B
L E S S
The Old
Testament Concept of Blessing.
“Bless” (Heb. – “barak”)
means “to endue with power for success, prosperity, longevity, etc.” In essence, the one who is blessed is given a
rich and materially abundant life. Yet
God is recognized as the only source of blessing. – Richard’s Expository Dictionary
of Bible Words, pp. 130, 132. When
people blessed or pronounced a blessing upon another person, it was a prayer or
wish with the thought or hope that God would prosper the individual materially.
When people bless God, it was equivalent to praising or speaking well of God. –
Vine, Unger, and White’s, A Dictionary of Biblical Words, p. 30. “Bless”
(Heb. – “ashar” or “ashere”)
can mean “happy”.
Gen. 1:22 What did God bless (give
power for continuance and multiplying or for fertility of life) – vs. 21?
Had you ever realized
that God blessed (gave the capacity to propagate and increase in numbers to) these water animals and fowls?
Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex.
Aren’t
you glad that God blessed/honored this day for man’s good in later years so man
could rest?
Gen. 12:1, 2 Who will God bless (give
success and prosperity)?
What would God do to those (vs. 3) who
blessed (wished well to) Abram?
How do you feel about God blessing/prospering
those who blessed/wished well Abram, and why?
Gen. 22:17; 24:1 How would God bless (give
extremely numerous descendants to and their success in capturing enemy cities)
Abraham?
And
how had God blessed (given success and prosperity to) Abraham?
[We see that God’s promise to bless Abraham in
12:2 came true here.].
Gen. 26:3, 12-14 Who
does God promise to bless (give success and prosperity)?
And how had God blessed/prospered him?
Gen. 27:1, 4, 7, 22, 27-30; 28:3 Whom
did Isaac want to bless (give a parting wish for success that was prophetic
in nature)?
Who
ended up receiving Isaac’s blessing (wish/prediction of success and
prosperity both materially and physically)?
Gen. 49:28 Who did Jacob bless (give
a parting wish for success and prosperity from God that was prophetic in
nature)?
How did Jacob determine the content of his
blessing upon each of the 12 tribes of
Deut.
Do
you ever bless/praise the Lord? If so, for what?
Deut. 10:8; 21:5 Who
were to bless (wish prosperity or some benefit) in the Lord’s name?
Have you ever asked God to bless/prosper anyone? If so, how
often?
Deut. 28:1, 12 When would the Lord bless (give
success and prosperity to) all the work of the Israelite’s hand?
Do
you think that God would do the same for you if you obeyed all the commands
He’s given you? Why?
1 Chron. 29:10 In the sight of whom did David
bless (praise; speak well of) the Lord?
Do you ever bless/praise the Lord in the
sight/presence of a lot of people? When,
and why?
Psa. 29:11 With what will the Lord
bless (give a benefit to) His people?
Has the Lord blessed/given benefit to you with
this? If
so, how and when?
Psa. 66:8; 96:2; 103:1, 2 What does
the Psalmist tell the peoples to do?
Are you blessing (praising; speaking well of)
God? How often?
Psa. 115:13 Who will the Lord bless (prosper)?
Are you fearing the Lord? How
(Prov.
Prov.
Is this true of you?
“Bless” (Heb. – “ashar” or “ashere”) can mean
“declare happy” or is “happy”.
Psa. 1:1, 2 Who is blessed/happy?
Has
delighting and meditating in the law of the Lord, as well as avoiding all evil influences
resulted in your being blessed/happy?
If
so, why do you think it’s so?
Psa. 40:4; 84:12 Who
is said to be blessed/happy?
Has trusting in God to deliver you from some
uncontrollable dilemma ever resulted in your being blessed/happy?
If so, when?
Psa. 41:1 Who else is blessed/happy?
Has happiness ever resulted from your being merciful, sympathetic, kind, considerate, and concerned for people who are helpless/afflicted/weak? Explain.
Psa. 84:4, 5 Who is blessed/happy?
Like those who dwell in God’s house (e.g., ministers, full-time religious workers), are you happy/blessed serving God full-time in Christian work (or would you be, if presently you’re not in full-time Christian work)? Have you experienced happiness when you’ve looked to God for your strength to carry on in seeking God and the pursuit of obedience in the Christian life?
Psa. 94:12 Who else is blessed/happy?
Has happiness ever resulted from your being disciplined by God through His using persecution or suffering from the hands of evil people (and then you understood God’s ways and methods of helping you as you read the Bible)?
Psa. 106:3 Who is also blessed/happy?
If you’re not happy, could it be because you’re
not doing what’s right at all times, but are doing wrong at times?
Psa. 112:1; 128:1 Who
is blessed/happy?
Has fearing the Lord (Prov.
And has delighting in (obeying) the Bible,
God’s Word, given you happiness?
Psa. 119:1, 2 Now who is said to be blessed/happy?
Has
your obedience to and seeking of God brought you happiness? Why is that?
The New Testament Concept of Blessing.
“Blessed” (Gk. – “makarios”) means “happy” or “fortunate” (Richard’s
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, p. 131).
Matt. 5:3-11 What
nine types of people are declared blessed (happy or fortunate)?
Have you ever been happy because you were poor in spirit (recognized your spiritual poverty or sinfulness and need for Christ and therefore accepted Him as your Savior)? Or, have you ever been happy because you were comforted after mourning (being in anguish for sin which resulted in confession and repentance)? Or, have you ever been happy for any of the other 7 reasons? Which?
Matt. 11:6 Who is blessed/happy?
Have you experienced happiness because you haven’t stumbled (failed to
recognize and accept Jesus Christ as your Messiah/Savior)?
Lk.
Are you happy/blessed
because you are obeying God’s Word, the Bible?
Lk. 14:13, 14 Who will be blessed/happy?
Why?
When will we be repaid if we invite these kinds
of people to a reception?
Will you be one of those who gets
repaid there? Why?
John
Is it better to believe God because He says
something is true or because you physically saw that it was true, and why?
Acts
Have you experienced this truth? If so, why do you think
this is the case?
Rom. 4:7, 8 Have you been blessed/happy for the reasons stated here?
What can a non-Christian do to experience this (Acts
What can a Christian do to experience this (1
Jn. 1:9)?
Titus
Does looking to and thinking about Christ’s
physical return to earth produce happiness in you, and why?
James
Why?
Has your perseverance through trials produced
happiness in your life? Why?
James
Did you know that happiness is closely connected
to obedience to the Bible? Has it
been true in your experience?
Rev. 1:3 Who else is blessed/happy?
Has your reading or hearing and obeying the words
in the book of Revelation brought you happiness?
Rev. 14:13 Who is blessed/happy now?
Why?
Is this how you view your death, and why?
Rev. 20:6 Who else is blessed/happy?
Why?
Are you happy about this because it will be true
of you?
“Blessed” (Gk. – “eulogetos”) means “praised” and is applied only to God (Vine,
Unger, and White’s, p. 125).
1 Pet. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:3 Why
should God be blessed/praised?
Are you blessing/praising God for His mercy in
saving you and His present comfort? Why?
“Blessed” (Gk. – “eulogeo”) means “praise” (Vine, Unger, and White’s, p.
124).
James 3:9 Who do we bless/praise
with our tongue?
For what do you bless/praise God, and why?
Matt. 21:9; Jn.
Have you ever said of Jesus,
“Blessed/praised/honored is He”?
If
so, when, or if not, and why?
“Bless” (Gk. – “eulogeo”)
means “to consecrate (set apart for God; make sacred or holy) a thing with
solemn prayers”, or “to speak well of” (Vine, Unger, and White’s, p.
124).
Lk.
Do you bless (give thanks to God for) the
food that you eat? Why?
Matt. 26:26 What did Jesus do after a
blessing (giving thanks – 1 Cor.
Do you bless (give thanks to God for) Jesus for sacrificing His body (shedding His blood) to pay for your sins so that you could be forgiven and go to heaven?
1 Cor.
Have you ever blessed (given thanks to God for and set apart for God) the cup of grape juice when taking the Lord’s supper (communion), realizing that it symbolized a sharing in the blood of Christ (benefiting from His shed blood as payment for our sins)?
Mk. 10:13, 16 Who
does Jesus bless (consecrate; set apart for holy use)?
If you were a parent, would you want your child blessed (consecrated;
set apart for God’s use) rather than wanting your child to grow up to be
rich and prosperous in secular pursuits and self-centered, worldly goals and
attainments, and why?
“Bless” (Gk. – “eulegeo”)
means “to prosper” (Vine, Unger, and White’s, p. 125).
Gal. 3:9 Who are blessed (spiritually
benefited) with Abraham?
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ, do you
plan to be blessed (spiritually benefited) with justification (salvation)?
Why?
Acts
As a non-Jew, are you, secondly, experiencing the blessing (spiritual benefit) of having been turned from your wicked ways through acceptance of Jesus as your Savior and Lord?
Eph. 1:3 What has God blessed (benefited;
prospered) Christians with?
Are you convinced that as a Christian, if you are, you have been benefited/prospered with every spiritual blessing/benefit/enrichment (e.g., justification, adoption, redemption, sanctification, glorification, immortality, etc.) in Christ?
“Blessing” (Greek – “eulogia”)
means “good speaking” or “a benefit bestowed” (Vine, Unger, and White’s,
p. 125).
Gal.
Have
you received the blessing/benefit of justification (being declared
righteous) by faith? How
do you know?
1 Cor.
10:14, 16, 20 The cup of blessing (the wine or
grape juice representing the blood of Jesus and the benefits of Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross) which we bless (consecrate with thanks) is a
sharing in (an act of joint participation in) the blood of Christ (i.e.,
involves fellowship in the Being to whom the worship is directed or identification
with Christ). Eating meat in the
pagan temple that had been sacrificed to an idol would constitute what – vs.
20?
Have
you realized how serious an act taking communion (the Lord’s
supper) is?
Heb. 6:7 What receives a blessing/benefit
from God?
Had
you realized that ground which is fertile and fruitful (bears crops) is
blessed /benefited of God?
Heb.
Has
your decision to indulge in immediate pleasure and worldly gratification ever
robbed you of future spiritual benefits/blessings? If so, what happened?
James
Have you learned to tame/control your tongue/mouth so that you don’t
praise/bless God one minute and then curse (wish evil against) people or
even God the next, especially when things don’t go your way?
1 Pet.
3:9 Why should we give a blessing to (speak well of)
those who insult or do evil to us?
Are you going to inherit a blessing (benefit from God) for doing
this? Why?
Rev. 5:11, 12 Who is worthy to receive
blessing/praise?
Why is Christ, the Lamb, worthy to receive
praise/blessing?
“Blessed” (Gk. – “eneulogeomai”) means “be well spoken of by” (Vine,
Unger, and White’s, p. 125).
Gal. 3:7, 8 Who would be blessed (well
spoken of, that is, justified by faith) in Abraham?
Are you one of those who are blessed/justified in
Abraham because of your faith in Jesus Christ?
“Bless” (Greek – “eulogeo”) means to speak well of, or invoke a blessing upon
a person (Vine, Unger, and White’s, p. 124).
Lk.
Have you ever blessed (spoken well of or asked
God to prosper) those who have cursed (wished evil upon) you?
If so, when and why?
Rom.
Have you ever blessed (spoken well of)
those who have persecuted you for your Christianity? Why?
1 Cor.
Do you bless (speak well of) those who
revile (verbally abuse) you? How?
Or, do you ask the Lord to bless/prosper those who abuse you verbally? Why?