earth. But as they wait, they wait in prayer. They wait in worship. For they know the blessings are to come - it has been promised! And so let us worship and delight in the Lamb in our waiting.

This is the picture of blessings and prayer.

Let me close with my favourite hymn by A.B Simpson - that I hope is our attitude and stature as we consider our blessings, as we consider how God is working in our lives:

Once it was the blessing,   Now it is the Lord; Once it was the feeling,   Now it is His Word; Once His gift I wanted,   Now, the Giver own; Once I sought for healing,   Now Himself alone. All in all forever,   Only Christ I’ll sing; Everything is in Christ,     And Christ is everything.

Amen