The Blessing

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 26:2–4 ESV

And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

Genesis 27:26–29 ESV

Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

As Christians, we use the word “blessing” a lot.

I am so blessed.

You are such a blessing.

Be blessed!

When we hear the term “blessing,” many of us start thinking “Prosperity Gospel.”

God wants to bless you.

You should be living in abundance.

But the concept of blessing is so much more than just receiving something.

And it’s WAY more than just material gain!

You see, we have diluted the meaning of blessing.

We have reduced it to giving and receiving.

But the act of blessing is a powerful thing.

When we begin to really understand how powerful invoking a blessing can be, I believe it will change our lives.

The blessing as described in Scripture always included five elements:

Meaningful and appropriate touch

A spoken message

Attaching high value to the one being blessed

Picturing a special future for him or her

An active commitment to fulfill the blessing

In his book, The Blessing, Christian Psychologist Dr. John Trent, recounts a time during his internship when he spent several hours watching over a suicidal young man.

Trent says that this young man’s greatest struggle was trying to understand why he existed, why he went through what he did. Why, why, why...

This young man was hungry to know his value and purpose. He was lost.

Genesis 27 tells of another young man similarly heartbroken.

Genesis 27:34 ESV

As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

Genesis 27:36 ESV

Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”